The River Of No Return Summary

“I began thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle of two opposing forces in the Negro community. One is a force of complacency, made up in part of Negroes who, as a result of long years of oppression, are so drained of self-respect and a sense of ‘somebodiness’ that they have adjusted to segregation; and in part of a few middle class Negroes who, because of a degree of academic and economic security and because in some ways they profit by segregation, have become insensitive to the problems of the masses. The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups that are springing up across the nation, the largest and best-known being Elijah Muhammad’s Muslim movement. Nourished by the Negro’s frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigible ‘devil’”.

In Chapter 4 of his book, which is aptly titled “Postwar Passions”, Daniels chooses to focus on the experiences of African-Americans in the post-WWI era, specifically focusing on race riots that occurred during the “Red Summer” of 1919. (104) There is a long-standing history of racial discord between whites and African-Americans, but the post-WWI years are a unique time. It has been more than fifty years since slavery has been abolished, but it will still take another forty plus years before discrimination on the basis of race is made illegal in America. Industrialization after the turn of the century and blatant racism in the South led to the migration of millions of African-Americans to northern

Have you ever needed easier access to the essential items to stay alive? This is specifically what the residents of the North-East thought around the year 1817. Carol Sheriff argues in her book, “The Artificial River” that the residents of the canal corridor actively sought after long-distance trade and therefore consumer goods that markets brought to their homes. The fact that people supported the Erie Canal at all "suggests that at least some aspired to engage in broader market exchange" (p. 11). The transformation of this region because of the Erie Canal is organized around six topics, each of which is covered by a chapter. They include the; Visions of Progress, the Triumph of Art over Nature, Reducing Distance and Time, the Politics of Land and Water, the Politics of Business, and the Perils of Progress.

The dominant white supremacy begins with the racial segregation, and the segregation is the origin of the political and economic inequality. This segregation in large has created this natural social hierarchy which has pushed the African American into the terrible living conditions with less-working skilled job opportunities. Education segregation is also a huge component of this white supremacy. Recalling the documentary, SNCC was unable to encourage most African Americans of the region to stand-up to claim their voting rights due to their lack of knowledge about the constitutional system. In response to this predicament, SNCC founded the Mississippi Freedom Schools and set up classes to prepare people to register to vote. To make the school more practical, SNCC not only selected their applicants from the white upper-middle class, but also evaluated the applicant 's class ranking and education level. This recruiting technique has provided a solid foundation for the freedom schools. The organizers also considered this recruiting technique with a different perspective. These wealthy upper-middle class well-educated candidates were likely to become the leaders in the society. SNCC recruiting them will help them to

Reading the content in this book made me get a picture of what it was like to be a colored person in this time. My eyes were opened to the meaning of the word “nigga”. Nigga is such a derogatory term, yet now-a-days it is used by people so much. Kids in this generation use it as a term of endearment when they see their friends, or they say it when they are shocked by something. Frankly, I don’t believe they know how serious it really is. The fact that white people could look at a person and see less than a human being when they did nothing wrong distresses me. They (white people) treated them as if they were property and below them. Even though we don’t have racism to this extent

Alexander summarizes her interpretation of the period when a number of black individuals were elected into government offices with the phrase “black faces in high places.” By this she means that although black individuals were elected, this development actually obscured the problem rather than remedied it. Alexander writes that in 1974, 64 percent of new federal employees came from minority backgrounds. These changes helped a relatively small group of African American households, and left the rest behind. On account of these changes, the idea that hard work was the way blacks could overcome institutional challenges was born. By masking the government’s responsibility to help all African American households, colorblindness led the public to believe the country

The struggle for equality and the battle to have one’s suppressed voice be heard is prevalent throughout the history of the United States. The Native Americans, women, and even Catholics have all encountered discrimination and belittlement in one shape or form, which eventually urged individuals within those groups to rise up and demand equal opportunity. As the United States began to shift away from slavery, one of the most deep rooted, controversial dilemmas aroused- what do black people need to do in order to gain civil rights both economically and socially? Booker T. Washington’s “Atlanta Exposition Address” and W.E.B. Du Bois's “The Soul of Black Folks” were pieces of writings influenced by the puzzle that black people were left to solve. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois had contrasting ideas, but they both contributed a piece to the puzzle in hopes of solving the never ending mind game.

The River of no return is an Autobiography of Cleveland Sellers. Throughout the book, we get to read firsthand how times were during the Civil rights movement. In ‘The River of No Return’ readers will also perceive the mindset of both African Americans and Caucasian Americans. This autobiography provides eyewitness reports of the strategies and the conflicts in the south that many people have endured for racial justice. Not only does it show the south but it also shows the movement and how it progressed throughout the nation.

