The Achievement And Progression Of African Americans

Change and continuity. To become different and to keep being the same. Contradictory terms that all in all describe the bulk of chapter four. If you were to read the first four paragraphs that make up the introduction, you would get the basis of this chapter. Change was happening, mass production and distribution were taking the world by storm. (Pg. 181) But even with all that change, continuity was still afoot: work conditions were still prevalently horrid, mass production may have made its’ market wider, but not enough so as to include rural African Americans, and women continued to do mainly domestic work. (Pg. 182)

Compare and Contrast of “A Talk to Teachers” and “Learning to Read and Write” In the mid 1800s, the question of whether slavery was ethical or not was a particularly contentious matter. Slaves struggled to withstand the harsh treatments from their master’s, along with getting an education, until 1865 when the Thirteenth Amendment formally abolished slavery. Although slavery was no longer tolerated, the racial bigotry did not end. Fast forward to the 1950s, and racial inequality is still prevalent in society. Segregation existed in almost every aspect of life ranging from miniscule topics such as where one can sit on the bus, to more serious topics such as quality of education one child receives. This discrimination was fought through protests in the civil rights movement throughout the 1950s and 1960s. As an American high school student in a country still plagued with racial discrimination today, it is imperative to remember the true value of a quality education. While James Baldwin’s “A Talk to Teachers” and Frederick Douglass’s “Learning to Read and Write” both emphasize the need for racial equality in education, Baldwin’s forceful and angry tone ultimately make his speech the more rhetorically effective of the two.

Okema Johnson Coppin State University IDST 499-401 Dr. Ray September 9, 2015 Education is an important aspect in the lives of many individuals. Education is often seen as a means to better oneself. With education, a whole new world can be opened up to individuals. For African Americans education is key to achieving a variety of things in life. During the days of slavery, African Americans were not allowed to be educated. It was frowned upon and strictly discouraged because slave masters knew that they could not dominate an educated person. Any slave caught trying to read or write was punished. There are many individuals whose main purpose is to fight for the rights and equality of African Americans and fighting for the right to be educated was one of these goals. African Americans alike wanted to be educated because they know it would lead to progress and a better overall situation. Now in today’s society we see that even though many before us has fought for the right to be educated some do not see it as a privilege. In this paper, the views of Malcolm X, W.E.B. DuBois and Oliver Cromwell Cox will be examined in regards to their thoughts on education.

African Americans have endured many trials and tribulations over the centuries. Our people have suffered from war, violence, and anguish simply because of the color of our skin. Our history has been so blatantly missing from textbooks and the K-12th grade educational atmosphere. Our educational system continues to neglect the history of our African American ancestors and fail to provide them with the educational resources to inform them of our past and allow them to learn about the true origins of our culture. We have made many significant contributions to the world but those have also been highly ignored as well.

Still between 1865 and 1876, there was a culture identity crisis for African Americans. We cannot explain the roots of African American culture without

Education is meant to broaden the minds of incoming generations to the diverse cultures and aspects of the world. While its purpose is meant to open up horizons, it has also held up the task of oppressing opposing thoughts and judgments. Author James Baldwin exposes this truth in his article,

I do believe that any obstacle or disadvantage can turn into something good. I know this because people learn from their mistakes. Some people give up or lose hope when they are encountering an obstacle. Anything can be make up by thinking or a wise decision.

African Americans throughout the road to gain racial equality exercised many methods in order to attain such liberties. We start our exploration by viewing the most paramount methods to acquire racial equality; these methods included lobbying public officials through the court system and through peaceful public protests. We'll lastly address the violent methods used to gain racial equality but see how they were mostly unavailing.

In America, we are told that it is the land where everything and anything is possible. For many years, it wasn’t like that for African American. With many hard work, strength, and courage African American manage to earn the right to an education. To the African American community education became more of a need than a want. We’ve learn that education is such a powerful asset that with it you are unstoppable. You can do so much if you put your time and energy to it. Having an education to African American is the one hope for a brighter and better

Today, African American students are under-represented in college and universities, and the reason is the ongoing disenfranchisement of African American students. Our education system needs be more responsive and needs to pay more attention to the college preparation for these students. People of color historically have been misrepresented, exploited, silenced, and taken for granted in education research (Dillard, 2000; Stanfield, 1995), (H. Richard Milner IV, 2008).

Board of Education ended legal segregation in public schools. This case gave everyone hope and courage. When the people settled to be plaintiffs in the case the future was uncertain and they never knew they would change history. The people who made up this story were regular people. They were teachers, secretaries, welders, ministers and students who simply wanted to be treated equally. Marshall personally argued the case before the Court. Although he elevated a change for legal issues on appeal, the most public one was that separate school systems for blacks and whites were inherently unequal. It interrupt the "equal protection clause" of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Marshall depend on sociological tests and argued that segregated school systems had a tendency to make black children feel inferior to white children. The testing was performed by social scientist Kenneth Clark. (MacLean 2002, p.137) James Meredith applied to the all-white University of Mississippi. He was originally accepted but his admission was later deny when the administrator discovered his race. Meredith filed a suit claiming discrimination. The state courts ruled against him but the case made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court and it ruled in his favor. When Meredith arrived at the university to roll in for classes on September 1962, he found the entrance blocked. (Carson 1991, p.644) Rioting soon erupted and Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent 500 U.S. Marshals to the scene. President John F. Kennedy sent military police, troops from the Mississippi National Guard and officials from the U.S. Border Patrol to keep the peace. In 1962 James Meredith became the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. After Brown v. Board of Education, public educational establishments had been ordered to unite by this time. In 1963, Meredith graduated with a degree in political science. (Roisman 2016, p.

In Dr. King’s “Where Are We?”, he emphasizes the struggle America goes through with contradictions. Even though civil rights legislation has been passed, the racial inequality persists because a legal document cannot change the inner conflict and inner morals that some people hold. Being raised in a fixed social structure,

Introduction African American Education During and After Segregation Education has always been valued in the African American community. During slavery freed slaves and those held captive, organized to educate themselves. After emancipation the value of education became even more important to ex-slaves, as it was their emblem of freedom and a means to full participation in American Society (Newby & Tyack, 1971). During this time many schools for African Americans were both founded and maintained by African Americans. African Americans continued to provide education throughout their own communities well into the 1930’s (Green, McIntosh, Cook-Morales, & Robinson-Zanartu, 2005). The atmosphere of these schools resembled a family. The

For generations African Americans have been disadvantaged in America and effects of these injustices have made a lasting impression. Education is one of the leading problems in the black community. Though there have many reforms in education over the years, racial injustices still exist because no attention in placed on how legislature affects people of color. I was raised in a middle-class family of educators. My entire life I’ve been told to “stay in school, get an education, and work hard so that you can beat the system.” Recognizing the structural forces in my life has helped me understand my place in society. Being able to “understand everyday life, not through personal circumstances but through the broader historical forces that

The History of African-Americans to Attain Equality and Civil Rights Introduction The history of the struggle for the advancement and progression of African Americans is a larger-than-life story. It reveals their endeavors for the initiation of change in political, financial, educational, and societal conditions. They did everything to shape their future