African Americans have had an impact on the United States that is essentially impossible to ignore. Thus, the history of African Americans should be considered American history; and taught with the same emphasis as traditional American history 1. Although Black history should be taught with equivalent emphasis to traditional American history: it hasn’t 10. For the most part, blacks have been forced to unearth and go on to teach their history on their own. Due to this, Black history is taught in many different ways, and taught to various different audiences. Benjamin Quarles, a renowned black historian recognizes this and in his essay “Black History’s Diversified Clientele”, he lists and explains the audiences. The audiences presented in Quarles’
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It is common knowledge that X doesn’t agree with the peaceful protests of other Civil Rights activist such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. X says, “if someone puts his hands on you, send him to the cemetery (X, 401).” This quote shows that X is writing towards the Black Revolutionary Nationalist audience because it is said that the content of writing aimed toward Black Revolutionary Nationalist, “moves a step beyond the others in its goals and does not rule out violence in achieving them (Quarles, 78).” In “Message to the Grass Roots”, X highlights the relationship between slaves that were referred to as “house negroes” and “field negroes”. Essentially, house negroes were slaves that sided with the slave master and would do anything to ensure the well being of the Master and even helped the master keep control of the field negroes, who were the complete opposite. X says, “and they [house negroes] loved the master more than the master loved himself. They would give their life to save the master’s house-quicker than the master would (X, 400)”. X continues on in his essay to explain how house negroes would help the master maintain control of the field negroes by discouraging escapes, “And if you came to the house Negro and said, ‘Lets run away, let’s escape, let’s separate,’ the house Negro would look at you and say, ‘Man, you crazy. What you mean, separate? Where is there a better house than this?’(X, 400).” House negroes had the same mentality as the master himself, and X believes that the House negro mentality is still around, and that it is still oppressing blacks. “Just as the slavemaster of that day used Tom, the house Negro, to keep the field Negroes in check, the same old slavemaster today has Negroes who are nothing but modern Uncle Toms, twentieth-century Uncle Toms, to keep you and me
It is common knowledge that X doesn’t agree with the peaceful protests of other Civil Rights activist such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. X says, “if someone puts his hands on you, send him to the cemetery (X, 401).” This quote shows that X is writing towards the Black Revolutionary Nationalist audience because it is said that the content of writing aimed toward Black Revolutionary Nationalist, “moves a step beyond the others in its goals and does not rule out violence in achieving them (Quarles, 78).” In “Message to the Grass Roots”, X highlights the relationship between slaves that were referred to as “house negroes” and “field negroes”. Essentially, house negroes were slaves that sided with the slave master and would do anything to ensure the well being of the Master and even helped the master keep control of the field negroes, who were the complete opposite. X says, “and they [house negroes] loved the master more than the master loved himself. They would give their life to save the master’s house-quicker than the master would (X, 400)”. X continues on in his essay to explain how house negroes would help the master maintain control of the field negroes by discouraging escapes, “And if you came to the house Negro and said, ‘Lets run away, let’s escape, let’s separate,’ the house Negro would look at you and say, ‘Man, you crazy. What you mean, separate? Where is there a better house than this?’(X, 400).” House negroes had the same mentality as the master himself, and X believes that the House negro mentality is still around, and that it is still oppressing blacks. “Just as the slavemaster of that day used Tom, the house Negro, to keep the field Negroes in check, the same old slavemaster today has Negroes who are nothing but modern Uncle Toms, twentieth-century Uncle Toms, to keep you and me