Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Post #6

Internalized racism has and always will be a disease that plague’s society until the very end of time. Growing up for Malcolm X was very rough due to his hair color and skin complexion. Being that he was the lightest out of his siblings, Malcolm X, received little to no beatings from his father, ironically it was his mother “who looked like a white woman” (Malcolm X p.2) who would reprimand him with whippings. Malcolm X believed that the ideology of “white being better than black” embedded in the mind by whites subconsciously affected his father’s way of viewing his brothers and sisters. Even his mother received harsh beatings from his dad because her level of education was much higher than his father’s. “I was among the millions of Negroes who were insane enough to feel that is was some kind of status symbol…” (Malcolm X p.3), it was this type of thinking or dogma that Malcolm X adapted when he was young which lead him to “frying “ or relaxing his hair like white folks and having sexual encounters with white women.
Malcolm X is conveying that this type of thinking is what’s eating away the core of black people. Whites for decades upon decades having been tricking the minds of blacks into thinking that white is right and black is wrong, feebleminded, and inferior. Internalized racism has in many ways contributed to self-hatred and hating amongst those in the same race. Even in today’s society many African-Americans are succumbing their natural beauty whether physically or mentally to achieve social and high status.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Blog #4

A picture is worth more than a thousand words, especially when it correlates to such a powerful movement like the Black Panther Party. In the past week or so, I've been brainstorming and searching for ideas as to what I want to base my research paper on, and I've decided to analyze a specific artwork done by Emory Douglas. Emory Douglas was a minister and graphic designer for the Black Panther Party. Known for his poignant artistry, Emory Douglas, used and manipulated art to capture the hearts and minds of African-Americans that struggled against discrimination and brutality. One the greatest images of his collection that stood out the most was the illustration of John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Both men were representing the United States in track and field, and each respectively won Gold and Bronze medals. During their acceptance, John and Tommie proceeded to raise their fists in black gloves while the Star Spangled Banner played, to showcase black power and unity. The depiction is everlasting in my opinion because demonstrates bravery and fortitude.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Post #3

Mississippi also known as “The Closed Society”, was a totalitarian state where African-Americans were being brutalized, arrested, and killed by racist white people. The state officials of Mississippi were so malevolent that they, enforced laws where African-Americans were deprived of voting privileges and furthermore, they made registration difficult by assessing tests knowing that African-Americans had lacked knowledge due to poor education. What these white politicians were doing was continuing white domination by creating a system where African-Americans were subjugated to a position of inferiority.
In the 1964 Malcolm X, delivered a speech at a Harlem rally about, delegates from the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party’s being denied seats at the Democratic National Convention. His speech was constituted from the continuing injustices and inequality acts being done by these white racists. Unlike any other activist, Malcolm X, thought that the only way of getting respect and being treated as first class citizens was to, adapt to the ways of the white racist man. The notion of non-violence and freedom songs were oblivious to Malcolm X because he believed that, whites were still running rampant and doing whatever they felt was necessary to keep African-Americans subjacent. In addition, Malcolm X made the correlation between Mississippi and Harlem because, he believed racism had no jurisdiction in the America, what was going on in Mississippi was also taking place in Harlem U.S.A.
It was clear to me that Malcolm X was talking and raising awareness within the African-American community. This was a man of fortitude and intelligence and never shied away from telling his brethrens about the malicious acts of white towards African-Americans. I believed his speeches were both significant and effective because, his ideologies which some may say militant and hectic, gave birth to the likes of Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, Stokley Carmichael just to name a few.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Post #2


    The first myth or misconception that came to my mind after reading the first chapter was the mistaken belief that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the sole entity to establish and lead the civil rights movements. I think it was very critical for Mr. Reed to delve into this misapprehension first because, throughout the years Dr. Martin Luther King’s name has become synonymous to the civil rights movements due to discrepancies within the educational systems and media outlets. It’s ashamed that prominent and heroic names and establishments such as Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Carmichael Stokely, Marcus Garvey, NAACP, and SNCC just to name a few, subtlety gets swept under a rug and thrown into oblivion. I believe the civil rights movement is just as important as WWI or WWII and ought to be taught in the same spectrum or realm. Not just Martin Luther King but many women and men gave their blood, sweat, and tears for a cause that helped shape society today, and it’s only right that these major figures get embedded in the minds of Americans.
    The second myth that caught my attention was role that women played during the civil rights movements. Along with the Dr. Martin Luther myth, I personally believe it is a disservice and a crime that women like Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Septima Clark didn’t get the recognition that they deserved. What Mr. Reed does in this chapter is compelling and phenomenal to show the readers the unfortunate scrutiny that both men and especially women went through as activist. Prior to reading this book I’ve learned about such names but never acquired the concrete knowledge about the momentousness role each individual played during the fight for equality and justice. These flaw claims that women never participated in the struggles just shows you how corrupt this nation really was.