The diversity between Americans has always been evident, and not just by the skin tone or religion, but also by their backgrounds, as well as how their lives are like today. Especially in African Americans and those who wanted to change the ways of religion, and the prejudice against them continues to stick, even today.
In the article ‘Black People in a White People’s Country’ by Gary Nash, he explains how slavery gave Africans a low role in America’s society, and how because slavery was allowed in the New World, they were “Socially and legally defined as less than people...”. It wasn’t just the fact that they were enslaved that made people treat them horribly, but also where they came from. In the eyes of a European, Africans were very different,
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The revivalists were created to go against the changes of the Great Awakening, and one of the biggest leaders was James Davenport. According to Gary Nash in his article ‘The Transformation of European Society’, “Crowds followed Davenport through the towns, singing and clapping so that “They look’d more like a Company of Bacchanalians after a mad Frolick, than sober Christians who had been worshipping God.” as one distressed Boston newspaper complained.” But of course the Great Awakening couldn’t have had the effect it did without the group of ‘rogues and vagabonds’ that came to the New World with the white indentured servants. They had a rage built inside them, and were easily susceptible to new ideas and rebellions. One of the things that fired them up was social equality. For decades Europe had always had one superior ruler that rose above all the classes, but America wanted to change that. They wanted social equality, for one class to not rule over another, for everyone to work and live together as a community with everyone treated the same regardless of their social status. This was promoted by the Great Awakening, making that one of the main reasons the Great Awakening was so popular and had such a great …show more content…
The convicts may have played a big role in the attempts to make the changes the Great Awakening wanted happen, but some of them were unbearable to live with. They still committed petty thefts, and sometimes even got away with murder. All of the crime that occurred in the New World lead to an outbreak, and the government enforced a new law, that all crimes were now a felony, and would lead to the death sentence. The only way too get out of being hanged was to either receive a royal pardon, which was rare to happen, or prove you were worth keeping alive by reading a simple passage from a book, such as the Bible. If the criminal could read it they would be branded on the thumb, and released. Of course this didn’t satisfy many, because a thief of a small amount of coin could be hung while a mass murderer could walk out free, just because he was literate. But of course a majority of the convicts were put into the indenture system, if they made it to the New World alive. The trip there wasn’t only bad for the Africans, it was also unlikely many would survive the voyage to the New World for whites as well. In the article ‘From These Beginnings’ by Page Smith, he tells how a German immigrant described the trip with the indentures. “Under such circumstances, what little civility there might have been collapsed completely.”, According to this German immigrant, there were constant arguments, bad food, malice amongst each other,
In America, the lives of Africans did not get any easier. Once the demand for labor began increasing dramatically, more and more Africans were imported to America. Originally, white people and black people worked together in the plantations. As a result of the increase in Africans in these British colonies, less white people took jobs on plantations. Eventually, enslavement became based on race. Numerous slave codes were developed, which included denying slaves the right to be out past sunset and denying slaves the right to meet in groups of three or more. These Africans forced to live enslaved in America were treated as if they were inferior to white people. It is discouraging to think about the fact that this country, though it was long ago, once accepted this kind of social injustice.
Winthrop D. Jordan author of White Over Black: American Attitudes Toward the Negro 1550-1812, expresses two main arguments in explaining why Slavery became an institution. He also focuses attention on the initial discovery of Africans by English. How theories on why Africans had darker complexions and on the peculiarly savage behavior they exhibited. Through out the first two chapters Jordan supports his opinions, with both facts and assumptions. Jordan goes to great length in explaining how the English and early colonialist over centuries stripped the humanity from a people in order to enslave them and justify their actions in doing so. His focus is
Just walk on by Black Men and Public Space by Brent Staples is an interesting and captivating piece of writing. His publication captures one 's interest and makes a person think about the role of prejudice in his or her daily interactions. It is full of metaphors, which achieves the desired figurative effect. The Declaration of Independence, on the other hand, is the founding document of the traditions of the politics of the United States (Lucas). It clearly explains the fundamental ideas that constitute America that all men are free and equal, and have similar inherent natural rights. There are several ways that the writer’s experiences and arguments are consistent and are at the same time inconsistent with the principles contained in the document. It follows that a deeper understanding of whether the idea laid out in Thomas Jefferson 's "Declaration of Independence" should be hold true for these authors.
