Reflection On African American History

African American Studies is a very complex subject. To confuse African American studies with black history is a common occurrence. African American studies is much deeper and more profound than just Black history alone. There are many unanswered and unasked questions among the Black American culture which causes confusion and misunderstanding in modern day society. In unit one there were many themes, concepts, and significant issues in the discipline of Africana studies. Both W.E.B Du Bois and Vivian V. Gordan touched on many concerns.

During my early years of school, I remember being taught white accomplishments and wondering if blacks and other people of color had made any significant contributions to today's world. I noticed that television consist of all white people. Throughout my research paper I hope to cover certain aspects of African American heritage. Aspects such as blacks making up the largest minority group in the United States, although Mexican-Americans are rapidly changing that. The contributions blacks have provided to our country are immeasurable. Unfortunately though rather than recognizing these contributions, white America would rather focus on oppressing and degrading these people. As a consequence American

Slavery began in the late 16th century to early 18th century. Africans were brought to American colonies by white masters to come and work on their plantations in the South. They were treated harshly with no payments for all their hard work. In addition, they lived under harsh living conditions, and this led to their resistance against these harsh conditions. The racism towards the African Americans who were slaves was at its extreme as they did not have any rights; no civil nor political rights.

The service learning project was created for the students to interact with individuals from a culture different than our own. The exposure to an individual from a different cluture promotes cultural awareness and sensitivity. Cultural awareness enables an individual to acknowledlge differences among people and also to show respect for practices and traditions that one is unfamiliar. In short, cultural awareness assists in teaching the individual to think broadly and not be narrow minded. Healthcare providers often interact with individuals from varied ethnicities, religions and cultures. In order to effectively practice the Hippocratic oath, healthcare providers should have the skill to treat patients using a world view perspective.

Scholars have dedicated their time and attention to furthering the discipline of African American Studies and can define the field with many different definitions. Through looking at the origins and development in the study we can see how it became a legitimate academic field. As we study the writings of the African American intellect, it will fully explain the importance of the discipline. Their work will justify the study of cultural and historical experiences of Africans living in Africa or the African Diaspora. When examining the scholar’s arguments we can develop our own intellectually informed rationalization of the field of African American Studies.

While the world continues to sway between left and right – the message and humanity gets lost in politics. The world needs a change of consciousness from the current status quo of white privilege and continuation of colonisation to a more measured return to morals and value systems based on decency and protecting the vulnerable. The height of white privilege is being able to ignore president trump’s white supremacy, because it is of no threat to white people, but it is a threat to many other Americans.

When he actually did his own assignments, my subject was disturbed by how little African American history was taught, how much the African culture was ignored. “We spent half a semster on World War I and never talked about the black military units! I learned about the black efforts through my parents!”

My brother is a white man, my father is a white man and my father’s father is a white man. Myself and this country were both created by white men. This project is to explore the current and historic white male supremacy in the United States of America and how it has directly and indirectly affected myself and the fellow people of this country who do not identify as white men. In US history, white men are the most visibly represented, however through their process of creating a nation they have destroyed many things along the way. White male supremacy has become normalized and invisible to the average American through actions, like educating young children on Christopher Columbus as a hero instead of the murder he really was.

African-American studies has been set in place to broaden an individual 's knowledge based on the history, literature, politics, and the lifestyle of Black Americans. Course 271 has helped me realize what African-American Studies is as an interdisciplinary field. It is not just a discipline, it is so much more. African-American studies is a way to learn about individuals outside Black History Month. African-American studies provides a way to deepen an individual’s understanding from the diaspora. It also teaches the history of my people in a way that I never learned in secondary school. It reinforces the importance to immerse myself into my history and culture. In my opinion, African-American Studies leads to mental liberation and a

Reflection Precis 4, White Privilege (04/01/18- 04/08/18) Part I: Our country was founded as a racist society. From slavery to racial segregation people of color have faced many disadvantages and setbacks in the struggle for equality. When as a country we spent hundreds of years believing that the white race was superior, it’s not easy to let go of all the racist intolerances that have been imbedded into our culture. The remnants of our racists society have created systematic racism which is not as obvious as what racism once was and it often overlooked; especially by newer generations.

It was soon my group’s turn to perform on stage. The Black History assembly was upon us and we within my group we were tasked with black history Past. Present. Future. Some of my group members were assigned Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Barack Obama among others. When Harriet went I smiled, when Diddy went I laughed, when Oprah went I seized. See I was tasked with Alvin Ailey; World famous dancer and one of the first black males to do it on a professional level. I didn’t know not a thing about ballet so I immediately thought of the impossible. I only knew how to dance hip-hop, so I researched him and found out the dance style he created and analyzed it. His dance style was fluid yet robust, as if he was a gust of pure everlasting

Introduction to African American Studies was the class that I decided to take this summer because I am genuinely interested in learning more about the cultures and lifestyles of African Americans through out history and I want to further my knowledge beyond just learning about what was taught to me in secondary school. I do not know much about African American studies as I have not taken any courses on it or relating to it in the past but I hope that I can gain a lot of information on the topic through out this intellectual experience. I also hope to gain a better understanding of the history of Africans and African Americas and be able to dive deeper into this topic instead of just hitting the surface as I feel as though my previous experiences with this topic have covered. In just this first weeks lesson I have learned about the three great principles that characterize the “Black Intellectual Tradition” and how these three principles are used and perceived.

The history of African-Americans has been a paradox of incredible triumph in the face of tremendous human tragedy. African-American persons were shown much discrimination and were treated as second class citizens in the colonies during the development of the nation. The first set men, women, and children to work in the colonies were indentured servants, meaning they were only required to work for a set amount of years before they received their freedom. Then, in 1619 the first black Africans came to Virginia. With no slave laws in place, they were initially treated as indentured servants, a source of free labor, and given the same opportunities for freedom dues as whites. However, slave laws were soon passed – in Massachusetts in

As has been presented above, many definitions and terms applicable to the purpose of this thesis are directly connected with the history of African Americans. For that reason, New Historicism as a literary approach will be discussed. New Historicism is a theory which developed from the New Criticism. New Historicists state that contemporary problems should be interpreted in their historical context because setting events in their historical perspective helps to grasp their meaning (Lennox, 1992: 160). Apart from that, New Historicists emphasize the role of cultural ancestry which, according to them, should be passed on to coming generations.

Carter Woodson once said, "We should emphasize not Negro history, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice." The speech delivered by our former President, Barack Obama, at the opening ceremony of the African American Museum clarifies why African American history is incorporated into the American story. It emphasizes that there really is not an American story without mentioning all the challenges and experiences African Americans have faced. The focal point of this speech is that African American history is an essential part of our country’s story and it is time that we acknowledge it. By using allusion, polysyndeton, and epistrophe, Barack Obama connects the past with the present to provide a glimpse of the American Story that inspires and encourage Americans to look deep into the history of our country without neglecting African Americans.