The knowledge that I gained from my partners and their engaged learning trips was a great resource for viewing the issues around the nation and the world in multiple points of view. A few examples include the similarities between Bethlehem House and the methods that the black community used to adapt to the diverse issues that they faced. The Bethlehem House was a community shelter for people to live in for two years in order to help the poor manage their finances and find a job. The hopes of the house were to set the people on the right path in life, which includes helping the less fortunate people their expenses. The community aid that the Mosaic Templar emphasized on most was a section of Little Rock where the black people could use their skills from their times as slaves to start their own companies. For instance, most of the black people took on roles that included: barbers and a select few (especially in the area around Nashville, Tennessee) became very popular/ successful musicians. On the other hand, the experiences that my partners and I had were very similar to the readings that we had in class and will play an important role in the ways that I will engage in various communities that will arise in my future. One of the connections that I made was between the black community on Eighth Street around the 1960s and how it was connected to the Black Power Movement that James Cone was supporting. Cone never really agreed with Martin Luther King’s emphasis of
Taylor Branch’s Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-1963 is a description about the civil rights movement that focuses on Martin Luther King Jr and incorporates the lives of other civil rights activists, organizations, and takes a deeper look at the era from the Supreme Court Ruling of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) to President Kennedy’s assassination. Furthermore, Branch introduces numerous people within the African American communities that gave rise to the civil rights movement as well as those individuals that came into being as the movement surged forward.
followed. Cone frames a theology of liberation from within the context of the Black experience
Finally, racism was a major theme, and it was even the cause of the letter’s writing. For example, Dr. King said that though “it is unfortunate that so-called demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham at this time, but . . . it is even more unfortunate that the white power structure of this city left the Negro community with no other alternative” (78), describing how it was racism that forced his actions which led him to be jailed. Dr. King further described the immense racism present at the time by noting that “There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in this nation” (78).
Mainstream political leaders gave little or no discussion of inner city challenges. Mainly, in the 1960’s, the United States transitioned from legal segregation to a more racially open society. Literature from the Harlem Renaissance began to bring up issues that were not addressed professionally. People began to express how they felt about the political and social situation of America in violent terms, such as riots. Literature after the 1970’s was mainly influenced by the Civil Rights Movement. Literature from both time periods, The Harlem Renaissance and after the 1970’s, encouraged people to take a stand against what is right. An uproar of social order and political chaos began in American as undertreated African Americans began realizing what the future needs to hold, for them and their
It gives one a close glimpse at what exactly kept them going strong in this period of mistreatment, and just how they were so spiritually strong even at their weakest physically. It was said to be that African-Americans established this “invisible institution” through signals, passwords, and other things. It was here in Church where they mixed their African rhythms, sang, and praised God.
I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” – King uses words such as “interrelatedness,” “mutuality,” and “community” to garner an emotional response.
Cone is a book that takes an in depth look at Martin Luther King Jr.
The book/author both add to the conversations we had in class. For example: how blacks had no freedom, worked for whites and were mistreated. They were not paid well, so many of them were poor. They as well had sharecropping. Including the civil rights movement.
Goal 1) I want to learn more about my how Africans lived, because it is the way my ancestors lived their lives and finding this all out will give me the knowledge I will need to know going forward in life. Goal 2) I want to know about the slavery, and all the things the Africans had to go through on a daily basis. Goal 3) I want to know about the African’s accomplishments even though they weren’t given that many rights. Looking at my goals, I am proud to say I met them, during this 7-week course I learned a lot about the past, many things I did not know about since it was never taught to me. I can say with this class I called home to my mom and discussed something new I learned about and she was very excited I decided to take this class, as well. I don’t plan to just stop here, I will expand my knowledge and continue to learn about the history and even the present things that are happening to Africans, for example to slave trade that is going on in Libya. One course-related accomplishment that I am proud of, is getting to know about the history of slavery, and seeing what my ancestors went through. Seeing how back then racism was terrible and even today African Americans still deal with it, and it will never
The mission of the students around the country who fought for an education that would shed light on African Americans. The progress the students created is seen today in American Universities ,and also HBCUs, where (AAS)African American Studies is implemented into the curriculum. Before, the dissection the formation of AAS, it should be noted that without the sacrifice from others I undoubtedly would not be writing about AAS ,or reflecting on the significance it has created for generations so far.
referred to this book by Van Woodward as “the historical bible of the civil rights movement” because it spoke about the difficulties of race relations and brought attention to what blacks went through to get to where they are today. Martin Luther King Jr. was a respected figure and had a dream for equality among blacks and whites. King liked the message that this book provided. Van Woodward writes “striking incongruities appeared between the needs and moods of the black ghetto and the goals and strategies of the civil rights crusade, as typified by the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., and voiced in his lyrical dream” (Van Woodward, 193).
Introduction to African American Studies was the class that I decided to take this summer because I am genuinely interested in learning more about the cultures and lifestyles of African Americans through out history and I want to further my knowledge beyond just learning about what was taught to me in secondary school. I do not know much about African American studies as I have not taken any courses on it or relating to it in the past but I hope that I can gain a lot of information on the topic through out this intellectual experience. I also hope to gain a better understanding of the history of Africans and African Americas and be able to dive deeper into this topic instead of just hitting the surface as I feel as though my previous experiences with this topic have covered. In just this first weeks lesson I have learned about the three great principles that characterize the “Black Intellectual Tradition” and how these three principles are used and perceived.
The learning perspective what is it? This is the study of how exactly a person is effected through what they learn on a daily basis. Through family, their surroundings and behavior. The people who believe this line of thinking are called behaviorists. Many people look at the learning perspective in a suspiciouse manner not believeing or trusting any of the experiments. But there are many contributions and many limitations of the learning perspective.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s failed housing campaign and the Bronzeville Project exhibit this disjointedness through black middle class Chicagoans ignoring the socioeconomic class divisions within Bronzeville by using institutionalized racial barriers as a conduit to produce a narrative of collective discriminatory practices faced by all blacks preventing social and financial equity for the race. However, these
America in the 1960s was not the finest time for African Americans, especially in the South. There was racism, injustice and inequality. However, the ‘devotees’ of the civil rights movement were dedicated and passionate about making a difference. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of those pioneers that remained true in what he believed in no matter what the circumstance.