We Are Proud To Present Analysis

Most Americans believe their country's past is as innocent as can be, but what if it is not as innocent as they think? When thinking of a genocide or a mass killing, people refer to the Holocaust or the Rape of Nanking. But what about the one that many Americans seem to forget about? The Trail of Tears. It happened over 150 years ago, and many seem to forget, and others seem to not know about it. The Trail of Tears and the Holocaust are not so different from how Americans are taught. People died, people were dehumanized, and it all was caused by one person’s wants. Although, there were several similarities, there are also many differences.

Throughout this essay, I will be examining the effects of one of the most controversial university enrollments. James Meredith paved the way for African American acceptance into a historically all White University. No matter how much adversity Meredith would encounter, he would not give up or give in to institutional racism. The want to keep Ole Miss segregated by those there did not hinder his success. In an attempt to end racial segregation, the Supreme Court ordered the admittance of James Meredith to the campus. This action was a clear defiance of racial segregation. This resulted in an abundant amount of not only riots but also casualties. Meredith paved the way for other African-Americans

Many African Americans would have separate schools, bus seats, and even fountain drinks for the “colored”. If an African American would ever break these “laws”, they were either jailed, beaten, or killed for it. In response, many Africans saw the negative effects of violence and instead of choosing to fight back violently, they chose to protest through “nonviolence [,] as it grows from Judaic-Christian traditions [and] seeks a social order of justice permeated by love” (Doc. A). Many African Americans believed that through nonviolence it would help benefit the fight for equality because it would help them gain sympathy and support from the people through the sight violence being used on peaceful people. However, many African American’s were getting frustrated at how long it was taking to gain equality, protection of civil rights, and justice in courts so many thought that the time had “come for black people to arm themselves against [violence] before it [was] too late” (Doc. F) Many African Americans then started to turn to violence to try to push the fight for equality, but this was ultimately a disastrous decision because this caused the Civil Rights Movement to lose a lot of support they had from the

In his powerful memoir, Mississippi, Anthony Walton explores race relations in Mississippi in a historical context in an attempt to teach readers about Mississippi’s dark and muddled past. In the third section of the memoir, entitled “Rebels”, Walton focuses on the history of Mississippi through the lens of famous and not so famous changemakers who shaped Mississippi as it is today. Walton purposefully tells this story in chronological order, so that the reader can see the evolution of the Mississippi rebel; beginning with union and confederate troops, and ending with civil rights leaders and white supremacy groups. Walton’s purpose of creating such structure becomes abundantly clear at the end of the section, where he juxtaposes the success of the civil rights movement with that of the white supremacy movement in Mississippi. Walton argues that the ability of a cause to inspire fear ensures its continued survival.

Why do we hate? Why do we lie? Why do we forget? Three questions provide a strong explanation of how African Americans were treated, whether it was the use of verbal or physical abuse. These questions also describes how African Americans were implied into education. Authors wrote many issues regarding the ignorance and abolishment of slavery in more of a “Whites” perspective to teach the American society what they want to hear and not what actually happened. And further more, forgotten sources. Some want to forget was has happened over the course of our time, some want to hide the truth of how this has affected society and the race around us. Three documents were discussed with hidden facts and deep recognition of what is the truth behind

Throughout history, Colored folks and White people do not seem to get along based on appearance.Men and women of color weren't treated fairly, no matter where they're at without being looked down upon. Most Americans have divided themselves into non-mixed neighborhoods. The “Jim Crow” laws on the state level stopped them from entering classrooms, bathrooms, theaters, trains, juries, and legislatures.Also, In the case of “Plessy v. Ferguson” in 1896, the U.S. Supreme court said that racially separate facilities are equal, it does not violate the Constitution. Segregation, the court said, was not a discrimination. Segregation supported the legal system and the police, but beyond the law, violence was going on around the citizens. The Ku Klux Klan, Knights of White Camellia, and other terrorists murdered thousands of African-Americans, to prevent them from voting and participating in public life. In Arkansas, Central High School was one of the firsts to integrate. Nine teenagers got together to go to Central High, they did not go in to protest but to get a better education. The Little Rock Nine didn't see it as a way to bring in violence, but it all started in Arkansas, in 1957, a conflict against two different points of views. However, In Warriors Don't Cry Melba Pattillo Beals presents the idea that emotional strength, Determination, and confidence are necessary to gain freedom and equality for all.

This change in racism is why both authors stress the need to understand the very specific brand of American racism as it changes throughout time. Looking backwards and forwards in time proves to be an integral method of displaying the concerns of history as it pertains to the future.