In Europeans’ eyes, Africans were an example of the “other”, a collection of people whom they did not
The poem “No Country for Black Boys” by Joy Priest represents the sorrowful incident which happened on February 26, 2012 for Trayvon Martin in Florida. Trayvon Martin was an innocent African-American young boy who bought iced tea and some skittles. On the way back to his father’s home, he got shot by the neighborhood watch and treated as a victim because of his skin color. Guilt was not defined by what Martin did but by what he said, also it determined something deep-rooted in the young age. No weapon was needed to identify him as a victim. He is a young black boy, so he is already guilty enough to be killed. Black people have the same rights as the other people, however in reality, America’s society discriminates against them compared to other nationalities.
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander tries to advance intellectual dialogue regarding mass incarceration in the United States. Alexander does this by carrying out a historical analysis of the process in which the correctional system controls African Americans through intentionally selected, and systematically sanctioned legal limits. In fact, the United States incarceration rate is not at peak by coincidence. Moreover, it is not coincidental that Black men and women make up the majority of this number. According to Alexander, this problem is a consequence of the “New Jim Crow” rules, which use racial stratification to eliminate black individuals in the legal sense. Black people and a small number of the Hispanic community face racial stratified laws when they face the justice system. This paper will support the claims that race is a major factor in the incarceration of black men in the United States, which includes the Jim Crow system, the slave system and the drag war. This process will also involve analyzing of some of the arguments presented within the book.
What are some ways that we welcome back ex cons into society if we do at all? What help determined our attitude towards these incrassated victims whether they are guilty or not? These are questions and situations that sociologist take time to research in society. This is mainly done because it affects society in some sort of way and it’s their job to find out why things happen and how can we help better the problems. Most offenders are from a lower income society or belong to an oppress group. The victims of coarse are the people who the harm is being done to, which by law there are consequences for their action. The problem, that leave one thinking is the kind of crimes people committed, or some may not commit any at all, probably just at the wrong place at the wrong time and they still happen to receive harsh penalty, being stigmatize as a criminal on record causing them to struggle in society.
During the Civil Rights Era, many black power movements strived to prevent the New Jim Crow from happening. The black man was being oppressed during segregation and treated like animals. The white supremacy, only visualize African Americans as slaves, people who should not be a part of the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X drove men and women to fight for his or her rights. However, that was not enough to stop the white supremacy from oppressing African Americans. The Civil Rights movement did put an end to public segregation. It did not put not put an end to the laws being made by the government, which is dominated by the white race. In the book, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander discussed how the Civil Rights and black power movements helped African Americans gain their equal rights, but did not help to gain political power. Mass Incarceration is where the African Americans’ lives end because of the social structure created by the government. Blacks are mostly in the lower class because after the Great Depression, Roosevelt only created laws for whites. This allowed the white community to build and move out the cities into better neighborhoods. Leaving the black community behind. The government placed businesses and built big buildings to keep all the blacks in one place. Base on how the black community was viewed as a race and social status, gives this race a higher chance of being behind bars.
The book, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander is about the mass incarceration of African Americans in the criminal justice system. It depicts individuals who were arrested on drug crimes. Because these individuals are labeled as criminals, it becomes difficult for them to find work, housing, and public assistance. (Alexander, 2010) The themes in this book include denial and ignorance, racism and violence, and drugs.
White privilege is the societal privileges that specifically benefit white people. White privilege is why white people can get pulled over by the police and escape a ticket with just a smile and apology. White privilege is also why whites are in charge of a company and they see a black person, they bypass the application. Whites carry a certain privilege not available to people of color. Marilyn Frye describes how whiteness is a form social and political power.