It is election season in the Port City. Throughout the summer, and well into the fall, leaders of Wilmington’s Democratic party soaked their campaign speeches in the language of white supremacy and patriotism. The Democrats had lost everything in 1894. Their attacks on economic reform and farmers’ rights made them unpopular and allowed Republicans and Populists to sweep the state in 1894, creating a successful Fusion alliance. The Fusion movement extended full political participation to black North Carolinians and honored the black vote with opportunities for political office . Black office holders, in turn, supported the economic growth of black communities through civil service appointments and

Through these organizations, Anne had become actively involved in the civil rights movement. She soon realized, though, that there were a lot of preconditions that were needed to achieve significant social change in the black community. Many of the projects Anne worked on, lacked support from the black community. She did not realize how much she would be harassed by the white people because she was fighting the rights of black people. The main preconditions for social change in the 1950s and 1960s, was getting the black community to support the various projects SNCC and the NAACP were working on. The black people they were fighting for did not always like the projects that Anne, and the other young people in SNCC, had been doing. Many black people tended to ignore the efforts of the SNCC because they were afraid of change. It took a lot of work to convince the black community to support the various projects the young people of SNCC were doing. An example of a project that the black community supported extensively, was Freedom Summer. This project would not have been successful if the black community did not support this. The Freedom Summer project proved to be a success because the black community went out and voted. This proved to the federal government, that black people were interested in gaining voting rights. Anne Moody had thought about joining the National Association for the

The book ‘The Wrong Side of Murder Creek’ portrays the lifelong struggle of a white southerner who disagrees with the “social norm” for the South. Zellner spent his life as an activist for equal rights for both white and black Americans. He believed the way you were treated should not be determined by the color of your skin. Throughout the book, Zellner takes many dangerous steps to place a foot in the lives of African Americans. Zellner attended Methodist Huntingdon College where he started research for a sociology course, and within that entered the Civil Rights Movement. He was the first white activist to join the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) full time. Zellner then spent his life getting brutally beaten, jailed,

African American individuals have been the victims of White brutality for hundreds of years. Since I, Malcolm X, as well as those who choose to follow me, consider me a Black Nationalist freedom fighter, I feel as if it is my responsibility to put this brutality to an end. Black Nationalism is my social philosophy and it states that the Black man should have full control of his community that should rely on its “Black membership for economic sufficiency and that refuses to be manipulated by Whites” (Revolutionary Paideia, 2013). The economic aspect of Black Nationalism requires for Afro-Americans to be in control of their own wealth. The time of the white man telling “us what to do and what not to do is long gone” (Malcolm X). Even though I am no longer the man who despised and resented the White man for all that he has done to me and those like me, I still believe in justice and standing up for myself. Consequently, I firmly believe that racial and economic justice can be achieved in a peaceful manner; however, one should be able to defend him or herself if it deems necessary.

In W. E. B. Du Bois’ book Black Reconstruction, he discusses the various topics of African American history through the process of Reconstruction. Through its rise and fall, he covers different vantage points and opinions attempting to incorporate all relevant ideas and positions. However, through this process, one theme that transcends throughout is his belief in the strict principles of Marxist economic theory. When applying this to the eventual fall of the Reconstruction era, he constricts the viewpoint to only focus to that of what Marxist theory would have to say for it, however, it must be remembered that complex issues deserve equally complex solutions. While Du Bois’ application of Marxist principles is not one-dimensional, his

In Challis, Idaho there is one out of many protected areas known as Frank-Church River of No Return Wilderness. This protected area consists of a very large space of land because it is 2,366,757 acres, this is mentioned on the website where I found the information about this area. With the information that I gathered the website states how large this wilderness area is, and in some pictures that I looked at it is shown that there is a large and beautiful river which is part of Frank-Church River of No Return Wilderness hence the name of the wilderness area. The river is open to the public so that those who want to visit can. People who do plan to visit Frank-Church River of No Return Wilderness, may go on hikes and explore around the area and

Between 1890 and 1906, Black people were rejected from the area of politics, as southern states amended their constitutions to deny Black American citizens their voting rights that had been ratified by the Fifteenth Amendment. The beliefs of racial uplift, was an idea that placed responsibility on educated Black people for the well-being of the majority of their race. This was a reaction to the assault on African American civil and political rights, also known as “the Negro problem (Washington 8).” During this era, there were opportunities for Black people to become leaders of Black communities everywhere. African American leaders combated stereotypes by highlighting class differences among Blacks that believed in the stereotypes themselves. In 1903, W. E. B. Du Bois published the book, The Souls of Black Folk. He criticized "the old attitude of adjustment and submission" that had been expressed by Booker T. Washington in the Atlanta Compromise Address (Hill 734). Washington addressed that Southern Black people should work and submit to White political rule, while Southern White people guaranteed Black people the reception of basic educational and economic opportunities. Du Bois believed that full civil rights and increased political representation, would uplift the Black community during this time. African Americans needed the opportunities for advanced education to develop this sore of leadership, titled the “Talented Tenth”, an African-American intellectual elite