Afro-Eurasia

The mammy figure was introduced after the Civil war. White southerners created the image to mend relations between black women and white men. The mammy was used to counter anti-slavery sentiments by masking the relationship as a friendly and familial one (Turner 44-45). Aunt Jemima originated as a minstrel show character portrayed by a white man in blackface and drag. Christopher Rutt, co-founder of the ready-to-make pancake mix, used Aunt Jemima to market his product to appeal to his local,…

The play, A Raisin in the Sun, is written by Lorraine Hansberry, and premiered on Broadway in 1959. Hansberry was motivated by a poem written by Langston Hughes. Active in civil rights, Hansberry’s play addresses the racial conflicts for equality and human rights felt by African Americans and Lorraine Hansberry herself. Racial segregation was still strongly being enforced at this time. Each character in the play has a dream. Race, class and gender, all shape these individual’s identity; through…

There is a perception that the American racist mentality is dead. However, this is not the case, seeing how the post- civil rights movement era is subtly reminiscent of the civil rights time period. That observation leads one to believe that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race. The reason that this perception that racism exist, is based on the ignorance society has toward…

All the problems within the black community that needs to be fixed 1.Uncle Ruckus syndrome reigns predominant. This is Uncle Ruckus, a character from the boondocks TV show(google it), he stands for the ignorant black person who praises, adores and worships everything white supremacy has given to them especially the mindset. He thinks he has Revitaligo (above) and was originally white, is pro Jim Crow, pro slavery, etc. Now everyone has a simple understanding of this let 's move on. Most are…

The trends surrounding African American women’s hair have been ongoing since times of slavery. Since then there has also been much controversy over style, appropriation and what is and is not appropriate in the work place. As many women can understand and relate, your hair is a part of your identity. The same goes for black women but it’s even much more than that. As a black woman, our hair is also a large part of our culture and throughout time we have seen many changes in regards to it.…

Black men are expected to look a certain way by societies’ definition of the ideal body type for a black male. Mincey et al (2014) found the idea of masculinity for Black men is similar to some traditional aspects of being a man; there are also ideas that are specific in being a black man. It was proceed in the article that society mainstream has a lot of influence on this topic. Masculinity doesn’t only have to do with looks; sometimes it has to do with the opportunities black men get in the…

The African-American survived due to the fact they helped each other, they took care of each other not only blood relatives but others also. During slavery everyone helped to raise each other’s children especially when parents were sold to other slave owners, other adults in the slave community took care of the children left behind, many slaves protected each other in spite of tribal and language differences. The biggest fear of families then was the threat of a child being sold. Even today…

Oppressed people need to set themselves apart from the rest - they need to realize that being different does not make them any less of a human being, or less fortunate. When oppressed people come to terms with this, they will be able to reflect this to others and not settle for what “has always been”, but rather pride themselves in their distinction, and take steps towards making a difference. In “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders”, Brent Staples shares a personal experience on how he had to…

Poetry is utilized as way for people to express their feeling in a different way. There is more to it than rhythm schemes and different tones. African Americans have utilized poetry as voice because they never had one during slavery and segregation era. The Angles of Ascent: an anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry has showed their respect for the many poets that are recognized within this anthology. There are over five hundred poems that can help create a vision of what is like…

It could be argued that in a written documentary, the images and information that the author chooses to include are purposeful. Unlike with a camera, the only aspects of the people and the surroundings that are being portrayed are what the author meant to portray. Events that occur during the documentarian’s process with a camera, can be edited, but one never knows what images slip past this editing process and make it into the documentary. This is not the case with written works, which can be…