He wanted them to know how oppressed the “black” people were with the injustice at that time. He hoped that the clergymen would have been on his side because they should understand the feeling of his people because they read in the Bible about Jesus going through the same oppression. The bible teaches us how to love each other no matter what color we may be. He wanted them to compare them to such ones in the Bible that felt like they were “outside agitators”. He used this nonviolent campaign to try to get
The passivity of Black people allowed racism to flourish. While Black’s practiced the religion that had been forced upon their ancestors, the descendants of the owners of their ancestors continued to abuse them. White men rapped Afrika, pillaging the culture, enslaving the people and conditioning us to forget. Joe is the epitome of the negative affects of an Afrikan trying to assimilate to a white world. He wanted so bad to be seen as different, as unlike his Afrika embracing mother as he could.
Martin Luther wrote a letter in response to the Eight White Clergymen. Using ethos, pathos and logos, King tried to persuade the church to adhere to the problems African Americans are facing. He let them know that what they wrote in their letter was not the completely accurate. Most importantly he told them even if the church does not come to aid, African Americans will still overcome their struggle and gain their freedom. “But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no despair about the future.” King kind of challenged the church; with or without them, African Americans will continue to strive.
This was partly inspired by his thoughts of the white religion, “this religion taught the ‘Negro’ that black was a curse. It taught him to hate everything black, including himself” (Hartwell 210). Malcolm believed in non-violence when his adversaries where non-violent against him. Those where his tactics and during the civil rights movement made him a very respectable leader towards African Americans. Malcolm speeches gave his people pride to fight for what they wanted because unlike Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm believed that the only way to get what you want is through
You can be man, woman, child, white, black, brown, or purple, but God is the deciding factor. Walker now rejects the idea that black people must obey a white human master. Walker says that the only master black people have is God himself and not the white society. Furthermore, he brings light to the fact that the white community will also have to answer to God for their acts of violence. Walker’s claims were interrupted into a Christian worldview.
Because of slavery, black’s concept of God was totally different from the masters who enslaved them. White Christians saw God as a more spiritual savior, the reflection of God for blacks came in the struggle for freedom by blacks. The black theology ideas are old, nearly 400 years ago during the time of slavery African Americans sang spiritual hymns as their worked on the field of their masters, which can be seen as the birth of black liberation theology
The irony in Christianity lied within the justification of slavery. This justification was in the method of twisting the Bibles meaning. Such as in Ephesians, when the Lord tells us that Slaves are to be obedient to their masters, but also for the masters to not harm their servants; exemplifying that the action of Christians was taken out of context of the bible. As time pressed on in America, African Americans became more understanding to the religion of Christianity. In 1775, the Revolutionary war began, resolving the issue of liberty among the Colonists to British oppression.
The thought and idea of slavery led people to believe that such a cruel and devastating thing only happen in the South, but the North had its up’s and downs as well. Certain aspects of slavery are portrayed in the novel Narrative of Sojourner Truth. The great amount of loyalty that the slaves had toward their religion and how some masters lacked the respect and loyalty for their slaves was overwhelming. The suffering that the greatly affected families went through due to the unwilling split up from the ones they love such as your husband and children as they were sold to different masters. This novel refreshes the mind on the level of intensity these people were put through, morally, physically and emotionally.
He encouraged black men to find dignity in hard work and to disapprove the illegal world of gambling, drinking, prostitution and drugs. The nation of Islam was very appealing to young black men especially those who came from a world of crime. Another belief of Elijah Muhammad was separatism, he believed that the black people should have their own state and should protect themselves with force against the whites. This belief divided the black people; there were 3 main divisions, the nation of Islam, Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. Because of this division
Ralph Ellison's protagonist in "Battle Royal" and O’Connor’s protagonist in “Good Country People” are both victims of their own beliefs and prejudices, which can be also related to their innocence. This is definitely both characters’ biggest flaw. In “Battle Royal” the protagonist is not named but is believed to be a black child in the south when racism was still a problem. He is asked to give a speech at a white men’s meeting and beliefs himself to be a “potential Booker T. Washington”. He was not experienced and did not know better than to decline the invitation.