Civil Rights

The Harlem Renaissance was a time that provided many opportunities for African Americans. It marked the first time that critics took African American literature seriously and it was also the time of the Great Migration. The Renaissance increased education and employment opportunities. The Harlem Renaissance included the emersion of Jazz, which was a free art form that the Blacks were able to have and use to entertain.

The Civil Rights Movement was a time where African Americans fought for equal rights. The movement included other movements like the Sit-In Movement, the Free Speech Movement, the Anti-War Movement, and the Black Power Movement. Many groups like the Black Panther Party and SNCC were also a part of working in the Civil Rights Movement. In Mississippi of 1955, Emmett Till acknowledged the white owner’s wife, on a dare, which caused problems with the owner. He was kidnapped by Roy Bryant and his half brother J.W. Milam and was brutally beaten and murdered. This event brought the nation together and was said to have started the Civil Rights Movement. I had heard this story before this class in my history class last semester, but we didn’t go into too much detail.

SNCC is the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. This group “not only mobilized, organized and politicized thousands of Black students, but also politicized many white students and their leaders through recruiting and training them and bringing them to the South to work in the struggle” (Karenga 9). The group started out working towards integrating blacks and whites but ended working the movement towards one of Black Power.

In the “Martin and Malcolm” essay there are many differences between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Their lives are so different from each other, yet they both were fighting for “racial advancement”. Malcolm’s philosophy was based on a nonviolent but militant way of getting through the mass struggle. He was raised in a low income family that based living off of “charity and government welfare” (Carson 13) while Martin was raised in a loving home and had a great relationship with his parents. Even though Malcolm said that he would do anything to make things right, even if that meant using violence, he never used it. I believe that Martin used ideas from Gandhi because he grew up “in a family where love was central” (Carson 13). Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X both grew up so differently, but both wanted some way of getting their race to advance in society.

I do believe that the Civil Rights Movement accomplished its goals to an extent. Blacks have advanced so much in society, so much that we now have one as President, but there are still so many problems that need to be faced. Racism still exists today, it’s not as prominent, but it is still there. Blacks, now, are free, are citizens and can vote due to the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments; they are able to sit anywhere they want anywhere they go due to Sit-In Movements and the Bus Boycott for example; and they can receive equal education because Brown vs. the Board of Education overruled the “separate but equal” policy.

I think the way you grow up and your life experiences do help mold your personal philosophy, but it is one-sided. I think it is important to know how others have grown up and lived as well as seeing what they believe in. Having grown up in a fortunate home with loving parents who were highly educated has allowed me to view the world with an optimistic attitude. I don’t know if I would be able to say the same if I had a harder life; one like Malcolm’s. I think it is important to learn, experience, and discuss with other people their opinions and their view on certain subjects because it only expands knowledge and experience for the crazy world that we live in.

http://www.ibiblio.org/sncc/

Privilege

Today in class was a real eye opener. I knew that I have been fortunate all of my life, but I have never realized how much people around me haven’t been as privileged. Also, reading the article by McIntosh made me recognize that there are so many privileges that I have being a white female. We also watched a little bit of a film by Jim Wise. He was discussing the different privileges whites have over those of a different race. It was an interesting film and I wanted to hear even more of what he had to say. Watching the film and reading McIntosh allowed me to realize some of the privileges that I have; some of them which include:
1. I have been able to attend a good public school district and receive a great education.
2. I can go to the store late at night and not be followed by an employee because he thinks that I’m going to be stealing something.
3. I can go through airport security without worrying if my bags will be checked or being searched because of my race.
4. I can drive and not worry if I’ll get pulled over randomly because of the color of my skin.
5. I can walk into a store and not be judged by others because of my race.
6. I have been privileged in the fact that I have been able to grow up in a safe neighborhood.
7. I have the privilege of being able to work in a workplace and not get judged by the color of my skin.
8. I am able to go into a class at school and have a majority of the class be of the same race.
9. I can flip through a magazine and see a majority of my race being represented.
10. My family has been fortunate enough that my parents are paying for my college as well as my brothers’ colleges.
11. When I get into my profession, I can be sure that a majority of the people I will be working with will be of my same race.
12. I can be sure that I am heard when I speak an opinion that I may have.
13. I can easily find extracurricular activities with the involvement of people of my own race.
14. I can be sure that I can ask questions about culture and it not seem politically incorrect because of my race.
15. I know I can talk to a professor here at the university and know that he or she will be willing to answer any questions that I have.
16. I can put down other languages, thinking that others should learn English, and not be looked down upon because of my race.
17. My parents have always encouraged me to follow my dreams and to try best.
18. Both of my parents graduated from high school and they both attended college.
19. I know that I can interview for a job position and not be discriminated against because of the color of my skin.
20. I have the ability to decide exactly what I want to do with my life; I don’t have to be told what I should or shouldn’t do, because of who I am and the life that I am able to live.

Privilege, I believe, is something that I’m not able to control. I was born as a white female and am fortunate. It isn’t fair that I was able to live the way that I have so far and have people so close to me live such a harder life. There are people that I know of a different color who are just as smart, if not smarter, than I am. For them not to be able to live the life that I have lived just isn’t right. And I hate that they did not get to choose how they wanted to live. They, too, were born into it.

