Counting Crows

Being black is not a matter of pigmentation – being black is a reflection of mental attitude is a quote from Steve Biko, a man who was significant in world history as well as in Apartheid history. In the movie, Cry Freedom, directed by Richard Attenborough, Steve Biko is portrayed in the movie with his associates and what he went through to achieve his goal of Black Consciousness. This movie is historically significant because it shows the atrocities that a white minority committed against the…

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for freedom and equality of African American people and is now a well known historical person for what he did for people all around the nation. Segregation and discrimination have been going on for quite some time now. Negroes didn’t have their rights, there are separate places for white people and colored people, white people feel superior to African Americans, and nothing is changing. This is until Martin Luther King Jr., a minister of Dexter Avenue Baptist…

An American minster who led the Civil Rights Movement famously said, “One day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed… that all men are created equal”, that man is known as Martin Luther King Jr. Similar to kings’ beliefs on equality stood Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes was an American poet and social activist whose poetic themes targeted African American Culture, furthermore bringing about his conurbations to the Harlem Renaissance. Two of his poems titled, “Harlem”…

Imagine if you were a black family living in the 1950's during the height of racism and the civil rights movement. How difficult would your life be, and what obstacles would have to be overcome? In Raisin in the Sun by Loraine Hansberry, the Youngers family live in a rundown Chicago Black neighborhood and face many challenges throughout their lives, including racial discrimination and sexism. Hansberry's message talks about the importance of achieving dreams, awareness of racial discrimination,…

The Help “The Help” was a move that took place in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960’s. It was based on discrimination and segregation of Black people. It describes how the Blacks were mistreated due to the color of their skin. It was during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. This movie is an eyeopener to some of the profiling that Black people had to deal with. As I watched this film, it saddens me due to humans treating other humans like animals. The movie is narrated by a young woman…

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his…

There are many valuable things in life, and one of the most significant is survival and sometimes one must fight to survive. Throughout the novel, Black Boy, by Richard Wright, fighting and violence are just a part of the main character, Richard’s, life. This novel is Richard Wright’s autobiography, which covers his childhood and early adulthood. Wright opens up about all his young rebellious actions and describes just how quickly he was torn away from the innocence of childhood at a very early…

Hundreds of people risked their lives to stop segregation in America in the 1960’s and, finally, they earned their desired freedom. The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis is a historical fiction story that talks about a family that goes to Birmingham and experiences racism. It is an excellent example of an allegory because it relates to America during the Civil Rights Movement in many ways by facing issues that they must resolve or overcome. An allegory is a story, poem…

black violinist, Roy Williams, who returns back home to the United States after a brief stay in Europe. Unfortunately, he returned to his small southern hometown called Hopkinsville in Missouri during the early twentieth century. The time when the Jim Crow laws were still intact. The story follows an ill Roy wanting to see his family for the first time in years, but his return was not filled with delight for several…

Racial discrimination represents an issue which damages the foundation of any civilized society – it turns people against each other and has no basis except ignorance and thirst for power. Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” approaches this problem through the eyes of a young black man, at the beginning of the twentieth century in America, an invisible entity without a voice in a divided society, in which political decisions are made by the white people in power. The main character is…