African Americans and Development of Pidgin English

The Pidgin English is essentially as old as any other variety of speech in Northern America (Finkelman, 2006). African American English is a variety of English influenced by African languages through the colonial age, but not primarily from African languages and later influenced by American English. The connection between African American speech, African languages, and mainstream American English has been difficult to prove because of the little evidence of African languages spoken during the colonial epoch. The slaves imported from Africa West Indies, Europe, and other places differed immensely in their linguistic solutions, which played a crucial role in the development of Pidgin English.

Pidgin is a simplified, improvised language that develops to accomplish the communication requirements of people who do not have a common language but are brought together by circumstances, which force them to communicate (Dillard, 1980). The slaves came from all over West Africa, and they spoke diverse languages. They needed to communicate; therefore, they adopted English as their common language, which was their masters’ language. The English speakers perceived these people as free labor rather than humans, and, therefore, as long as they understood enough to take their orders, there was no need to teach them proper English. The slaves did not have any reason to adhere closely to Standard English, and so they adopted what they heard and combined it with some grammatical rules from their native languages. This is how African American Vernacular English was born. The African American English possesses features of native, African languages and the American language introduced during the colonial era and handed down through generations as part of a common cultural heritage.

Language is of more than words, and Creoles as well as African Language elements most likely influenced the structure of African American English during the colonial era in ways still evident to present. An example is a double negation, which characterized most West African languages, and it still exists in the African American language. This language varied considerably since slaves came from all over with different linguistic features. The slaves from Northern and southern colonies learned English from the English speakers from their regions in the seventeenth century. The slaves in South Carolina and Georgia developed Gullah dialect, while Caribbean creoles influenced African American speech all over their colonies during the eighteenth century.

British Generals released several black loyalists during the revolutionary war who later settled in Nova Scotia around 1815 (Finkelman, 2006). They populated North Preston and Samana Peninsula, presently the Dominican Republic together with former slaves. It is believed that since the African Americans from Samana and Nova Scotia remained rather isolated from those early settlements, their speech still holds features of earlier African American English which were lost in other varieties (Kautzsch, 2002). At times, it is convenient to generalize African American speech, but sometimes it is significant to remember that African Americans have never spoken in a uniform language. The African American English and the American English developed continuously throughout the colonial era and could never be summed up as a single type, style, or variety. The evolution of the various languages depended on the geographical location of the speakers and interactions with different language speakers.

A language develops according to the precise needs of the people who live in the geographic location at the time, and they share a way of life and culture (Finkelman, 2006). The language these people use intertwines them with their identity and culture, and ultimately shapes them. It gives them the richness of communication which is lost if an individual is unable to speak their language. Human beings are social and, therefore, have to communicate even if there is no common language to use. This is what happened to the slaves, transported from halfway across the world with their respective cultures and confined to a single location. They had to find a unifying factor because they faced similar predicaments even though they were essentially different.

A group of people cannot survive without having a common language to bind them. The slaves never learned English from the English speakers, but only knew a few words, which were commonly used on them while taking orders. These slaves had their own native languages, which were diverse, but they had to develop a common language, which they would all understand as well as understand their masters.

Identity is an accomplishment; it is fragmentary which can be changed to suit peoples’ present conditions (Kautzsch, 2002). The African Americans had to assign themselves a new identity in tandem with their present conditions. Apart from just communicating, which would otherwise suffice when done by sign language, they needed to have an identity, which shaped how they thought and organized themselves. They embraced their new location and had to evolve for survival. It is through the power of language and identity seeking that the African American language developed and evolved over the years. Language is conclusively a centrally unifying element of civilization.

References

Dillard, J. L. (1980). Perspectives on American English. The Hague: Mouton.

Finkelman, P. (2006). Encyclopedia of African American history: 1619-1895 : from the colonial period to the age of Frederick Douglass. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.

Kautzsch, A. (2002). The historical evolution of earlier African American English: An empirical comparison of early sources. Berlin ; New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

McPherson and Shelby on African American Identity

Introduction

Numerous black people nowadays do not care about hereditary characteristics, and most do not have eccentric views about race. The article’s authors argue that in the context of social communication and practical decision-making, most African Americans are not only reasonably competent (McPherson & Shelby, 2004). They are comfortable using relatively vague and theoretically naïve criteria to determine membership in a racial group. At the same time, they do not entirely understand the concept of race and are very vague in their use of various terms and theoretical constructs.

Discussion

As such, the authors have assumed that black ethnic solidarity is not based on racial classification (McPherson & Shelby, 2004). If these observations are valid, it is incorrect to say that most African Americans are committed to any particular theoretical understanding of race. Based on these findings, McPherson and Shelby make a recommendation to help African Americans with ethnicity (McPherson & Shelby, 2004). It is not to address the issue of their social identity but to fight assertively for democracy and overcome racial discrimination. However, if the drowning does not succeed, there is no other alternative than to return to the perspective of nation-building.

It is significant to point out that African American identity was primarily shaped by radical Afrocentrism, which serves as the conceptual basis for black racism. Afrocentrism existed to prove that black culture could take its place among the superior human civilizations. The role of a positive image of Africa was to overcome the duality of consciousness – the legacy of slavery and segregation. People usually wanted to acquire the psychological comfort necessary for black Americans to exist in a predominantly white society. Moreover, their goal has not changed, and overcoming discrimination must always be on the agenda.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it should be noted that radical Afrocentrism is no longer relevant, and black people do not care about heredity as much as they used to. Nevertheless, they still wish to have a level playing field with other citizens, and it is this, not social identity, that should be taken into account by the government in the first place.