The NAACP

In 1909, the NAACP was formed by African Americans and white liberals. The organization still exists today, working to fight against the injustice of America. It has been instrumental in the African American experience, historically, because it has led African Americans to be where they are today. Many actions had to take place, and during the beginning years of the organization, “the NAACP went on to launch and win effective campaigns against lynching and Jim Crowism, and to secure the vote” (Karenga, 169). The Oklahoma NAACP has contributed to the history of the civil rights movement, specifically with the sit-in of Clara Luper in 1958. She was the “advisor for the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council” (Decker, Internet). Luper and the Youth Council, then, went to Katz Drug Store and sat at the lunch counter. This act began the sit-in movements that occurred across the United States.
Some ways that the legal movement contributed to the Civil Rights Movement were that it gave African Americans a sight for how the law wasn’t fair, and it gave them a reason to stand up for what was right. Many African Americans from across the country participated in the Sit-In Movement after the first one of Clara Luper in 1958. Rosa Parks refused to move from her seat on the bus because she knew that it was not right. This began the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which African Americans banded together to fight against segregation. This boycott spread throughout the South and was “an effective instrument of breaking down segregation barriers” (Karenga, 186). There are some similarities between the NAACP’s relevance to the African American experience and the legal movement because they both have structure. The NAACP was a way to “fight against injustice” (Karenga, 169) and it fought to give Blacks rights that they did not have years before. The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments were established for African Americans’ freedom.
The period of Reconstruction was a time that African Americans endured but also a time they wanted to forget. After the Civil War, laws were set up to help ensure the rights of African Americans, but whites did not follow through with these laws. The laws came from the Freedmen’s Bureau which was “to guide and protect the freed Africans”. As much as the Africans wanted their freedom, whites did not provide a sense of hope. Reconstruction had many chances to be successful for African Americans, but it was not. Some of the reasons that Reconstruction failed include “the failure of the federal government to give Blacks land and equipment…” and “the rise of the white terrorist societies like the KKK and the Camelias in spite of the 1870 and 1871 laws against such societies” (Karenga 165).
The NAACP still exists today, and it is still fighting against injustice. They work with people trying to get their needs and rights obtained. Mr. Douglas, the President of the Oklahoma NAACP, spoke with us about what they are about and an example that really stood out was talking about teachers and helping them get the salary that they deserve. They fight for what is best and since Mr. Douglas and Mrs. Williams came, a group of students are trying to start up an NAACP program. Since their visit, I am becoming even more interested in the African American experience. Mrs. Williams was telling the class about her life and the hard times she had to deal with. I have never met anyone personally who dealt with so much: not being able to read until the age of 53 (I believe is what she said) just amazes and hurts me, especially because I am going to be a teacher. To not know how to read and write and going through college only on a track scholarship is unbelievable. Hearing about the NAACP and what it has done and what it is doing and hearing Mrs. Williams’s story really makes me want to go out and make a difference.

http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/L/LU005.html
http://www.rose.edu/EOCRHC/Oral-Luper,C.htm

Sit-In Movement

In class on Monday, we were discussing the different people who were involved in the Civil Rights Movement and the Sit-In Movement was mentioned. This reminded me of the history class that I took last semester. I was in History 1493, and this class covered material from the Industrial Revolution to the present. Near the end of the semester we talked a little about the 1960s and Civil Rights. One lecture, in particular, stuck with me; it was when we were discussing the Sit-In Movement in Greensboro, North Carolina. Four students went to a diner on February 1, 1960 and went and sat at the white counter knowing that they wouldn’t be served. This action was the beginning of about 70,000 other sit-ins throughout the South. My teacher said that during one of the sit-ins an older white woman walked by the boys and said, “It’s about time.” When I heard that, I got chills. I love hearing about people taking a stand and hearing that there were white people who cared. I wish that we could have talked more about the civil rights movements, but it was the end of the semester so we were not able to go into a lot of detail. I enjoy learning about the 1960s and how people took a stand for what was right. When I hear about people having problems with people of a different race, it drives me crazy. I do believe that racism has decreased since the 1960s, but it is still out there. It hurts me to think that people judge others by the color of their skin. I agree with Martin Luther King Jr. when he says, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” I, too, dream that color will never be an issue.

A random Superbowl Sunday

Superbowl Sunday!
It has been an interesting, random night, but it has been so fun! The football game is going on right now, and my roommates and I invited some friends over to watch the game and hang out. We started the night with sixty McDonald’s chicken nuggets. People started coming over and the party began. The nuggets only lasted us about ten minutes because there were eight of us. We also have chocolate cake and cookies because my roommate Hannah went home this weekend, and since we’re from the same city, she stopped by my house to pick up the food that my mom had made. My friends Pam, Brittany, Laura, and I want the Arizona Cardinals to win and Sarah, Jesse, and John are cheering for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s been an exciting and a very intense game. There has been cooking, yelling, chatting, and a lot of eating. During the third quarter, Brittany, Sarah, Josh, John and I got into a discussion about the African American race and how we don’t understand racism. We were also questioning what to call African Americans. Do we call them African Americans or do we call them Blacks? We don’t want to be offensive and we are curious to what the correct term is. It was an interesting conversation. It was a completely random conversation and coincidental that the subject came up. It has been a really fun night so far, and I’m excited for The Office to come on afterwards. It’s nice being with friends. Hanging out is one of my favorite hobbies. I truly enjoy being around people and learning something new about each person. I wish that school were cancelled tomorrow because I love being social and don’t want to go to bed early for my 8:30 class. I am excited for class tomorrow though because it is the beginning of Black History Month and I can’t wait to learn about a culture that isn’t mine.