The Negro Soldier, Eldridge Cleaver, And Booker T.

Throughout this period, African American civil rights made a massive progress. Although for any progress to be made, federal government needed to implement new laws and legislations, but usually, government were not keen to act and in some cases actually made little impact on the civil rights movement. The African Americans themselves pushed the government to make changes through the leadership of the organisations set up, that led to the change in the civil rights that they eventually gained.

Ethnicity and Race are very difficult to define. The two words are so closely related and often times used interchangeably.

Race and ethnicity are two things that have been around since before the colonist journeyed over to America. But what do these two words mean? It is easy for people to confuse them and think that the two definitions can overlap. Race, in sociological terms, is a social concept. The majority of race is concerned with biology and the physical characteristics or hereditary traits a person might have. For example this could be skin, hair, or eye color, or bone structure. Ethnicity is cultural factors that a person would be able to conform to. These factors are shared by people in the subgroups and can be accepted or rejected. Examples of this would be languages, religion, food, and nationality.

Ethnicity: ethnicity defines people and groups who share characteristic such as language, religion, dress, and origin. Discrimination can happen when people consider the ethnic characteristics of other people inferior to their own.

Of the two most prolific and acclaimed voices in the anti-slavery movements of the early 20th Century, W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington stand as peerless giants across from one another. The former seeing the pursuit of education in a hallowed light, while the latter praising the simplicity of practicality; Du Bois and Washington clashed in their methods for African Americans to achieve equality, following the aftermath of emancipated slavery. At this time in the United States, African Americans still experienced severe segregation and discrimination, both socially and economically, with their newfound freedom only bringing them out of the frying pan and into the fire. While Du Bois advocated for blacks to educate themselves, with the same higher education whites received in order to advance both socially and politically, Washington called for blacks to immerse in vocational skills in order to win

The Civil War was one of America’s most brutal battles in history. Majority of which being white, male soldiers. Over the years, many historians have argued the actual involvement of blacks during the civil war era. Many claiming that they were doing nothing more than assisting the actual, white soldiers in combat such as, nurses, and wagon drivers, not actually picking up the gun and shooting alongside in battle. Most people look over the fact that almost ten percent, or 180,000, of the Union army were African American. Though a small fraction of the amount of total soldiers during the war, their involvement is still significant. These soldiers recruited and voluntarily, committing the same acts of bravery of any Caucasian solider, due to the prejudice against them, they were pushed to the back burner and treated with disrespect, virtually diminishing their extensive courageous acts. Nevertheless these soldiers made an impact in world changing war.

Race and Ethnicity – Race is a concept used to differ population groups on the basis of physical characteristics. Races used by the government for statistical purposes are Alaskan Native, American Indian, Asian or Pacific Islander, Black, White, and Unknown. Ethnicity is a concept used to differ population on the basis of cultural characteristics or geographical origins. Ethnic designations used by the government for statistical purposes are of a Hispanic origin o nor of Hispanic origin, and Unknown.

The civil rights movement made a rapid advance towards the civil rights with help of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X along with their famous speeches that rallied the people to support the end to segregation and the right for African Americans. The civil rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s helped lay the groundwork for this change. Americans face discrimination in every aspect of their lives until at at least 1950s.

During the mid-19th century, there were still many acts of segregation. Although black men had been allowed to vote and rightly think for themselves, many Americans still dismissed them as equals. However, something happened that would change that view for many Americans. It is more than a mere footnote in history. During World War II, in Tuskegee, AL, an all-African American institute was allowed to train black pilots. These men were called, “The Tuskegee Airmen.”

Many leaders arose during this time and called for a change in the treatment of African Americans such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. With the ideas of hope for a better future many African American communities decided to hold protests to change the way the government acted towards them. The government was supposed to help the people not disregard them when they are in need of help or focus on one group of people all together. Throughout the Civil Rights Movement each time they protest and it threatened the stability of the country the government gives in to them and granted them their rights such as the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The 1965 Voting Rights Act was put in place to make up for the holes in the 15th amendment which has allowed the passing of the Jim Crow laws as well as the unconstitutionally approval of the Plessy v. Ferguson case. As people saw the African Americans being hit with tear gas, being beaten, and whipped by the state troopers and still pushed forward showed the lengths they will go to achieve their dream of a new future.

African Americans in the early United States faced strenuous hardships dealing with discrimination and inequality. Even decades after slavery ended, African Americans never achieved true freedom. An opportunity known as World War I allowed black people to serve in the United States military. They thought they could gain their right to be considered a true American and gain acceptance from the white man. Little did they know, risking their lives would barely change anything. This was true with many other wars, as well. After they came home from fighting in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, segregation still existed along with discrimination, but their service did not go unrecognized. Little things such as military service helped change the minds of white Americans.

Eldridge cleaver was a exceptional famous writer and a well known activist.He was on the bestseller list on his book,”Soul On Ice “.After getting out of prison ,he joined the Black Panthers about 2 months of when they started.He had a very enormous fan base,that were white and black.Mark Kurlansky states in interview on The Black Panthers Documentary “The

International pressure mounted that forced the then, President John F. Kennedy, to approve fully the civil rights movement in the early 1960s. The Jim Crow laws that promoted the segregation of whites from blacks in all life aspects were also overthrown in the immigration and nationality act of

In the short film, “The Negro Soldier,” the whole focus was to get African Americans to join the military. With the use of propaganda, the U.S. government hoped to promote getting African Americans to want to fight for their country. It hoped to instill patriotism in them. It showed that Germany and the Nazis had no respect for them and considered them the scum of the earth. It also portrayed them being accepted as equals into the American society. It was used to make them think they were wanted and play a major role in the success of the war against germany. And to ultimately make Germany and the Nazis look like the bad guys (destroying their monuments) instead of the racist America they lived in. It also portrayed African American soldiers prior contributions in previously fought wars as pivotal moments in American history. It made it seem like they were the reason for those victories. It also explained how the African American soldiers were honored with tributes, memorials, medals and parades for their service in the military. In the ongoing WWII, it was said that there were three times the number of African Americans soldiers in WWII than in WWI. Also, many more were getting commissioned and attending West Point and OCS (Officer Candidate School). African American men that were once printers, tailors, entertainers are now soldiers in the Army as gunners, tankers, radio operators, mechanics, quartermasters, and infantrymen. They were now the backbone of

Ethnicity, however, relates more to a person’s identity outside of their genetic material. This could be based off of what type of culture a person was raised in. A persons’ ethnicity can be reflective of their race, but it could also differ. Sometimes, as Henslin explains, ethnicities can be confused and seen as races. One example he gives is Judaism. Some people see being Jewish as a race. Although for some people their beliefs may be tied in with their race, no genetic material determines if you are Jewish or not. For many people it is passed down through generations, yet it is by educating and raising a child in that culture rather than them being genetically imbedded with Judaism. Being Jewish does not dictate a person’s skin