Informative Essay On Black History

As African Americans we have such a rich diverse culture filled with different cuisines, languages and traditions. We definitely should be proud of the many accomplishments that we have made as a people. But in terms of black history it dates back to some of the most inhumane and repulsive actions that African Americans were subjected to. Aside from the racism and segregation that occurred to black people we were also seen as a joke in TV/movie culture back in the day that perpetuated many stereotypes. In the article “Black Stereotypes as Reflected in popular culture” by J. Stanley Lemons he talks about these clichés that were portrayed but most importantly the action of blackface. For me blackface was the most detrimental and had the most

Black Americans should be acknowledged for not only their contributions to American society, but also for being a part of American society and upholding the traditions and values of this country. Black History Month should not be a celebration that comes and goes in our own minds and homes. Black History Month should not be a remembrance that is acknowledged only when the official day begins.

As Americans, we are privileged with diverse experiences. With this comes a perceived understanding of many cultures and their influences but in fact full cultural literacy is impossible to achieve.

During my early years of school, I remember being taught white accomplishments and wondering if blacks and other people of color had made any significant contributions to today's world. I noticed that television consist of all white people. Throughout my research paper I hope to cover certain aspects of African American heritage. Aspects such as blacks making up the largest minority group in the United States, although Mexican-Americans are rapidly changing that. The contributions blacks have provided to our country are immeasurable. Unfortunately though rather than recognizing these contributions, white America would rather focus on oppressing and degrading these people. As a consequence American

Slavery began in the late 16th century to early 18th century. Africans were brought to American colonies by white masters to come and work on their plantations in the South. They were treated harshly with no payments for all their hard work. In addition, they lived under harsh living conditions, and this led to their resistance against these harsh conditions. The racism towards the African Americans who were slaves was at its extreme as they did not have any rights; no civil nor political rights.

African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated; that is 60% of 30% of the African American population. African Americas are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites. “Between 6.6% and 7.5% of all black males ages 25 to 39 were imprisoned in 2011, which were the highest imprisonment rates among the measured sex, race, Hispanic origin, and age groups." (Carson, E. Ann, and Sabol, William J. 2011.) Stated on Americanprogram.org “ The Sentencing Project reports that African Americans are 21 percent more likely to receive mandatory-minimum sentences than white defendants and are 20 percent more likely to be sentenced to prison.” Hispanics and African Americans make up 58% of all prisoners in 2008, even though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately one quarter of the US population. (Henderson 2000). Slightly 15% of the inmate population is made up of 283,000 Hispanic prisoners.

n 1619 a Dutch ship brought 20 slaves to America and it took nearly 240 years for slavery to end in 1865. In the absence of rights or freedom, my ancestors were put to work growing anything from cotton to tobacco. For centuries, my people fought for equality. Although we are “free” the fight has still remain. As a black women raised in America, I was hit with some harsh realities at a very young age.

Why are the following events so important to America’s history? The events that include Brown V. Board of education, Emmet Till, Little Rock Nine, Freedom Summer, Chicago in the 1950’s, were all very important events to occur before a movement that was not necessarily alive, yet. These events were all important because of how they would start the momentum of the Civil Rights movement that would give African Americans the simple rights that any white man has. These events shared things in common such as the simple fact that they all involved African Americans pressing for rights that they deserved. All of these events whether they be positive or negative would be beneficial to the Civil Rights movement.

You’re invited to one of the biggest and highly anticipated cultural months of the year- Black History Month. Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history. Today marks the first day of Black History Month and we are so excited to announce all the great things happening this month.

Over the course of the years that Black Studies has been a separate functioning entity, there have been different ideological and political reasons for why Black studies is needed in institutions of higher education. Scholars such as Nathan Hare, John Henrik Clark, John W. Blassingame and Devere E. Pentony have given their own varied rationales as to why they believe Black Studies is a necessity within these institutions; if it is even one at all. Each of these men have different opinions on this topic but they do share one similar perspective. The historical importance of black people should be taught and made a fundamental component of Black Studies because in institutions of higher education, where the populations are predominantly white, staying connected to the black culture can be difficult. Getting educated about it enables students to stay connected to their roots and use it to improve their future. Many black people grow up unaware of who they are and where they come from because in the current education system black people have been pushed to the side or spoken about very briefly. Students do not understand the struggles of African American people, so therefore having courses that educate them about the history of blacks, will spark understanding of black people as a whole and there might be a change in black and even possibly white communities.

My idea of slavery is, that it is one of the blackest, the wickedest things everywhere in the world. When you tell them the truth, they whip you to make you lie. I have taken more lashes for this, than for any other thing, because I would not lie.One day I set the table, and forgot to put on the carving-fork - the knife was there. I went to the table to put it on a plate. My master said, - "Where is the fork?" I told him "I forgot it." He says, - "You d - d black b - , I'll forget you!" - at the same time hitting me on the head with the carving knife. The blood spurted out - you can see. (Here the woman removed her turban and showed a circular cicatrices denuded of hair, about an inch in diameter, on the top of her head.) My mistress took me into the kitchen and put on camphor, but she could not stop the bleeding. A doctor was sent for. He came but asked no questions. I was frequently punished with raw hides - was hit with tongs and poker and anything. I used when I went out, to look up at the sky, and say, "Blessed Lord, oh, do take me out of this!" It seemed to me I could not bear another lick. I can't forget it. I sometimes dream that I am pursued, and when I wake, I am scared almost to death.{Benjamin Drew was a Boston abolitionist who

Black history month is a time to recognize and acknowledge the accomplishments and achievements of black Africans around the world. It is also a time to recognize the role that they, African Americans played in history. The month of February was chosen to be dedicated to black history month because of Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas’ birthdays. I feel that black history month is a very important time of the year because we get the chance to learn how poorly and unfairly Africans were treated by Caucasians. Africans did not have the same rights to education, voting, health care etc. They were also mistreated by many Caucasians because of their skin colour. The racism was extremely bad and there was nothing you could do

In "The Negro Digs Up His Past", Arturo Schomburg attempted to take up the deep study of the African Americans’ history to display their past more closely and respond the statements that they have no past. He realized the necessity for the present generation to repair the history that was damaged by the slavery. Schomburg noted that “there is the definite desire and determination to have a history, well-documented, widely known......as a stimulating and inspiring tradition for the coming generation” (670). I think what Schomburg tended to do was to introduce the other side of the black people’s history--the splendid past and remarkable achievements, and reminded people to view their past objectively rather than focusing on the enslaved part. I totally agree with what Schomburg said, because every nation or race has its unique history and deserves to be treated fairly. From the reading material, I can see that the black people have lots of achievements they can proud of. What they should do currently is to repair their history and enable people to know a more complete one.

Scholars have dedicated their time and attention to furthering the discipline of African American Studies and can define the field with many different definitions. Through looking at the origins and development in the study we can see how it became a legitimate academic field. As we study the writings of the African American intellect, it will fully explain the importance of the discipline. Their work will justify the study of cultural and historical experiences of Africans living in Africa or the African Diaspora. When examining the scholar’s arguments we can develop our own intellectually informed rationalization of the field of African American Studies.

In the film More Than a Month by filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman, Tilghman argues that we should end Black History Month for once and for all. In this film he attempts to demonstrate the truth about BHM and examine what might happen if BHM no longer existed. Tilghman argues that “Black History is American History”, and he believes that the only solution to this problem is to end BHM and incorporate it all year around. So the question is: should we end Black History Month? This is an extremely controversial question which has been asked all over the world for many years. Everyone has their own opinion and beliefs about whether to end BHM or not, but there isn’t a correct answer.