Reference

McPherson, L. K., & Shelby, T. (2004). Blackness and blood: Interpreting african american identity. Philosophy & public affairs, 32(2), 171-192.

African American Women’s Barriers to Higher Education

Introduction

Research on African American women’s barriers to higher education is often placed in the context of the feminist theory. This approach allows for explaining how the categories of gender and race in the case of Black feminism contribute to understanding African American females’ experiences at higher educational institutions. The importance of the feminist theory for this research, and the Black feminist theory in particular, is in the fact that this framework explains why African American women can face certain challenges and barriers while obtaining their higher education with reference to the connected categories of gender and race.

The Importance of the Feminist Theory for Research

The application of the feminist theory is important for the current research because this comparably modern framework explicates social processes in which women are involved. The research based on this theory challenges the specifics of obtaining higher education for women focusing on the concept of gender. As a result, this theory is essential to explain the subjective experiences of women in higher educational institutions with reference to such categories as gender power, discrimination, inequality, and oppression (Bartman, 2015; Davis & Maldonado, 2015). Thus, the oppression of women and their inequality in comparison to men are the key themes related to the feminist theory (Davis & Maldonado, 2015). The focus on these concepts and themes is important for this research in order to illustrate what obstacles or barriers can be experienced by women on their path to academic progress.

This theory creates a framework, within which it is possible to regard the lived experiences of women obtaining higher education through the lenses of their gender. This category can be potentially influential when explaining such topics as female interactions in institutions, mentorship, leadership, academic success, women in STEM fields, and others (Marbley et al., 2013; Squire & McCann, 2018). Therefore, the feminist theory helps to explain why women in society can experience obstacles when trying to receive the higher education because of their gender.

The Critical Role of Black Feminism

In the 1980s, researchers developed the black feminist theory for the purpose of accentuating the oppression of women depending on their race. The importance of this theoretical paradigm for the current research on African American women and higher education barriers is in emphasizing the connection between gender and race to explain Black females’ challenges. According to the developers of the theory and researchers, who applied the feminist approach in their studies, the problem is in the marginalization of African American women, stereotypes, and biases that lead to high levels of discrimination in the educational environment (Davis & Maldonado, 2015). The critical role of focusing on feminist theories is in the fact that women experience different barriers in educational institutions in comparison to men. Furthermore, African American women usually have other experiences than White women (Squire & McCann, 2018). As a result, the academic path of women as representatives of different races can differ, and Black feminism allows for explaining African American female lived experiences in much detail.

Conclusion

The examination of the experiences of African American women with a focus on possible higher education barriers requires the application of the most appropriate theoretical model to explain the findings. In this context, the feminist theory is critically important and useful for this research because it provides the answers to the question of why women of color can face certain obstacles in comparison to other women or in comparison to men. Black feminism represents a more focused model for discussing the cases of women of color in education, and this theory contributes to avoiding the separation of the gender and race concepts in examining the problem of higher education barriers.

References

Bartman, C. C. (2015). African American women in higher education: Issues and support strategies. College Student Affairs Leadership, 2(2), 4-9.

Davis, D. R., & Maldonado, C. (2015). Shattering the glass ceiling: The leadership development of African American women in higher education. Advancing Women in Leadership Journal, 35, 48-64.

Marbley, A. F., Bonner II, F. A., Williams, V. A., Morris, P., Ross, W., & Burley, H. (2013). Developmental education: Preparing white campuses for African-American students. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 13(2), 91-112.

Squire, D. D., & McCann, K. (2018). Women of color with critical worldviews constructing spaces of resistance in education doctoral programs. Journal of College Student Development, 59(4), 404-420.

The Juneteenth for African Americans

Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865. Upon his arrival, Granger informed the enslaved African Americans of their freedom and the ending of the Civil War. The momentous occasion has since been celebrated as Juneteenth, a combination of June and 19 (Nelson and Vaunda 4). On Freedom Eve, the eve of January 1, 1863, the first watch night services occurred that night; free black Americans and enslaved assembled in private homes and churches throughout the country, awaiting news that the emancipation proclamation had taken effect (Cooper 2). When the midnight strokes, all the prayers were answered because all enslaved persons in Confederate states were legally declared free. Union soldiers, most of whom were black, marched onto plantations and in entire cities in the south. They read small copies of the emancipation proclamation as they spread the news of freedom in Confederate states.

Throughout the United States, only through the thirteenth amendment did emancipation end slavery. However, not everyone in Confederate territory became free immediately. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it was not implemented in places still under the confederate’s control (Rozemberg). In the westernmost confederate states of Texas, imprisoned persons were not set free until much later. Their freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union soldiers arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The troops announced that over 250,000 imprisoned African Americans in the state had been set free by an executive decree (Nelson and Vaunda 5). As a result, this day became known as Juneteenth by the free black people in Texas.

