Jim Webb

The fight against racial segregation in professional basketball Racial segregation and basketball may seem like two separate topics; however, they had a substantial impact on each other during the 1900’s. Racial segregation was a prominent problem for African Americans in their daily lives but they were also mistreated in professional sports. They were rarely allowed to play in professional leagues because of the colour of their skin instead of being respected for their talent. Although in the…

Since 1492, when Columbus arrived in the Indies and began to exploit the Native people living there, race has been a controversial issue in America (Zinn 6). Soon after Columbus, Europeans began importing African slaves for labor (Gates 3). In ancient times, people had different views of what race meant: some viewed race as being a representation of where one were currently living, while others insisted that it was based upon where one came from, or how they looked (Aronson 131). Regardless of…

In the introduction to his book, Why We Can’t Wait, Martin Luther King, Jr., a civil rights activist and minister, explains to all Americans why blacks can no longer put off the fight for their civil rights. He uses a narrative structure to achieve this purpose, setting two black children in opposite ends of the country in similar circumstances. Employing imagery, King explains the lack of opportunity and poverty of these children, representative of all African Americans. Additionally, he…

Freedom What is freedom? Freedom can be defined as “The state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.” In 1865 the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery. African Americans were freed from their oppressors, they were freed of the slave` life, the sexual assaults, the denial of education, legal marriages and many more. With their new found freedom many African Americans didn’t have anywhere to go. They didn’t own land, or houses; most of their family members were sold away, so they had nothing. Novels…

The 1950’s was a decade full of prejudice and oppression, which was greatly relevant in the urban ghettos. In this time period, it was significantly hard to make anything of yourself as a young black man. The majority of black men lived substantially poor and found themselves trapped within the confines of their community. The stories “Fences” by August Wilson and “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin touch on what it was like to be a black man living in the inner city ghettos. Although these two…

and despotism against the African-Americans. Although Huck and Jim grow closer throughout the story, Society makes Huck prejudiced against African-Americans. Through Huck, Mark Twain shows how deeply rooted racism was in the white society in his book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Having spent a few months with the civilised society, Huck characterises Jim and other slaves as superstitious. When Huck and Tom play a mean prank on Jim, he reasonably considers it to be witchcraft owing to his…

lklore In The Play A Raisin The Sun Folklore is the use of traditions in story telling that are inclusive of the beliefs, the customs and the culture of a people that are passed from one generation to the other. Folklores forms an integral part of the culture that assist transmit information through the word of mouth. There is the use of the folklore in the black vernacular used in the throughout the play to broach important issues and also conflicts such as the poverty, discrimination and also…

In “Be Like Mike? Michael Jordan and the Pedagogy of Desire,” Michael Eric Dyson explores Michael Jordan’s impact on African American culture and society. He discusses Michael Jordan’s success as an athlete calling him, “perhaps the best, and best known, athlete in the world today” (1). He also points out his role as a positive influence, and a success in both marketing and business, specifically referring to his impact in the “sneaker” world. The audience for this article is specifically…

On June 11th, 1963 current President John F. Kennedy gave an address on the most controversial topic of the time: racism. Earlier that afternoon threats and aggressive statements were made at the University of Alabama, which required the presence of the National Guard. This episode transpired due to the order of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Alabama. The order was to admit two African American students to the University of Alabama. Kennedy’s goals in this speech…

The Influence of the Antebellum South in “Desiree’s Baby” Kate Chopin’s story “Desiree’s Baby” takes place in the 19th century at a time where racism and the institution of slavery in the South were at their peaks. Society was dominated by men of the White race, and both women and people of color were expected to conform to the rules set in place by a racist patriarchal culture. The story focuses on the hardships that the main character Desiree faces when it becomes apparent that her child with…