I’m white, Irish Catholic to be precise. I’ve spent my life around white people, been raised in white schools, and lived in Valencia, a rather white town. And through my experience with this particular class of folks, I’ve realized something fundamental: many of us don’t know what we're talking about in regard to race.
bell hooks, renowned black feminist and cultural critic criticizes the lack of racial awareness in her essay, Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination (1992). ‘bell hooks’ is written in lower case to convey that the substance of her work reigns more important than the writer. From a marginalized perspective, hooks argues that sites of dominance, not otherness is problematic and critiques the lack of attention that white scholars pay to the representation of whiteness in the black imagination. Critical feminist scholars Peggy McIntosh and Ruth Frankenberg identify their own whiteness as a dominant discourse, but share a critical departure from hooks with the notion of whiteness as terror. hooks aim is not to reverse racism, but discuss her position to authentically inform readers about how she experiences racism. Furthermore, systems of oppression are manufactured by human thought and thus the site of the Other is always produced as a site of difference. Gender, race, sex, class, disability, and geography are situated differently in social structure, but dominant groups assume they share the same reality though they cannot experience it. In consequence, the Other cannot hold a singularized identity of their own and the binary structure succeeds in containing racialized bodies in place. What happens to those bodies when they cross boundaries of the binary? hooks recounts being routinely disciplined back into place when crossing the border; however, dominant white
This world is filled with many troubles including racism. Society often depicts whites as superior to blacks. However, this is not precise, because every race has both good and bad within it. The world is trying to break away from racism to become a better place for everyone around the world. Racism is not only about the color of one’s skin, it can impact individuals around the world due to their race or religion. The title of this novel is “Black and White” by Paul Volponi. In this coming of age story, two friends, Marcus Brown and Eddie Russo, who are black and white (respectively), are senior basketball stars at their high school. Marcus lives in community housing which is fraught with crime with a single mother. On the other hand, Eddie lives in a private house nearby where Marcus lives. Both Marcus and Eddie are in financial hardships and need to find easy money to cover their school and basketball fees. The two agree to start pulling robberies when they unintentionally shoot a black man. They are left in anxiety trying to avoid getting caught while trying to lead a normal life after the incident. They both end up going through the justice system, and Marcus must serve jail time while Eddie gets to go free. While all of this transpires, Marcus and Eddie manage to keep their friendship strong and overcome any barriers together. Any true friendship can overcome racial stereotypes put in place by society including the racial barrier between Blacks and Whites. The novel
Throughout history, African Americans both free and enslaved were not treated equally nor permitted with the same rights as white men. African Americans were enslaved and not allowed to vote or hold public office. Since the 15th century, African Americans have been treated less than human, some even experienced brutal punished for justifiable mistakes. The use of African American slave labor was an enormous contribution to agriculture and labor. It became a part of southern state’s economy within America. Additionally, African Americans were forced or born into slavery where they endured harsh working conditions with zero pay and often times were punished by their masters. Even slaves that became emancipated or paid for their freedom were also treated differently than whites. Notably, blacks did not have the same privileges as whites and were forced to carry a “freedom card” wherever they went. Failing to do so would lead to severe consequences, such as being forced back into slavery. Once African Americans were considered free, they faced additional discriminations such as not being able to vote or serve as a figure in public office. Due to this and additional factors, African Americans were almost entirely incapable of defending themselves against whites. Since the start of the 17th century, African Americans, free and enslaved were punished for their skin color and were considered the lowest scale by not being allowed to the same opportunities and rights and white men.
The Colonies in the Americas each had different types and forums of slavery, different European powers treated slaves with a degree of respect or very little, such as the United States/British colonies. Various historical accounts from the 16th century illustrate how Africans and those of mixed races went through different process to combat stereotypes. Africans’ and those of mixed descent combatted stereotypes through honor; this was typically done through legal channels and the court system. This was done through the right to carry arms, govern or rule in African communities and gain freedom from slavery through legal systems.