An era of great hope began in 1865 to 1877 in what was known as the post-emancipation period. The period was full of uncertainty and struggle for the country. The freed enslaved persons immediately began seeking how to reunite with their families, develop schools, contest political positions, push for radical laws and litigate slaveholders for compensation. Following the long period of enslavement in the states, these changes were nothing short of amazing (Cooper 4). A generation out of slavery consisting of black people had not been empowered and inspired to transform their country and lives. To African Americans, Juneteenth marked the second Independence Day of the country. Despite being long renowned in the black American community, this colossal event remains widely unfamiliar to most Americans. Juneteenth’s historical legacy showed the value of never giving up hope in indefinite times (Taylor). To date, the national museum of African American History and Culture is a community space where this spirit of hope lives on. It is where the historical events of Juneteenth are shared, and new stories with similar urgency are told.

African Americans have celebrated Juneteenth since the late 1800s. Last year, President Biden signed legislation that made Juneteenth a federal holiday after the interest in the day got renewed in 2020 summer. It was also a result of the countrywide protest that followed the police killings of black Americans, including Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Across the U.S., there has been a noticeable increase in celebrations of Juneteenth over the past few years (NMAAHC). Following the killings of 10 black persons at a supermarket in Buffalo by a white gunman, it became one of the deadliest racist massacres in modern U.S. history, making Juneteenth celebrations resonate in new ways.

How Juneteenth is Celebrated

Early celebrations of the event entailed family gatherings and prayers, and later it involved annual pilgrimages to Galveston by earlier enslaved persons and their families. Following the freedom of slavery, in 1872, a group of African American businessmen and ministers in Houston bought ten acres of land. It developed an emancipation park whose prime purpose was to hold the annual Juneteenth celebration of the city. In modern society, the celebration is done among families in backyards where food is essential (Rozemberg). Similarly, larger events in cities like Washington and Atlanta are held, including festivals with residents, parades, and local businesses, to commemorate the event of Juneteenth. In 2021 and 2020, the coronavirus pandemic largely subdued the celebration, and some cities have resumed plans for the coming years.

Galveston has remained a busy site for Juneteenth over the past years, owing to the help of a coordinator. 5,000 square foot mural was dedicated in 2021 to the Juneteenth event, and in 2022, Galveston celebrated the holiday with a banquet, picnic, parade, and poetry festival (NMAAHC). The planners in Atlanta held a music festival and parade at Centennial Olympic Park, while other similar events are scheduled to happen in Okla., Tulsa, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and Baltimore.

Some foundations, such as San Antonio, support individuals who are seeking to learn about the new federal holiday and provide many cultural contributions of African Americans in the city. The museum has a batch of educational activities that target raising awareness regarding Juneteenth and its in-depth meaning to the local black community (Petty). The community programs that have been developed across the cities of the U.S. help preserve the cultural heritage of African Americans and create awareness of how important it is to them. Black people have had a long history of slavery and segregation, and their continuous fight for freedom in modern days is spearheaded with consideration of their historical legacy, such as Juneteenth.

The Path of Juneteenth to a National Holiday

Texas became the first state to designate Juneteenth as a holiday in 1980. All 50 states and the District of Columbia recognize the day in some form. In 2020, in the wake of the countrywide protest against police killings, the push for federal recognition of Juneteenth acquired new momentum, and Congress quickly pushed through a law in the summer of 2021 as a national holiday. In the house of Congress, the measure passed by a vote of 415 to 14 (Taylor). All the opposition came from Republicans who argued that calling the new holiday Juneteenth Independence Day would create confusion and force Americans to choose a celebration of freedom depending on their race. President Biden signed the bill into law on June 17, 2021, to make Juneteenth the 11th holiday known by the federal government, and it went into effect immediately (NMAAHC). During the ceremony at the white house, President Biden singled out an activist, Opal Lee, who, at age 89, walked from her home in Fort Worth to Washington D.C., and she was called a grandmother of the movement to remark Juneteenth, a federal holiday.

Why Juneteenth has become Important in Modern Society

Following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American who died in the custody of the Minneapolis police in May 2020, thousands of individuals around the U.S. streamed into the streets in a riot. The names of individuals killed, including Floyd, David McAtee, Mr. Arbery, and Ms. Taylor, became a rallying cry for change across the nation, effectively rejuvenating the Black Lives Matter Movement (NMAAHC). The changes came in waves, with Minneapolis officials banning the use of chokeholds and strangleholds by police officers, asserting that officers were supposed to intervene and report any use of illegal force. In Congress, democrats unveiled sweeping legislation aiming at racial segregation and misconduct by police officers. The bill became the most widespread intervention into policing that legislators proposed in modern memory. All sectors, including organizations across the business spectrum, echoed support for the movement and fired or suspended any worker who mocked Floyd’s death or made racist remarks. Therefore, following the continuous killings and segregation of black people, Juneteenth remains relevant when African Americans seek freedom in all aspects of their lives.

In conclusion, Juneteenth is an event that commemorates the freedom of enslaved African Americans and the end of the Civil War that happened in Texas on June 19, 1865. Following the freedom from slavery, it was through the thirteenth amendment did emancipation ended slavery. Juneteenth marked the era of hope, ambiguity, and struggle for the country where freed enslaved persons sought to rejoin with their relatives, develop learning institutions, contest political positions and push for radical laws. President Biden has contributed to observing Juneteenth by signing the law that marks the day as a federal holiday. The day of Juneteenth was earlier celebrated by families holding prayers and gatherings, but later on, it included yearly pilgrimages to Galveston by earlier enslaved persons and their families. To ensure that the day is not forgotten in history, several foundation programs have been developed by African Americans to sensitize the black community and provide educational programs to individuals that want to learn more about the event and black Americans’ culture.

