South Africa

Weep Not, Child begins at a peaceful time. There is a tenseness between the blacks and other races in their land, as there has always been. I guess this time could be thought of as the calm before the storm. The story mainly follows the life of Njoroge and his family members. Ngotho, Njoroge’s father, and both his wives and children all live together in the village. The elder wife, Njeri’s sons are Boro, Kori, and Kamau. The younger wife, Nyokabi, had two sons. Nyokabi’s eldest son,…

About 110,489,000 of Americas are on welfare today. 39% of those individuals are black and 39% of the individuals are white (Statistic brain 2016). However society and media doesn’t portray, show, or talk about the 39% of whites on welfare. Americans perception of welfare dependency is viewed as a black cultural trait, not realizing the welfare program systematically excluded black people for most of its history (Roberts 1999: 204). And if it wasn’t for the civil rights movement Blacks wouldn’t…

I experienced racism at a very young age, 6 years old to be exact. Before I moved to the diverse Miami area, I lived in a small town called North Port. My brother, sister and I were the only black kids in Glenallen elementary school. 99.99% of the white people that I encountered were nice and non-Judgmental; However, I met this one girl at the playground that I will never forget. I didn’t know her name, but we may as well call her .01%. I was playing with my best friend Emily when the girl ran…

As a black man in today’s society, it is no longer surprising to log on to Twitter and see that another black life has been taken. The issue is that black people are being killed for illegitimate reasons by white people. Furthermore, these same people are getting away with these killings. For instance, the Trayvon Martin case which was one of the most famous recent occurrences of injustice done to a black person. Martin’s death, among many others, started a civil movement within the black…

History is no stranger to unexpected outcomes, especially when it comes to wars and battles. One notable example is the battle of Agincourt. The battle was a part of the Hundred Years War, which took place in the year 1415. The two combatants were the French and English. Their force compositions were vastly different. According to Enguerrand de Monstrelet, a French chronicler, the French forces out numbered the English by 6 times (de Monstrelet 340). Despite the overwhelming odds, the…

1.2.2 THE HISTORY OF OJUDE OBA FESTIVAL History has it that Odeda festival preceded Ojude Oba and was an annual event, in which the worshippers of the various sects of the traditional religion such as Sango, Egungu, Osun, Yemule, Ogun etc assembled to disclose their identities by dancing in turns to drums and songs before the Awujale, Olisa, other prominent chiefs and the people of the town. Chief Kuku a prominent Ijebu son had been a party to this event, but could no longer participate now that…

Throughout the thickening 20th century as racism became extraordinarily rampant, blacks trying to elevate their status/living standards through mechanisms like buying their own house, creating their own businesses,1 and many other options were vehemently protested by racist white men who still wanted the feel of superiority over minority races.1 The sickening actions like the razing of the black city Rosewood, Florida in 19231 and the destruction of the “Black Wall Street,”1 are horrid examples…

In Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s, “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett shows what life was like for black maids taking care of white families. Stockett does a good job of showing the difference between real life and fiction. She knows that race is a fact of life and how society can determine what people see you as. “The Help” is a community of black people who bring up white children and take care of their homes. The book is narrated by three women, Minny; a black maid who has a big mouth…

Summary This document, Crusade for Justice, Autobiography, by Ida B. Wells, is a personal account, in which Wells recalls how her involvement in African American activism began. Specifically, it began when she heard an account of the lynchings of Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell, and Henry Stewart, who owned a grocery store that directly competed with a grocery store that was owned by a white man. Until this time, Wells had taken many reasons for lynchings at face value. Most commonly, these…

Clint Smith in his Ted Talk, How to raise a black son in American delivers a very persuasive and powerfully touching speech on the dynamics of race and his childhood instilled values. Smith shares the life lessons instilled in him by his father when he was young on the unsettling and unfair reality of being a young black American Kid and the sacrifices they have to make. To elaborate on the unfair and unsettling reality of a being a young black kid growing in America, Smith tells the story of…