Amazing Grace By William Wilberforce

The book Black Hearts is written by Jim Frederick and tells the story of all the controversial accounts one infantry unit ran into while on deployment in Baghdad, Iraq. The book is a documentation, captured accounts and events written down to tell the crazy story these soldiers went through. The specific unit Frederick writes about and what Black Hearts is about is 2nd brigade of the 101st airborne infantry division. “Black Hearts” was the unofficial insignia of 2nd brigade. Frederick covers one platoon in particularly and their ethical dilemmas they encounter while on deployment. 1st platoon, Bravo Company, 1-502nd Regiment is the unit the book covers. Many things on deployment unfold poorly for this platoon such as having little

The Harlem Renaissance was a very influential event in history and works that inspire people even today. Two works that support my claim are “Hope” and “His Motto” by Georgia Douglas Johnson and Lottie Burrel Dixon, these works represent never losing hope and not forgetting a purpose. In the poem “Hope” by Georgia Douglas Johnson, it relays not giving up hope during hard times. The short story “His Motto” by Lottie Burrel Dixon, this short story shows not forgetting a purpose when you are doubted and looked down on. The Harlem Renaissance and the writings during it were a very big turning point in black history.

In Tony Morrison’s “Song of Solomon” it explores the discovery of ethnic identities. It depicts the life of Macon Milkman Dead, a withdrawn loner who doesn’t feel accepted by others and is disconnected with his family and heritage. With help from others in his community Milkman takes a trip to discover himself and his roots bringing him closer to the true meaning of his purpose. Milkman in turn realizes that flight represents liberation from a life of restrictions, set in an era of racism and separation. Flight may seem as a positive solution to such a life of problems and discrimination, however, holds very negative aspects in family settings. Abandoning your own and severing those mutual bonds plays a significant role in the life of the loved ones left behind. Most are left recovering from their loss, or completely lose hope such as Hagar. Solomon leaving his wife Ryna and children behind was necessary sacrifice he had to make in order to be free. Solomon is never punished or looked down for his decision; in his song it acknowledges his accomplishment as a great achievement. In “Song of Solomon”, the ability of flight symbolizes the escape from oppression while searching for freedom.

At first glance and after reading through Amazing Grace, it seems that Jonathan Kozol is going to take us on a journey through the lives of the underprivileged, but similar to the ones you read about, or hear in the news. However, this is not the case; the real underlying theme seems to be how the life and society they live in is very alike to a life in a prison, not because it talks explicitly about prison conditions in this area, but also because their lives are portrayed as being a prison. Kozol uses the views of children and adults throughout this book to emphasize this theme through their living conditions and personal lives, background and struggles.

In New England, slavery was looked at as something that wasn’t necessary and was viewed as wrong by some. For example, in John Winthrop’s diary he recorded that an African American maid was recognized for her, “sound knowledge and true godliness,” and was accepted into the church and baptized. By recognizing the maid as godly, this represents that the New England society didn’t view African Americans different from whites when it came to church matters. Although some viewed slavery as wrong, it was not completely absent from the New England Colonies. New England, as well as the South, needed slaves for certain tasks to be completed, such as some farms where slave labor was needed in order for the farm to succeed or just to fulfill house chores that the homeowner couldn’t do, or didn’t have time to complete . In New England, unlike the South, there were many free blacks which was a title given to African Americans that had been given the right of a sense of freedom, without getting all of the rights that the white Americans had

Several years ago, Amy Chua’s book: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother has triggered a lively debate about the strict parenting style. In the book, it is mentioned that Chua sets rules and restrictions, such as no sleepovers, practising music instruments every day, etc. As a result, her daughters achieve excellent grades in schools (Goodin ¶2-3). Chua’s parenting style is categorized as authoritarian. In Hong Kong, Chua’s style is popular. Parents put a lot of pressure on their children. Starting from primary level, children are asked to attend extra tutorials. From the parents’ eyes, “Practice makes perfect”. Hence, children will become more competitive. However, westerners oppose her methods. Some believe that giving no freedom to children is not conducive to one’s academic performance.

Activism, culture and value have always had a tremendous influence in society. When it comes to the Appalachian region of the United States, people tend to see our culture and values differently. The individuals of the Appalachian region have been stereotyped for far too long, people forget that West Virginia has played a huge role in building this country. Our coal miners have put their lives in danger time and time again, some losing them, for worker’s rights. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor rebellion in the history of the United States. This was the foundation of the movement for eight hour work days and minimum wages. The novel Storming Heaven by Denise Giardina is a fictionalized tale of the conflict that took place in these coal fields of West Virginia. The novel brings to light the stereotypes, race and religion of the Appalachian people.