Works Cited

Cooper, Floyd. Juneteenth for Mazie. Capstone, 2020.

Nelson, Drew, and Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. Juneteenth. Millbrook Press, 2021.

NMAAHC. “.” National Museum of African American History and Culture, Web.

Petty, Kathleen. “How to Celebrate Juneteenth in San Antonio.” San Antonio Magazine, Web.

Rozemberg, Hernan. “.” San Antonio Area Foundation, Web.

Taylor, Derrick Bryson. “The New York Times, Web.

African American Religious Communities in the US

The African American religious societies are recognized for their contribution of making the current United States. According to the history of America, the African American religion has lived like a refuge in a very harsh white society. However, no matter how harshly they were treated, they remained as a cultural identity and a show of resistance in a white occupied society (Wuthnow, 2008). The social condition of black people is openly portrayed through the religion that they practice. According to the research done by several scholars, it is evident that, African American religion revives the African religion in a more diversified manner.

The practice of African American religion has led to a mixture of religious cultural practices of African and European, American elements. The African American religious people have a history of handling the needs of their fellow Christians. It is evident of how these people suffered in the hands of the whites. The struggle that they encountered in the form of oppression, being mistreated, and above all being discriminated gives the church a great role to these people. It was proofed that, the African American ministers and the entire church congregation, had a great role of preparing for both natural and man-made disasters (Wuthnow, 2008). In case of such occurrences, the church leaders, were always ready on how to assist the victims at local, state, and federal ranks. They believed to have the solution for their people. In case of natural, or man-made disaster the victims solely relied on these communities. The African American leaders used to interact with non-profit organizations during the hardships, and even after the incidences to give a positive response to the victims. It was also their responsibility to source for public health services, for those victims, who may require medical attention.

The faith-based organizations of African American had also a great role of taking care of the spiritual needs of the victims. As much as they were provided with physical care, the victims also required spiritual support as part of their recovery process. Emotional support was also very crucial to the victims, and this was expected from the leaders of African American churches (Overacker, 2006). These communities struggled to convince the white that, everyone was serving the same God, whether a white or a black Christian. Through the efforts of these communities, the entire society of United States of America managed to understand the love of God to every human being despite the skin color. The importance of humanity in United States was highly promoted by these African American communities, through their services to their fellow Christians. They offered services to all, showing much love to the entire society, something that is practiced up to date.

References

Overacker, I. (2006). The African American church community in Rochester. New York: University Rochester Press.

Wuthnow, R. (2008). America and the challenge of religious diversity. Michigan: Princeton University Press.

Criminal Injustice Towards African Americans

Criminal injustice has widely been witnessed in various nations across the globe. Criminal injustice is the unfair treatment of people in the society who are claimed to be guilty of an offense but they are not. A group of people who are suspected to have committed a crime needs to be given some rights that include appearing before a court for defense (Frank, 2008). The concerned public institutions also need to look at the possible causes of the crime that the person has committed. When these conditions are not offered to the affected people, they may be referred to have unjustly treated.

The United states of America is one of the countries where criminal justice has been denied. One of the grounds where criminal injustices flourishes are the unfair judgment that is extended to the African American race in the United States of America (Gabbidon, 2011). Most of the jails in the country are a common habitation of the black community as they for a huge percentage of the total who are behind the bars. One of the common crimes that they do commit is drug trafficking (Dao, 2012). It has been established that African Americans are more likely to deliver illicit drugs more than any other community. Most of them are arrested while delivering illegal drugs to their clients.

The Republicans, as well as the Democrats, are concerned with the ever unending crime that is leading to a more population of the blacks in the jail. The fact that the majority of them are arrested while transporting these drugs, the black community does not consume the product compared to the other groups (Frank, 2008). Secondly, the arrests made on African American in relation to drug trafficking are increasing, meaning that the arrest does not offer a permanent solution to the problem. The two sides of the political divide are looking at the possible cause of the crime and how it can be reduced.

The Democrats are viewing the problem of drug trafficking as resulting from poor economic background among the African American community. The African community found itself in the country as a result of the historic slave trade. The group has not established itself in the United States in terms of economic progress. After the end of slavery, most of the families have not been able to educate their children. The lack of formal skills acts as a barrier to better employment (Gabbidon, 2011). Therefore, most of the youths are engaged in drug trafficking as a way of making some cash for domestic use. The Democrats are claiming that the African American acts as the bridge between the source and the destination of the drug dealers. The fact is that they fall into the trap of the police and get arrested (Dao, 2012). When arrested, the drug in their possession becomes evident, and they end up jailed. In this case, the injustice occurs as the police do not consider investigating the source and the destination of the drugs.

The Republicans argue that the high number of arrests of the black community is due to their culture. They argue that African Americans have a culture that does not rhyme with the socially accepted codes of conduct. In their argument, the Republicans mention that the race is hardcore and that the correction centers in the country are a good place for them. The ongoing arrests of the black Americans found in drug trafficking can only be managed when community changes their culture. They argue that a change in culture will disconnect the group from drug trafficking.

