Theme Of To My People

The theme of “a failure of justice” for African Americans living in the present-day United States dates

He wants his readers to imagine the pain and humiliation of the ill treatment that African Americans endure on a daily basis. King writes of vicious mobs lynching people’s mothers and fathers, policemen killing people’s brothers and sisters, a man and his wife not receiving the proper respect they deserve because of their skin color, and the notion that African Americans feel insignificant within their communities; this is why these peaceful demonstrators of whom the clergymen attack “find it difficult to wait” (King, 20). However, King believes that soon, injustice will be exposed, like “a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up” (King, 30). This vivid description helps arouse an emotional response, driving shame into the hearts of his white readers.

The word “disgraced” (Alexander 15) emphasizes the discrimination and struggle that African Americans experience. Through her brief description of the current justice system, Michelle Alexander believed that the Jim Crow and slavery were both caste systems and relates it back to the American system of mass incarceration. This claim is very surprising considering the fact that the United States of America is considered by many to be the land of the “free” and equal rights. She also believed that the system of mass incarceration and

Shakur believe that the United States government was extremely fraud given how the government treated African Americans. Assata makes an attempt to deliberate her discontent. The author uses parallel structure to correlate and emphasize how the system was hypocritical throughout history. She claims how untrustworthy they are, constantly destroying the system. By using the words “they called us...”, the government continued to condemn African Americans which created a negative image of black people overall. By using this rhetorical method, it helps you comprehend the structure of the speech and it creates a

In March book 2, author and activist, John Lewis, delivered a speech on August 28, 1963. Before John Lewis delivered his speech, there was a lot of ciaos occurring backstage about revising Lewis’ speech. Mr. Randolph wasn’t pleased with the way John Lewis worded parts of his speech and demanded for him to change it. After Lewis negotiated with Mr. Randolph, Lewis was still content with the arrangement of his speech. Lewis confronts his sentiments to the people regarding racial inequality. He emphasizes on the unfair acts that are implemented among the African American working class. John Lewis states, “While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in the Delta of Mississippi who are out in the fields working for less than three dollars a day, twelve hours a day” (Lewis Aydin 166). In this statement, Lewis explains his reasoning for assembling his speech. His objective was to arouse the public on the realism of the nation’s unjust behavior towards African Americans. Lewis explains the march on Washington is occurring because blacks don’t receive the same wages as whites. Lewis declares, “We do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now” (Lewis Aydin 169). He proclaims that African Americans have been fighting for their freedom long enough and they are not willing to be patient. With his skillful use of appeals, Lewis applies powerful logos to illustrate racism, emotional pathos to connect with the audience, and ethos to appeal to the segregation and discrimination towards African Americans.

In 1963, minister and rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech in front of Lincoln memorial to bring awareness to the unfairness of injustice for black people. King's speech was an effort to try and mandate the coming together of the black and white race and finally have the equality between us all be put into force for a free nation. As the speech left King’s mouth and entered 250,000 citizens ears, it left them to think about what point he was trying to make because he uses pathos, logos, and ethos.

The film reminds us that “slavery and its aftermath involved the emasculation-physical as well as psychological - of black men, the drive for black power was usually taken to mean a call for black male power, despite the needs of (and often with the complicity of) black women. That continues to result in the devaluing of black female contributions to the liberation struggle and in the subordination of black women in general.”4

Assata Shakur was born on July 14, 1947 her real name is Joanne Deborah Byron, after she was born her parent divorced. She was living with her mother, aunt and her grandparents in Wilmington North Carolina. As a child she spent time working with her grandparents in a restaurant they own by the beach. Her grandparents instilled in her the love for written word, and she spent a great deal reading to satisfy her imagination. Her family tried to infuse in her a sense of dignity, “you are as good as anyone else”, also not to let anyone said that they’re better than her. Shakur never like her real name Joanne she felt that she was not an African American and she should go back to Africa, because of

The Condemnation of Blackness by Kahlil Gibran Muhammad outlines the struggles and tribulations that African Americans had to face after the American Civil War. The book gives specific accounts as to why African Americans were deemed “The New Problem” and how that changed, highlighting discrimination of African Americans as the real problem. Muhammad also focuses of on the work done by social scientist, criminologist, libertarians, activist of both black and white races and how their work affected the African American people and their place in society as a whole. Muhammad also explains how the labeling of blacks as criminals has had an influence on our society today.

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.

This theme helps illuminate how black people came to be treated in America both when slavery existed and beyond into today’s society. The theme that black people are disposable bodies within American society. Because of the tradition of treating black people as objects or whose value strictly came from their ability to make profit, the idea of what it means to be black in America is imbedded in the danger of losing one’s body. Although slavery has ended, the racism remains as a violence inflicted on black people’s bodies. Coates is more than happy to emphasize that racism is an instinctive practice.

Throughout the essay, Dr. King counters their logic and assumption and appealing to first ethos by building his credibility as an activist and secondly logos by referencing history, religious leaders and ancient philosophers whom employed similar tactics while confronting oppression and unjust laws. He successfully employs pathos appeals, citing several examples of unpunished crimes committed against the black community and appealing to logos, while countering their criticisms of creating tensions through the unwise use and timing of his direct-action program protesting. He ends his essay triumphantly with appeals to ethos, pathos and logos by defending his extremism, condemning the clergy’s silence with racial injustice, while offering hope of inevitable change to the black community. I found it difficult to assess any weakness within this essay; however, it leaves the door wide open to controversy regarding breaking unjust laws.

Blacks in the United States have had to persistently fight against torture, racism, and segregation and still do. For years, in the United States people of color were not given the same rights as white men. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., “Graduation” by Maya Angelou and “A Homemade Education” by Malcolm X, the authors discuss their experiences and fight against inequality. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Maya Angelou were just a few of the hundreds of thousands of blacks who restlessly fought for civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Maya Angelou showed that in the face of adversity to persevere you must always remain strong and steadfast if you wish to succeed. Even with Malcolm X and Maya

In “A Protest Against the Burning and Lynching of Negroes” by Booker T. Washington, the author uses Rhetorical Strategies such as Logos, Pathos, and Ethos to show how he feels when many of his race were being common, he uses them in a way to show his perspective of what the government has done.To begin, the author uses Logos to show a logical statement of how white people can do anything they want, this made the lives of black people feel unfair and how the white people made others groups such as KKK to take the laws into their own hands.The law is only disregarded when a white person is concerned, and not a black person, it is used to show the inequality between these two group of people.“The laws are as a rule made by the white people and their execution is in the hands of the white people; so that there is little chance of any guilty colored man escaping.”White people has been controlling the environment ever since the black people arrived, this making it unfair for any black people to escape being found guilty.

“The brutality with which official would have quelled the black individual became impotent when it could not be pursued with stealth and remain unobserved. It was caught—as a fugitive from a penitentiary is often caught—in gigantic circling spotlights. It was imprisoned in a luminous glare revealing the naked truth to the whole world” – Martin Luther King (8, Kasher)