Puritans and reformers of seventeenth century England have been given a bad name for their part in history. This is primarily because they were working against the grain and trying to create change in world that saw change as a threat. The time period was turbulent and there was bound to be resistance in a world that was dominated by Catholics and those that had reformed to abide by their King’s law. The puritans of the time were considered extreme and rubbed people the wrong way because they wanted a world that abided by their morals and ethical codes. For this, they took the blame for the misery that many suffered during this age, but as we see in Fire from Heaven, this is not a fair assessment. The Puritans of this time wanted to improve the lives of the people and society as a whole through morality and purity.

Slavery has been a continuous altercation in abolishing it or keeping it. William Lloyed Garrison preached about abolition of slavery stating that slavery does not define Christians. Slaves have the right to have the same exact rights and freedom as a normal white American. As slavery was still going on, William questions what Christianity has done for our slave population. In a religious point of view, slavery is a national sin that must be removed. William compares how slavery would be for a white person versus an African American and states, “The argument that these white slaves are degraded would not then obtain. You would say: It is enough that they are white and in bondage, and they ought immediately to be set free.” (William Garrison) William sets a growing sense of social responsibilities by trying to get America to look at slavery in the eyes of a Christian. The American society today has drastically changed into everyone

Many people believe that Christians played a great role in abolishing slavery. However, Douglass’ ideas about religion and its connection to slavery shine a light on the dark side of Christianity. Douglass’ account of his own life is a very eloquent first hand retelling of the suffering and cruelty that many slaves were going through. His account gives a detail of the ills that were committed against the slaves. The atrocities committed by the various different masters varied in intensity depending on the masters’ individual personality (Glancy 42). This first hand narrative gives us a glimpse in to the connection between religion (Christianity) and slavery.

The poem “Between the World and Me” by Richard Wright reanimates the horrible scene of a racial lynching and forces the reader to endure the victim's pain through the first person’s narrative voice. The poem contains structured lines and visual division into three stanzas. Moreover, there is one more type of division in the poem. The author uses an ellipsis four times throughout the poem. This punctuation mark frames the poem into the timeline, where the historical past of the African American poet becomes the present experience of any human, despite the race. The climax of the poem is presented in the middle of stanza two. The animated moment, which starts from the sentence “the ground gripped my feet”, dramatically shifts the

Aging with Grace by David Snowdon does a fantastic job at addressing different issues that older adults face when it comes to cognitive function. However, Snowdon does not limit this book to just that. He conducted a research project where he interacted with the older generation of nuns. Originally, he treated them as just test subjects in his study of Alzheimer’s disease. As his research progressed, he soon realized that he could not just treat the nuns like lab rats. One of the younger nuns approached him and said

The violence slaves endured was the most vivid representation in Douglass’ portrayal of slavery in the South. No emotion or rage was held back by slaveholders and no pity or sympathy was put forth either. Cruelty and abuse were the only means of control the slaveholders believed would keep order. The pain inflicted upon these individuals, even to the point of death in some cases, fueled the typical master’s obsession with domination and power. However, throughout Douglass’s turmoil, his religious faith remained exceptionally strong. At times he found himself questioning how might his God allow him to endure such grueling circumstances, but he never let his curiosity hinder his faith. He also questioned how a man could call himself a Christian and yet treat another human being in such a humane manner. Douglass could never comprehend how the slaveholders were able to justify slavery through their faith and church as some of his “owners” did.

The book’s first chapter, “The Meaning of Slave Religion”, explores how the conversion of African slaves in the British colonies of North America to Christianity became an

Amazing Grace is not a good movie, it is a great movie. Films on History can be lengthy and tedious, but that sure is not the case in this fascinating movie about the famous abolitionist William Wilberforce, who was responsible for steering anti-slave trade legislation through the British parliament. Contrary to what its title suggests, “Amazing Grace” isn’t really about the inauguration of the Christian hymn. Set in the 18th century England, it focuses on William’s political career to abolish the slave trade by arguing against it on the floor of the House of Commons, which placed him at odds with some of the most powerful men of the time. William is a motivated man with one purpose; endeavoring to terminate slavery in the empire.