The government attempt to rescue the African Americans from the criminal injustices entails the establishment of the law that will deal with the source and the destination of the drugs (Wallace, 2004). The government is also considering encouraging the black community to leave any drug-related activity by establishing a bill that will offer cheap but quality education. Since the drug dealers are rarely arrested, the government has taken the motion to the Senate that will create a law that will enable them to be arrested. In this law, the arrested African Americans will be questioned about the source and the destination of the illicit product (Rosenblatt, 2014). The arrest of the drug traders will lead to the end of criminal injustices extended towards the African Americans. The real culprits will be arrested, and the drug trafficking activity will be minimized.

Another policy that is under a discussion by the Senate is the campaign against the negativity of the African Americans. The race is viewed as practicing the vice as a norm. The campaign aims at reducing the notion that the African Americans are associated will all the bad things (Lowe, 2014). They will be encouraged to adopt the best lifestyle that will enhance their opportunity in the job market. Affordable schools will be introduced to the community to enhance their skill growth that will lead to future employment.

The government needs to make sure that all the issues of injustices are corrected. Most of the people committing the crime may be motivated by other factors that encourage their actions. Giving them a judgment to be behind the bars can be very dangerous to their lives. The core cause of the crime needs to be addressed in order to make the society better for the future generation.

References

Dao, J. (2012). Web.

Frank, M. (2008). Criminal Injustice in America. Oxford: Author House.

Gabbidon, S. (2011). A Theory of African American Offending: Race, Racism, and Crime. New York: Taylor & Francis.

Lowe, J. S., & Shipp, S. C. (2014). Black Churches and Black College Community Development Corporations: Enhancing the Public Sector Discourse. Western Journal Of Black Studies, 38(4), 244-259.

Rosenblatt, E. (2014). Criminal Injustice: Confronting the Prison Crisis. New York: South End Press.

Wallace, M. A. (2004). Congressional Considerations and Urban Characteristics in the Selection of Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities. Journal Of Urban Affairs, 26 (5), 593-609.

African Americans Conspiracy Theory Among About Not Trusting the Government

Introduction

Conspiracy theory is a term used to describe any extreme theory that tries to explain some past or presents incidences as to have happened from a scheme between a group of people or organization. In many cases, these theories are not fully accepted by people. People view them as baseless and lacking grounds for their argument. The theories are rarely supported with concrete research making them hard to believe. In the United States, African Americans have attributed most of their problems to the government. They believe that the government has been responsible for their poor living conditions. To them, there has been a conspiracy by the government to make sure that they have marginalized them to an extent that they can not help themselves. They strongly believe that the government uses them as guinea pigs whenever they wish to carry out tests on their products such as medicines.

Believe that the government manufactured AIDS to eliminate the blacks

There have been several conspiracy theories regarding AIDS that suppose that the disease was actually developed within the laboratory. African Americans believe that it was a scheme by the United States government to come up with the virus to help them get rid of people they did not want. They believe that the virus came about after the US government tried to conduct research on biological weapons. The government was not pleased by the rate at which African Americans were giving birth. To reduce this, they had to come up with means to eliminate some of their people. African Americans believe that the virus was genetically manufactured by the government and induced to an African American gay. They believe that cure for the virus was long discovered but the government bears all the effort of introducing it to the market. This is because it would hamper their sole purpose of coming up with the virus. There have been some reliable evidence implicating the World Health Organization the existence of the virus in third world countries (Laura and Sheryl PP. 213-218). Numerous cases have occurred where the American government has been accused of conducting dangerous experiments on its people without their knowledge. Blacks being the major victims have always feared that the government might use them for their experiments. For instance, in 1972, it conducted an experiment on untreated syphilis on a black man. The government denied black Americans the right to prescription in order to see what syphilis can do to victims. With most of these victims being African Americans, there has been great mistrust among blacks. Those suffering from the virus fear that they might go to the hospital and be prescribed drugs that would increase their suffering.

The distrust has not begun recently. In past, African Americans believed that the American government allowed exhumation of their bodies for use in experiments. They deemed that the government supplied ineffective drugs in their hospitals so as they do not survive. The rate at which blacks contract the disease is high compared to the rate at which the whites contract it. This reinforces the belief by African Americans that there is a conspiracy among the government to eliminate the black race. As a result, cases of Blacks suffering from the virus failing to seek medical attention have always been reported. They fear that by going to the hospital they might be given drugs that might make their situation more severe (Ross, Essien and Torres Par. 1-5).

Maintenance of white’s dominance

It has always been the aim of the American government to maintain its white dominance over the blacks. Despite it disguising to cater to blacks’ problems, the government has always been inclined to white practices discriminating on whatever is practiced by blacks. They have employed psychological feud in achieving their ambitions. They have been entrenched in the belief that they are superior to an extent that it is hard for them to abandon their oppressive acts. Since slavery, the government has continued coming up with new methods of dominating the blacks. This has not always been received well by the Blacks adding to their distrust of the government (Simmons and Parsons PP. 582 – 598).

The killing of Martin Luther Jr.

