For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide

Gates highlights that For colored girls is a film that makes a strong message of empowerment to the humanity of women. No matter how bad things could get in life and no matter how many times you’ve been brought down, always know you are strong enough to get back up and not let darkness conquer your life. This essay will explore how a person can overcome any kind of tragedy, hardship or struggle whether or not they are affected emotionally,

There are numerous works of literature that recount a story- a story from which inspiration flourishes, providing a source of liberating motivation to its audience, or a story that simply aspires to touch the hearts and souls of all of those who read it. One of the most prevalent themes in historical types of these kinds of literature is racism. In America specifically, African Americans endured racism heavily, especially in the South, and did not gain equal rights until the 1960s. In her renowned book The Color Purple, Alice Walker narrates the journey of an African American woman, Celie Johnson (Harris), who experiences racism, sexism, and enduring hardships throughout the course of her life; nonetheless, through the help of friends and

This is set specifically during the time in the US where racism is thriving and was very hard for people of color to make a name for themselves. Therefore Maya Angelou could relay the hardship that those times really would have impacted on Annie Johnson’s life through the setting. To add on to Annie’s struggle, the author made her a woman because during the time this story is set in, if it were a man it would be easier for him to find work and support himself because in those days a lot of women did not work. So Annie pursuing through the hard times she was provided with in this setting really relays the idea of the theme of courage in the story.

Gender inequality was a big issue during the early 1900s, and especially for the African American women because some “Africa American women were used as sex slaves or just slaves in generally” (Karpowitz). These women were treated badly even if it was from their dad or their "husband"/owners, but at the end of the day they knew only one person who these women can trust which is God. In Alice Walker’s novel, she shows and expresses how women will have bad times or bumps on the road, but if they keep going towards their dream they will succeed. Walker also showed how women did not have a voice to stand up for themselves but later in their life they started getting together to fight back for their rights. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker demonstrates gender inequality in the lives of African Americans in the early 1900s.

The early 1900s was a very challenging time for Negroes especially young women who developed issues in regards to their identities. Their concerns stemmed from their skin colors. Either they were fair skinned due mixed heritage or just dark skinned. Young African American women experienced issues with racial identity which caused them to be in a constant struggle that prohibits them from loving themselves and the skin they are in. The purpose of this paper is to examine those issues in the context of selected creative literature. I will be discussing the various aspects of them and to aid in my analysis, I will be utilizing the works of Nella Larsen from The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Jessie Bennett Redmond Fauset,

play like format to captivate the reader. The subject matter of her work is very

Ntozake Shange was born Paulette Williams into an upper white collar class African-American family. Her dad was an Air Force specialist and her mom a psychiatric social worker. Social icons like Dizzie Gillespie, Miles Davis and W.E.B. Dubois were consistent visitors in the Williams home. Shange went to Barnard College and UCLA, gaining both a bachelors and master degree in American Studies. Shange's school years were troublesome, on the other hand, and disappointed and hurt in the wake of isolating from her first husband, she attempted suicide a few times before centering her anger against the constraints society forces on dark ladies. While procuring a graduate degree, she reaffirmed her own quality taking into account a self-decided character

Black mental health differs from White mental health. White people manage mental illness completely different than African Americans. For instance, the 2010 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report states that White people seek and receive treatment or therapy for mental health issues at twice the rate as African Americans.

Throughout American history, people have been categorized based on what gender they are, and what their race is. In order to explore these ideas and come to terms with their importances many musicians, film makers, and authors have described the inner-workings of this societal construct. Indeed, both racial and female identities have been at the epicenter of many works of art throughout American culture as can be seen in: Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane, film “Modern Times,” Bessie Smith’s “T’ain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do,” and James Weldon Johnson’s Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.

There is a dramatic difference between the suicide rates of Caucasians and Non- Caucasian individuals. There are multiple reasons as to why that could be. One of the possible reasons for that stems from how our very society has been formed. When looking at the history, specifically here in the United States, we find that many Non-Caucasian groups of individuals have suffered at the hands of Caucasians in some way shape or form. Through that suffering, there was something that developed within those groups of people, resilience, strength, flexibility, and toughness. Non-Caucasian groups of people, for the most part, are use to the struggle that comes with being a minority so when all these hardships are happening, they do what their

“Sister Citizen; Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America” is the title of the book because it reflects and expounds on the African American women’s position in the American society and political system, when it comes to race, gender, and stereotypes concerning African Women in the 21st century. Harris-Perry uses Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf to make her subtle Melissa V.

for colored girls... tells the stories of seven women who have suffered oppression in a racist and sexist society. As a choreopoem, the piece is a series of 20 separate poems choreographed to music that weaves interconnected stories of love, empowerment, struggle and loss into a complex representation of sisterhood. The cast consists of seven nameless African-American women only identified by the colors they are assigned. They are the lady in red, lady in orange, lady in yellow, lady in green, lady in blue, lady in brown, and lady in purple. Subjects from rape, abandonment, abortion and domestic violence are tackled.

“…And this is for colored girls who have considered suicide but are moving to the end of their own rainbow…” (Perry: For Colored Girls, 2010). For colored girls was first written and performed as a play by Ntozake Shange in 1977. It was then called “for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow was enuf”. Tyler Perry adapted and transformed it into a movie in 2010. For colored girls is centered on nine women as they encounter their fair share of neglect, abuse, pain and harassment both physically and emotionally. They slowly but surely recover from such abuse and discover joy in themselves. The movie begins with the characters as strangers but at the end, they become good friends.

Film is a series of artistic moving images that make up a story. In every film, the director visually presents the storyline, different characters, the problems they encounter and how they were deal with. There is a wide range of ways to study films of various genres. We focus on film language, genre, mise-en-scene, representation, stereotypes, etc. In Black Girl, it was depicted as an allegory and had a lot of mise-en-scene.

Discrimination and racism is always an issue, but the hardship these women had to face and suffer is something that is still being discussed. Understanding the fear, struggle and hardship that women of color went through during this time period is very important. Both “Country Lovers” by Nadine Gordimer and “The Welcome Table” by Alice Walker discuss race and the struggle with trying to be accepted in society.