Kara Walker Research Paper

Not so long ago few Americans spoke of slavery – which was swept under the rug until the civil rights movement in the 1950s. The shame of slavery gradually rose to public consciousness over the last five decades. Now the topic appears everywhere, in movies, television documentaries and academia. Nearly every major museum has mounted an exhibition on slavery. This issue has become an integral part of the foundation for understanding America’s past. With specific attributes, slavery is distinct from all other forms of oppression, giving it a unique place in human history. Many consider Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) as the best among anti-slavery propaganda that appeared with increasing frequency during the years preceding the Civil War. The primary reason of its appeal is the unsurpassed clarity of Douglass’ writing, which displays his superior sensitivity and intellectual capacity as he addresses the woeful irony of the existence of slavery in a Christian, democratic

In Exchanging Our Country Marks, Michael Gomez brings together various strands of the historical record in a stunning fusion that points the way to a definitive history of American Slavery. In this fusion of history, anthropology, and sociology, Gomez has made expert use of primary sources, including newspapers ads for runaway slaves in colonial America. Slave runaway accounts from newspapers are combined with personal diaries, church records, and former slave narratives to provide a firsthand account of the African and African-American experiences during the eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. With this mastery of sources, Gomez challenges many of the prevailing assumptions about slavery-- for example, that "the new condition of

Slavery is a large and very influential part of American history. It has shaped the United States from when the very first slave ship landed in North America in 1619 through the present, even after it was abolished. Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of The United States, and David Kennedy’s The American Pageant both discuss slavery, but they do it in different manners. The approach taken by Zinn to discuss slavery gives a broader view of the hardships faced by the slaves, while Kennedy’s portrayal focuses less on their life and more on the trade itself and its effects on the colonies. The result of these varying methods is that Zinn offers a better view of what slavery was really like than Kennedy.

“I was born…” is how many distinguished slave narratives begin (Prince 1). This infamous phrase establishes powerful anecdotes that demonstrate unforgettable events in history. Notable authors such as Frederick Douglass and Linda Brent capture their audience with undebatable authenticity. Similarly, Mary Prince, author of the narrative, The History of Mary Prince, utilizes similar themes and strong diction to expose the injustice of slavery. Prince uses allusions, imagery, and pathos to construct convicting arguments about the abominable institution of slavery and disillusion the unawareness of her audience.

Harriet Jacobs, a black woman who escapes slavery, illustrates in her biography Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) that death is preferable to life as a slave due to the unbearable degradation of being regarded as property, the inevitable destruction of slave children’s innocence, and the emotional and physical pain inflicted by slave masters. Through numerous rhetorical strategies such as allusion, comparison, tone, irony, and paradoxical expression, she recounts her personal tragedies with brutal honesty. Jacobs’s purpose is to combat the deceptive positive portrayals of slavery spread by southern slave holders through revealing the true magnitude of its horrors. Her intended audience is uninvolved northerners, especially women, and she develops a personal and emotionally charged relationship with them.

“I want to live to help my race” Madam CJ Walker once said. She was a woman who would not let racial and gender barriers stop her from doing what she wanted. She was born into a family of former slaves, who did not have enough money to send any of the children to school. In 1887 her husband Moses was killed in a lynch mob, the reason was because he was black. So, Madam CJ Walker had to raise their 2-year-old daughter alone. At that time, it was hard to find a job to support her daughter, who she wanted to attend school and have a better life than she did. It was also very difficult to find a house because banks wound not loan money to African Americans so it was difficult to save up money to buy one. When she moved to St. Louis she washed clothes

My paper is an attempt to analyze the entire era of slavery and its later effects upon the lives of Africans who were brought forcefully to America as slaves and even after its abolition were treated inhumanly. My major attempt is to get an in depth insight of the struggles of these people for their survival in such an environment and the predicament of black women who were doubly oppressed; were the victims of both the whites and black men; and treated as naked savages and beasts, with Alice Walker’ masterpiece and Pulitzer prize winning The Color Purple. I have taken this project with my keen interest because the novel touched me deeply and I wanted to analyze it thoroughly.

Slavery is a contradictory subject in American history because “one hears…of the staid and gentle patriarchy, the wide and sleepy plantations with lord and retainers, ease and happiness; [while] on the other hand on hears of barbarous cruelty and unbridles power and wide oppression of men” (Dubois 2). Dubois’s The Negro in the United States is an autoethnographic text which is a representation “that the so-defined others

In sharp contrast to what most people think, “only about 6 percent of the slaves imported in Africa ended up in what is now the United States.” Most of those taken from Africa ended up, if they survived the long sea voyage, in the West

How Americans romanticize their history is constantly challenged by African American artist Kara Walker. Her controversial work has broken huge boundaries of race, gender, power and violence. But Walker’s art never had the intention of pleasing viewers or answering easy questions. Winning the John.D and Catherine T. Mac Arthur Foundations genius grant at only twenty seven years old, Walkers art has taunted Americans to recognize the legacy that slavery has left behind.

The horrors of the New World Atlantic Slave trade system cannot be expressed in figures along. The humanitarian and cultural losses are staggering. Throughout this period, more than a million and a half died

In the United states, history is usually looked upon as good, except the fact that we’ve practiced slavery longer than other countries. Throughout our history, slavery played a huge role and is one of the most learned topics in schools, nationwide. Although Gary Paulsen’s novel, Nightjohn is considered historical fiction, the descriptions of broken family structures, harsh restrictions, and brutal punishments can be corroborated with multiple sources such as the Narrative of Frederick Douglass, Mingo White’s Narrative, and Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave.

As history is written by the victors, those in power decide what is included in history and what is left out, either intentional or simply out of negligence. Upon viewing Walker’s work, it becomes evident that the skepticism that hooks argues is needed to create a truth from the distortions of film is also necessary when analyzing written history. The sketch is the embodiment of the very skepticism that defines the oppositional gaze. As hooks questions the way in which black women are presented in a single light, Walker’s gaze is interrogative of the praise bestowed unto individuals who are favored by those who decide what is included in written history. She dismantles idealistic representations of those deemed heroes. Her search for truth may appear to be ill-mannered, but her cause is noble enough to justify these means of expression.

The main idea of the book was to share with the reader and give a deeper understanding of what occurrences happened during the darkest periods in American history. The author shares his life during his twelve years, on a personal level, to be able to connect with his readers and show his perspective on his experiences during his time held captive as a slave.

KING, WILMA. "Slavery, United States." Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society. 2004. Retrieved July 11, 2010 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3402800373.html