The killing of Martin Luther Jr. proved the hatred harbored by the American government on Blacks. According to court hearings, it was palpable that his assassination was a conspiracy by the government. The government made haste in declaring that James Earl was responsible for this killing in order to cover up their conspiracy. The rifle and bullets brought in court as exhibits were not matching the ones used in killing Luther. The manner in which the government quickly discovered an open bathroom window in Earl’s house was outrageous. Presence of a tree between the room occupied by Luther and the bathroom window from which the government claimed to be where Earl was when he shoot Luther, leaves no doubt that the shooting did not come from that house. Evidence from witnesses present during the incident indicated that the assassin was on top of a chimney from another building. On conducting a thorough investigation about the building, it proved to be the most strategic point from which the assassin could have been standing (Brunner Par. 2-6).

Circumstances under which Martin Luther Jr.’s death occurred also raised a question of government involvement. He had just come from a meeting where he had vehemently rebuked the oppressions that African Americans were going through. The government being the perpetrators of the entire suffering that Blacks were going through could not stomach criticism from anybody. Most African Americans believe that despite the government promising to conduct a thorough investigation about his killings, they can not be convinced otherwise. They are convicted that nobody in the government can be willing to stand in court and reveal the secret behind his killings (Douglass PP. 36).

Government mistreatment of Rodney Glen King

Another incidence of government brutality on African Americans was manifested in 1991. Los Angeles police officers badly beat Rodney Glen King. He was accused of driving at a high speed under alcohol influence and failing to comply when ordered to stop. Crips were aired on public media leading to the eruption of conflict between the whites and the black community. Despite there being clear evidence of his brutal treatment and the officer’s responsible being known, they were later acquitted. This reminiscence has not always been taken lightly by African Americans. There have been cases where white soldiers have mistreated Blacks along highways. This has portrayed that the government still discriminates against Blacks due to their race (Lou Par. 4-6). It is believed that the government feels the push to revenge their officer who was found guilty and detained after Rodney’s case. African Americans on the other hand remember the ordeal that their colleague was subjected to by the government leading to great hatred towards the government. In past, the American government has also been accused of taking sides with the Ku Klux Klan that was attacking blacks in the wake of the civil rights era.

Government distributing illicit drugs

There have also been cases implicating the American government with the distribution of drugs in African American estates. A report published recently claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved with flooding cocaine in Blacks’ suburbs of Los Angeles. The government came out to oppose these allegations. Despite their opposition, some African Americans still believe that the government has been responsible. There are also some claims that the government has been putting chemicals on soft drinks in an attempt to make African men sterile. This has led to blacks declining to buy most of the soft drinks. Despite there being a lot of drugs circulating in African American neighborhoods, little effort has been made by the government to curb this. It proves beyond reasonable doubt that the presence of drugs is a conspiracy by the government to ensure that African Americans are ruined by these drugs to an extent that they can not help themselves (Fletcher Par. 1-8).

There is a common belief among the African Americans that the destruction of New Orleans’ was a calculated action. The region is mainly occupied by blacks. People believe that the government bombed the wall that protected water from flooding into their homes with an aim of evicting them from that area. According to Orleans residents, they believe that it was an organized genocide by the government aimed at eliminating them. Despite the catastrophe, the government responded with a lot of laxities to the cry of the blacks. This has not been the case whenever white Americans are in problems. It left no doubt in blacks that the government was involved in damaging the wall (Myers and NBC investigative unit Par.1-4).

Conclusion

African Americans believe that the government has never been happy about their presence in America and it tries all means to humiliate them. The belief that the government developed the AIDS virus with the aim of eliminating them makes them fear to go to hospitals. They trust that apart from coming up with the virus and putting chemicals in soft drinks to reduce their birth rates, the government plans to use many other means to ensure that it has eliminated the blacks in America. This has resulted to a soar relationship between the government and the blacks.

Works cited

Brunner, Borgna.

Douglass, Jim. Probe Magazine. 2000.

Fletcher, Michael. 1996.

Laura, Bogart and Sheryl, Thorburn. “Are HIV/AIDS Conspiracy Beliefs a Barrier to HIV Prevention Among African Americans?” JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 38.2 (2005): 213-218

Lou, Cannon. Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the riots changed Los Angeles and the LAPD Boulder, Colo: Westview Press, 1999.

Myers, Lisa and NBC investigative unit. “Were the levees bombed in New Orleans? Ninth Ward residents give voice to a conspiracy theory.” 2005. Web.

Ross, Michael, Essien, James and Torres, Isabel. 2006.

Simmons, William, Paul and Parsons, Sharon. “Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories Among African Americans: A Comparison of Elites and Masses.” Social Science Quarterly 86.3 (2005):582 – 598.

African American Literary Analysis Review

Introduction

Illustrating the plights of African-Americans, Edward Jones’ story, “lost in the city” describes the discontentment of Africans amid the White community. Jones’ masterpiece focuses on the dangerous and poor lifestyle led by the African-Americans. Although the African-Americans know what is expedient for them, they choose unique lifestyles. For instance, Lydia, the main character, lives a reckless life by engaging in hard drugs, which eventually leaves her dissatisfied.

Similarly, Lydia’s mother dislikes the white community because of their presentation as the superior people. Using the main characters, Jones highlights the themes of immorality, racism, fear, and Christianity. Moreover, Jones uses literary tools like imagery, theme, allusion, and figurative language among others to draw the identity of the African-Americans in the society and how this identity, and its discontents, manifests themselves in African American literary texts.

