In front of a predominantly white audience he asked that white southerners hired blacks because of their love for white people they serviced. Washington praised black loyalty and fidelity to whites. He claimed that blacks would be a great burden on society if they would continue to be oppressed. In my opinion the most important point in Washington’s speech was his position on economic prosperity as opposed to equality. Washington believed that blacks should have the opportunity to earn a living, but not necessarily be equal to blacks; he stated that blacks and whites should be “two different fingers on a hand”.
Upon first glance, one might not see the slight connection between Malcolm X and James Brown. One is an African American Muslim minister, the other is an African American entertainer. While on the surface there is nothing connecting these two men together, I believe there are two distinct similarities that bond these two great men together. First, both men advocated for better treatment and opportunities for African Americans and second, both men commanded the attention of the disenfranchised African American community. Yet, while both Malcolm X and James Brown wanted Black unity, Black pride, and both had a great following, they both had different ideas of how to make the aspiration of true Black unity a reality.
Black Like Me As I begin reading the story John Griffin introduces himself to the readers. He began with a speculation; if he became an African American he could help understand the difficulties between races as a white man and African American in the south and with this knowledge develop a means to bridge the gap. His desire to know if Southern whites were racists against African Americans population of the Deep South or if they really judged people based on the individual’s personality as they said they prompted him to cross the color line and write Black Like Me. The author’s purpose for writing this book is simply factual. He speaks of letting it be known about how African Americans in the South are treated due to the color of their skin, and what it felt like for a white man to be an African American in the South.
This was his chance to express the true feelings of all African-American males in our country, a chance to prove that the black man does everything the white man does. He digs down deep into his heart to best illustrate the struggles of a black man and how the world views the two races in complete opposite. In his writing he explains that a black man will always have some sort of impact on a white man’s life and true the other way around, but the white man tends to show little effort in wanting to be a part of that
Malcolm X showed everyone who read his book what hard work, ambition and determination could do. In my early years in school when it was black history month and we had to do project I always leaned more toward Martin Luther King rather than Malcolm X. However I’m glad that we had to read his piece by him because it not only allowed me to learn more about Malcolm , but it was also an inspiration for me. For example although to me having an education is important while reading this he showed me the significance of how blessed I am that I was able to read and go to school. Another way that Malcolm X inspired me was when he taught himself to read by just using the dictionary.
The African American culture has seen many transformations starting within Africa and evolving through their history into America. The history of the African spirit within America is a unique tale combining faith and struggle to create a group of people that is trying to find themselves in a society that was not made for them. One key element that remains constant in the studies of African religions is the use of music and dance. Within W.E.B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk, this element is easily seen in how he structures his book to include a piece of musical score at the beginning of his chapters and at the end of the book as a whole.
In a sense, he wants to liberate them from the limitations education imposes for the minority groups. African Americans are blind-folded and oblivious to their history, and are still grasping for what should already be naturally theirs, the right of equal opportunity to life. As Malcolm X talks about his own experience attaining the wealth of knowledge he has gained from reading books, he also succeeds in getting his point of view across to the reader
2011). Through fiction, poetry, essays, music, theatre, sculpture, painting and illustration, participants in this first Black arts movement produced work that was both grounded in modernity and an engagement with African-American history, folk culture and memory. In the 1920s the African Americans culture arose and was viewed and accepted by many whites in America. Music was very important to society in this decade with Jazz music being the soundtrack of the decade. Jazz music was a combination of African American traditional styles (blues) with the ragtime beats.
Hughes not only submitted some of the most appreciated works of poetry and prose on the subject of the experiences of his people, but he was also acknowledged as one of the first black authors to fully support himself with his works through fellowships and literary awards that he had earned. Hughes was also important in the movement due to his promotion of black theatre, and his producing of anthologies of the works of Black American writers (Bloom, 1995, pp. 73–74). In Hughes’ poem “Life is Fine” we can see evidence of the “double-consciousness”, and his struggles with remaining an individual true to his race in the lines “I took the elevator Sixteen floors above the ground. I thought about my baby And thought I would jump down” (Hughes, 1949).
He is most famous for his authentic to the black culture when he wrote his poems (Hill). Lastly W.E.B Du Bois was amongst Langston Hughes as he also was a major voice during The Renaissance. “The problem with the 20th century is the problem of the color-line – the relation of the darker races to the lighter races of men…” said by Du Bois, and this