The Unescapable Stereotype: A Summary Erich Nunn’s essay “Screening the Twenty-First-Century South” stresses issues in the South in the Twenty-First-Century. He focuses on how commodified “well worn,” as nunn states, stereotyped versions of Southern residents are glorified and laughed at throughout media. The media portrays the South as such to cover up the actual issues the South is facing. He digs deep into popular TV shows that do so, such as Duck Dynasty, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, and True Detective.…
The article The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates stresses the idea that reparations for historical African American discrimination should not be pay in money, but through acknowledgement by the American people. Coates begins his article with four subtitles stating the total years of slavery, Jim Crow laws, “separate but equal” era, and racist housing policy and finishes with a hook declaring, “Until we reckon with our compounding debts, America will never be whole.” He concedes that the US will never be a united nation until its people accept all parts of its history. He then opens up his essay with Clyde Ross’ life story and his helping hand in forming the Contract Buyers League, which filed a public case for reparations against Chicago…
Throughout the sixth chapter of The American Political Tradition, Richard Hoftstader the author, refers to Wendell Phillips’ role in history as an agitator. For Wendell Phillips the role of an agitator was a profession, very different from that of a politician, throughout his course he could never be satisfied to the fullest. Hoftstader believes that Phillips’ role as an agitator “was not to make laws or determine policy, but to influence the public mind in the interest of same large social transformation” (Richard Hoftstader). However Richard Hoftstader contrasts the role of an agitator with the role of a politician. Wendell Phillips was much like William Lloyd Garrison.…
Dog Whistle Politics is one of most well written books which have effectively managed to bring out the theme of racism by giving a detailed analysis of the subject. This book was written by Haney-López, Ian. Haney-López is one of the distinguished writers of his time who also happens to be Law professor at the University of California. In most of his publications, he has certainly been able to explain the link between wealth inequality in the American society and racial divisions that exist in the country. He has also managed to explain how the conservative politicians have managed to rely on this racial pandering to convince many voters to vote for them.…
The people of American in the 1800’s faced a new breed of celebrity. The upper class fiercely fought against this change, claiming it degraded the culture. The arguments they used to discount Sam Patch’s place in society is peppered with attacks on his intellect and morals. Some of the discourse around Sam Patch and his performances or leaps was in part the fact that Sam was uneducated.…
During the 1950’s the idea of “separate but equal” continued to be a prominent ideology in the United States, particularly in the Southern states. It was not until after World War II and the Cold War that international concerns provoked Americans to rethink about the domestic issues about human rights within the country. The United States had became the leader in preventing the spread of communism to parts of the world, but refused to realize that segregation and the denial of human rights made the United States existed. The United States was in a way hyprocrite to the causes it was fighting for. In Robert F. Williams’ book, Negroes with Guns, he addresses the international concerns that influenced the strategies pursued by Williams and other civil rights activists.…
The United States of America was a nation built upon the notion of freedom and equal opportunity- in which all peoples have impartial opportunities and rights. However, these principles did not always have their right of way. From the first ship of enslaved African Americans to arrive in the early seventeenth century to modern times, discrimination and racial segregation has always been an issue. In both “Sympathy”-- a poem about a caged bird’s fight for freedom after being liberated from slavery-- by Paul Laurence Dunbar and A Voice That Challenged a Nation --a biography which spoke about Marian’s struggle for equal rights after she had experienced the harshness of the South --by Russell Freedman, the two parties faced the challenges of…
“The paradox— and a fearful paradox it is— is that the American Negro can have no future anywhere, on any continent, as long as he is unwilling to accept his past. To accept one’s past— one’s history— is not the same thing as drowning in it; it is learning how to use it.” (81) This passage is taken from the second part of James Baldwin’s book, The Fire Next Time, in which Baldwin states his personal opinion on racism and the hardships of blacks. A sentence before this passage he is says that Negroes have only been formed by the United States and not Africa or the religion of Islam.…
In 1928, Andrew Jackson was ironically granted the honor of becoming immortalized on the twenty dollar bill. He has become an important part of America’s history. Most of the younger generations automatically assume Andrew Jackson was a decent, honorable man. However, growing up around violence and death, Andrew Jackson grew to be unpredictable. “Here was an apparently unbalanced, excitable, insecure, and defensive boy coming of age in a culture of confrontation and violence.…
Frederick Douglass once said, “where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” We spend most of our lives reading or watching all the unfortunate things happening around us. We are so quick to judge and believe everything we hear or see. Life was the same back in the1960’s. People were more gullible and that’s because they believed what the wealthy or more influential people had to say.…
Values of early colonists didn’t approve of recreational or pleasurable events. For example, in early New England, recreational activities as well as sports were banned. One puritan principle that explains the banning was that they didn’t have time to partake in these activities due to their continued growth of improving their morals through spiritual espionage. Furthermore, Learning and working were placed in much higher regard than anything involving pleasure. There was no time in early Pennsylvania for such recreational activities.…
Larry Watson’s Montana 1948 and Reginald Rose’s Twelve Angry Men both view society in a negative light that is full of prejudice and injustice. By placing both of these texts in a pessimistic view, readers are able to see that all humans are flawed. Both authors are able show that character’s varied ideologies, mistakes, and traits are a part of human nature. Watson displays these ideas through Wes and Julian whilst Rose mainly shows this through Jurors 3 and 10. Equally, Watson and Rose showcase in these texts that prejudice and injustice are prevalent and damaging to society.…
The 1920’s were a turning point in American society, the time that ignited consumer culture, partying, and optimism, rightfully earning the title of “The Roaring Twenties”. However, they were also a time of reckless behavior and cluelessness, a time of, “more more more”—when even the best did not seem good enough.…
Because of the controversy surrounding the history of Ward Churchill, criticizing the man and ignoring the message would seem the easier choice. However, this is necessary for reviewing “Crimes against Humanity”. This is a stark essay in which the thesis he used was the unfair treatment of Native Americans in the United States of America.…
Despite the natural rights and humane principles presented in our nation, we are not all treated equally. Our modern world struggles with social and racial discrimination, despite lawful efforts to prevent such attrocities. This has impacted our society through unspeakable means, and has molded many of our beliefs and ideals regarding the freedom and equality of those around us and how they strive to rightfully earn and represent these privleges. These thoughts were much different in 1832, however, and are demonstrated through Maria W. Stewart's lecture. Through careful utilization of the three rhetorical strategies, Stewart enables herself to appeal to logic, emotion, and ethics to persuade her audience of her personal (although biased)…