In his story, Edward Jones’ highlights a number of themes, the first being racism. The African-Americans dislike and feel inferior in the eyes of the Whites who perceive them as objects. For instance, white men seduce the African-American women for casual sex.

During a conversation with a white man whom Lydia had spent the night with, he calls her Cynthia instead of Lydia. Surprisingly, Lydia says, “he does not even know my name “(Jones 387). In addition, the white men use expensive cologne, which is a symbol of power and success that only few people can afford (Jones 386).

Thus, the cologne not only separates the rich and the poor, but also the black and whites. Furthermore, the white man, who spends a night with Lydia, does not go with her to the hospital to view the body of her mother who had just passed on that night. When Lydia was a teenager, her first boy friend was white. The boyfriend declined to talk to her immediately after having sex with her.

Lydia says, “When he walked me back home after the ‘dirty deed’ was done, he acted like he did not know me anymore” (Jones 386), which means he only wanted her to fulfill his sexual desires. On one occasion, when Lydia wanted to buy her mother an apartment among the white community, the mother declined by saying, “I am not used to their ways” (Jones 386).

Therefore, due to poor relationship between the two groups each of them has separate residential apartments. When Lydia tells her mother that she has an apartment in the Southwest, she resists asserting that the white men always displace the blacks from their apartments. Similarly, Lydia does not remember the name of the man she spends the night with in her own apartment. Lydia tries to recall the name by saying, “What is his name “(Jones 386).

Gail Saunders complains about white men by asserting that, “I’II sleep no more with white men. They make you feel as you should be grateful” (Jones 388). The whites employed the black people, but paid them mediocre salaries, which could not cater for all their basic needs. Therefore, due to racism both whites and blacks not only live in different environments, but also detest each other.

Next is the theme of immorality and Edward uses Lydia to highlight the same. For instance, Lydia sleeps with different men who she records down in her diary. She meets the men either in bars or in social functions like dinner. She dislikes her way of life and fears the way the society will react if it discover about her sexual escapades.

For example, she showers thoroughly to make sure nobody realizes she had sex the night before her mother dies. She looks in the mirror and says’ “forgive me father for I have been fucking” (Jones 388). Similarly, her friend like Gail Saunders sleeps around with any man including the white men. Furthermore, Lydia and her friends abuse drugs.

The common drug used to relax their nerves is cocaine. The author writes, “With the gold razor blade, she spread out the cocaine on the black marble tray then inhaled a line of tow inches or so” (Jones 388). The black people are slaves to hard drugs, which utterly interferes with their level of intelligence.

The African-Americans live in fear. They fear death and the society’s perception about them. Lydia is addicted to cocaine, which ensures she faces obstacles or misfortunes in her life. When her mother dies, she takes several shots of cocaine to calm her nerves. Likewise, her friend Gail comes to a decision to stop sexual relationships with white men immediately after taking cocaine.

When the phone rings at three in the morning to alert her about her mother’s death, she wakes up remarkably fast, but declines to answer the call for the first fifteen calls.

Instead of picking up the call, “she sat in the dark on the floor in front of the nightstand” (Jones 385). On the contrary, the white man in the bed continued sleeping soundly. Although she had slept with a stranger, the fear to face him again prompts her to refuse to go back to the bedroom after showering.

According to her mother, a telephone call, which comes past midnight usually, carries grim news, which explains why she does not pick the phone. Lydia’s mother fears rejection from the white people because she refuses to associate with them even as a neighbor. Therefore, African-Americans are not at peaceful in their own land and such poor-perception of their identity comes out clearly in Jones’ text.

Jones alludes from the bible thus bringing out the theme of Christianity or religion. For instance, Lydia, her mother, and Georgia visit Israel. Israel is one of the major landmarks in Christianity. Lydia’s mother refers to the place as “the holy land, the land of Jesus” (Jones 389). They visited Joseph’s carpentry shop, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Jericho among others. The allusion from the bible describes the behavior of African-Americans as religious.

Ironically, as Lydia gives her mother a precious gift of visiting the holy land, she engages in evil activities like drug abuse and careless sexual adventures. After sleeping with a stranger, she chants a short prayer by saying, “forgive me father for I have been fucking” (Jones 388).

Therefore, the African-Americans practice a poor or unholy lifestyle, yet they know what the society expects from them. During the Easter celebrations, the preacher says’ “Jesus has risen” (Jones 389), which proves their religious character of the African-Americans. Despite the cold and dew, African Americans sought divine intervention, which was their only hope of survival.

Edward uses figurative language like metaphors and similes to describe the lifestyle of the African-Americans. During the opening of the story, Edward uses a simile to confirm the fear in black people’s lives. For instance, when referring to the telephone, which was ringing in the middle of the night, Lydia says, “Nothing rang the telephone like death in the middle of the night” (Jones 385).

The simile confirms that Africans not only fear death, but also darkness. However, the simile is a premonition of the news she was about to receive, because true to her words, after picking up the call she discovered her mother had died. Death is the last stage of all living things, but the African-Americans are unable to face it.

Jones also applies a number of metaphors in his story. For instance, “the exhaust fan made a low humming sound” (Jones 388). Lydia had adjusted her fan to cut the noise, but even the lowest sound always catches her attention. The dislike of the sound of the fan proves that the African-American lived in fear. Everything that surrounds them seems dangerous. Although a humming sound should relax a person’s nerves, Lydia finds it irritating.