An overwhelming majority of us have had some type of exposure to the 20th Century history of the United States. Therefore, a majority of Americans are aware of the racial divide and civil rights movement that took place during this time period. More specifically, this time period running from the 1960’s to 1970’s was one of vast racial tension and overall instability in numerous areas across the country. African Americans were able to finally overcome centuries of segregation and inequality by the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, as stated before anyone with knowledge of American history would know that the state of the nation following this decision was not one of tranquility and peace. Protests from both sides of the argument sprouted up in major cities all across this land of so called opportunity. Peaceful is best not used to describe the American people during these times. The ever so popular film Remember the Titans released in 2000, turns the clock back to 1971 to follow the true story of the recently integrated football team at T.C. Williams High school of Alexander, Virginia. In this film, the audience catches a first hand

Neil McMillen’s book, Dark Journey: Black Mississippians in the Age of Jim Crow categorically examines the plight of African Americans living in Mississippi during the era of Jim Crow. McMillen, a professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, describes the obstacles that African Americans dealt with in the fields of education, labor, mob violence, and politics. Supplementing each group with data tables, charts and excerpts from Southern newspapers of the day, McMillen saturates the reader with facts that help to understand the problems faced by black Mississippians in the years after

On 1 May 1866 in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, an altercation between black Union soldiers and Memphis police officers started a chain reaction that eventually brought about what has come to be known as the Memphis Riots of 1866. The group of amicably intoxicated soldiers reacted negatively when told by a small group of officers to break up their party, and although no one was seriously injured, the situation quickly escalated to the point where shots were fired on both sides (Carden 2). This incident, however, was not the cause of the Memphis Riots. Instead, I will argue that the altercation merely served as the spark to set a fire to a whole mess of kindling made of economic, political, and social twigs and branches, which was already in place long before the actual events of the Memphis Riots.

The problem of our time is that we are truly forgetting the past and basically deleting our history by not knowing the truths behind the very issues we face in our society and the issues we face globally. Think about what’s taking place on the Syrian borders, or even in the United States there are basically concentration camps that are being set up that applies to one particular race. In knowing that I am a human being and being of African descent in America I can not be defined by the actions of other African Americans. However, this is something that is justified daily through the lives of refugees, immigrants, Native Americans, as well as African Americans through media sources and by what individual people have been taught over centuries to do to things that are not understood, they are destroyed, stereotyped, racially profiled, and not given the same opportunities. So if you ask me my position or representation of the holocaust, the only thing that I can say is that it happened, so did slavery, however Jewish people are the ones who profited from the holocausts.

“One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that history loses its value as an incentive and example; it paints perfect men and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth.”

Black school children, who were able to attend integrated schools, experienced extreme racial discrimination from both their peers and their teachers, in an effort to force them to return to segregated schools. (Curry 83) By 1965, at the elementary and secondary levels, 1,160 of the 3,028 southern school districts contained both white and black students. (Sitkoff 45) Almost 10% of all black children were attending school with whites. (Sitkoff 45) The amount of desegregation that occurred at public universities was greater than that of elementary and secondary schools. (Sitkoff 45) Nevertheless, many conflicts and riots occurred on college campuses when blacks attempted to enroll. James Howard Meredith was the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement. James Meredith attempted to register in the fall of 1962. (Curry 74) Because of several violent threats, Meredith was accompanied by federal marshals. State officials tried to block his entrance to the building. Protest groups formed, and riots broke out, in which two people were killed. (Curry 74) After much controversy, James Meredith succeeded in registering at the University of Mississippi, but federal marshals stayed to protect him until his graduation in 1963. (Curry 74) James Meredith was an instrumental black individual who was brave enough to fight for his rights

This interplays with the title of the book - Silencing The Past - where inaction, exclusion, silences various aspects of the history, rendering individuals, groups and entire cultures - unimportant. This example gets to the heart of how histories are constructed — as Troulliot eloquently put it, “historical narratives are premised on previous understandings, which are premised themselves on the distribution of archival power.”

“History repeats itself endlessly for those who are unwilling to learn from the past.” (Leon Brown)When huge catastrophes like genocide take place, theoretically it is simple to point out what steps should be taken, what methods should be used, and what outcomes should be expected however practically it gets hard. For instance, the prosecution of Muslims in Myanmar began in 1962 and yet continues to the present day. Solving a tragedy like the prosecution of Rohingya was first proposed by hopeful minds because logically speculating; the possibility of solving such tragedy was slim. However, the Burmese made no effort to learn from their mistake rather continued prosecuting the Rohingya minority. They have made history their master, and as a result are blind from the reality.