During the late 1900’s, an individual’s DNA and their character as a whole, was used interchangeably. Races were thought to have different blood, with White’s blood being superior to African American’s “dirty” blood. Blood, literally, signed a person’s name, along with who they were altogether. White supremacy dictated society’s minds, even if they tried to resist it. Meanwhile, African Americans gradually began to take a stand and fight for the equal treatment they deserved. While the Civil Rights Act clearly states that discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin is forbidden, the conclusion that racial discrimination indeed carried on long after slavery was outlawed, can stand proven by testaments, interviews,
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As the Ku Klux Klan revivals grew and white southerner’s pushed segregation, Father Tyson’s commitment to civil rights flourished. Reasoning behind preacher Tyson’s beliefs originated from his experiences in college, reading southern literature, and his own family heritage. Father Tyson made a point to take his sons to a Ku Klux Klan revival ceremony, and not because he wished for them to participate. Tyson believed that watching the ceremony, with people who seemed ordinary in their everyday lives, burning a cross, would teach his sons what hate looked like. Preacher Tyson was a highly respected preacher in the community that the Tyson family lived in. However, once he invited Mr. Proctor, an African American preacher to their church one Sunday, an outbreak of rage arose. The Tyson family received threatening calls at dinner and a meeting was called; at this meeting something remarkable happened. A woman at the church named Ms. Amy told a story of an African American saving a young white boy, and his father questioning why the man touched his son’s mouth afterwards, versus thanking him. The story Ms. Amy told changed the perspective of almost the entire church that night. Needless to say, the board voted 25 to 14 to stand with Vernon and welcome Dr. Proctor. “I don’t know what you are doing, but you must be serving liquor up there at the church …show more content…
People choose to believe that non-violence regarding NAACP and non-violent protests, in general, dictated the era. However, buildings were burned down, lynching ceremonies were held, black power groups struck, and the Ku Klux Klan even had members who were town police officials. Tyson says that the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 was “probably the most important political event in the history of the state” and that it’s “omission from North Carolina history may have been the biggest of the lies that marked my boyhood” (Blood Done Sign my Name, 2005, p. 271). Double-sided stories arise constantly regarding this era of time, with white southerners claiming they had treated their slaves like family, while black’s argued that they had to go as far as cutting their own arm off in order to not be sold and separated from their families. In fact, when Tyson revisited Oxford to interview townspeople, they attempted to hide the truth of the past and they told him that he could not write about “that” (Blood Done Sign my Name, 2005, p. 298). White Supremacy dictated the late 1900’s, even though some southerners attempted to help African Americans; while still believing that whites were superior, such as Tyson’s grandparents. The history of civil rights may seem unclear due to bias behind stories of slavery and minority’s treatment. Yet,
As the Ku Klux Klan revivals grew and white southerner’s pushed segregation, Father Tyson’s commitment to civil rights flourished. Reasoning behind preacher Tyson’s beliefs originated from his experiences in college, reading southern literature, and his own family heritage. Father Tyson made a point to take his sons to a Ku Klux Klan revival ceremony, and not because he wished for them to participate. Tyson believed that watching the ceremony, with people who seemed ordinary in their everyday lives, burning a cross, would teach his sons what hate looked like. Preacher Tyson was a highly respected preacher in the community that the Tyson family lived in. However, once he invited Mr. Proctor, an African American preacher to their church one Sunday, an outbreak of rage arose. The Tyson family received threatening calls at dinner and a meeting was called; at this meeting something remarkable happened. A woman at the church named Ms. Amy told a story of an African American saving a young white boy, and his father questioning why the man touched his son’s mouth afterwards, versus thanking him. The story Ms. Amy told changed the perspective of almost the entire church that night. Needless to say, the board voted 25 to 14 to stand with Vernon and welcome Dr. Proctor. “I don’t know what you are doing, but you must be serving liquor up there at the church …show more content…
People choose to believe that non-violence regarding NAACP and non-violent protests, in general, dictated the era. However, buildings were burned down, lynching ceremonies were held, black power groups struck, and the Ku Klux Klan even had members who were town police officials. Tyson says that the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 was “probably the most important political event in the history of the state” and that it’s “omission from North Carolina history may have been the biggest of the lies that marked my boyhood” (Blood Done Sign my Name, 2005, p. 271). Double-sided stories arise constantly regarding this era of time, with white southerners claiming they had treated their slaves like family, while black’s argued that they had to go as far as cutting their own arm off in order to not be sold and separated from their families. In fact, when Tyson revisited Oxford to interview townspeople, they attempted to hide the truth of the past and they told him that he could not write about “that” (Blood Done Sign my Name, 2005, p. 298). White Supremacy dictated the late 1900’s, even though some southerners attempted to help African Americans; while still believing that whites were superior, such as Tyson’s grandparents. The history of civil rights may seem unclear due to bias behind stories of slavery and minority’s treatment. Yet,