HIST 1480
Reading Journals
Mon 8/29 Gaines’s thesis is to discuss the Civil Rights Movement through a global lens. My first impression was that Gaines would imply that the movement was much more influential than we thought. Although he develops connections between independence movements in Africa to the Civil Rights Movement, he highlights that the movement is part of a larger black freedom struggle. Gaines explains how the movement was impacted by the Cold War. America’s reluctance was a red flag for newly independent nations to ally with the US against the USSR. This reading was quite interesting because it made me think about how the ideology and the direction of the Civil Rights Movement were influenced by global events. …show more content…
Robert Browne faced continuous discrimination in the US and this was a driving force to move elsewhere. Browne recognized that because of the color of his skin, he was hired by the US Foreign Service. Browne noticed a “racial brotherliness” during his travels in Asia. Browne extensively travelled to Asia and would develop a bridge between American and Asian politics. As the US decided to fight in Vietnam, Browne became a voice in opposing the war. As a great public speaker, he would often connect to his own experiences in Indochina, making him a rather “powerful antiwar …show more content…
Canadians had always displaced discrimination as an American problem and failed to recognize that race was a pertinent issue at home. Austin’s purpose is to show how Caribbeans and Afro-Canadians were significant in exposing racial discrimination in Canada. Austin views the Montreal Congress favorably stating that intellectuals were able to come together and successfully take the “fog out of the room.” Leaders like Kwame Ture argued that blacks had to be autonomous and that revolutionary violence was the means to do it. The Black Power movement, although originated in the U.S, was prevalent in Canada and empowered minorities to speak out against oppression in other parts of the