Secondly Lydia says, “She saw the sun inching up, but she knew how deceptive the sun in Washington could be” (Jones 389). Lydia personalizes the sun by calling it a liar, which proves her deceptive way of life that everything around her, even nonliving objects, is untrustworthy.

Jones refers to Lydia’s addictive nature to cocaine by writing, “she did another line of cocaine” (389), which means she could not live without the hard drug. The metaphor reveals the weird lifestyle of the African-Americans despite their education level. Lydia is a lawyer by profession, but all through she uses cocaine despite the fact that she knows the far-reaching repercussions of such action.

Similarly, Georgia lives a reckless lifestyle while on a trip to Israel; she engages in alcohol drinking and Jones refers to it as “descending drunkenness” (390), which means most African-Americans are alcoholic. Furthermore, some of them have no respect to God because Georgia drinks heavily yet she is in Israel a ‘holy land’. Although Lydia was of African-American origin, she was beautiful. According to the linguistic professor, “the sun rose and set on her” (Jones 392).

The metaphor means that Lydia is not only beautiful, is also bright and radiant. Even the title “the lost city” is an example of a metaphor. The Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary defines ‘lost’ as a doom or no longer in possession (Hornby, Turnbull, Lea, Parkinson, Philips, Francis, Webb, Bull, and Ashby 702), which means the black people in Washington city live a hopeless life.

He personalizes Washington City; however, the city represents the people residing in it, both whites and the African-Americans. There is disunity, disrespect, and immorality among the people in Washington. The people in the city commit many sins thus the reason why Edward refers to Washington as a “lost city”.

Edward uses various symbols in his story. For example, Lydia’s mother refers to the whites as ‘sickly family’. She asserts that Lydia’s first boyfriend is from the ‘sickly family’ mainly because of his white skin color. She uses a similar phrase to refer to a linguistic professor.

Through Lydia’s mother, Jones highlights the vice of racism, which prevails in the American society. Both blacks and whites dislike each other’s presence, as it is clear by Lydia’s mother behavior. The author refers to the sexual intercourse as a “dirty deed”. Lydia engages in sexual activities at the early age defiling her body and purity.

The main character in Edward’s story is Lydia. Lydia’s behavioral conduct relates remarkably well to the title of the story Lost in the city. Although Lydia is a bright African-American woman, she is immoral, a criminal, and lacks self-respect. She engages in sexual relationships with men she barely knows, and some of them, she is unable to remember their names.

Moreover, she takes prohibited drugs like cocaine. According to the author, she is addictive because she sniffs the powder at regular intervals. Likewise, her friend Gail has the same behavior. Therefore, is Lydia a bad influence? In comparison with the title, Lydia is lost in her own home, country, and society. She cannot take charge of her own life, a fact that makes her cry due to dissatisfaction.

Lydia represents the African-Americans in the United States of America. Most of them are unhappy because of poverty, poor social lives, and rejection from the white society. Consequently, the rejection forces them to engage in criminal activities like drug abuse or prostitution.

In conclusion, the lost city is an allegorical story, which secretly condemns the disunity between blacks and whites in the society. Racism prevails in the society especially in the United States where the number of black people is soaring. The vice has forced the African-Americans to engage in criminal activities like drug abuse to enable them face the life obstacles like rejection.

Lydia is unhappy with her way of life because she occasionally chants prayers of forgiveness to God. Unfortunately, skin color, culture way of life, and wealth draw a line between the two races in the US. Therefore, by describing a single character, (Lydia), Jones raises the plights of the black community in the American society.

Works Cited

Hornby, Albert, et al. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.

Jones, Edward. Lost in the city. USA: Amistad Press, 1992.

Was Stowe a Racist in Her Presentation of African Americans in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”?

Introduction

In the pantheon of literature devoted to the discussion of slavery as one of the cost despicable blights on the history of the U.S., Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” takes an important yet controversial place. On the one hand, the novel helped to further the discussion of slavery, pointing to the tremendous harm that it caused and evoking sympathy in the white U.S. population. On the other hand, the book represents several views that can be considered quite controversial by modern standards and, therefore, could be seen as one of the reasons for the present-day complexities in the relationships between African American and white U.S. population: “Her husband’s suffering and dangers, and the danger of her child, all blended in her mind” (Stowe 840). Although Stowe manages to evoke sympathy toward her characters in the reader, the creation of the archetypal characters that would become a symbolic representation of benevolent, compliant, and inactive stereotype of an African American person ultimately harm the meaningful message of the over, which makes Stowe’s perspective quite racist.

Analysis: Portrayal of Characters

As a rule, when pointing out the problematic nature of Stowe’s argument and the issues that people find the most unsettling about the book, they [point to Uncle toms’ character as a stereotype of the so-called happy slave. However, while Uncle Tom’s portrayal in the novel is already a rather unsettling misrepresentation of the struggle that African American people were facing at the time, the insertion of benevolent white characters that stole the limelight from the leading ones and served as the means of reinforcing the stereotypical misrepresentation of the social power dynamics is particularly egregious. Specifically, little Eva, who serves the sole purpose of portraying an ethically flawless, sympathetic, and blissfully unaware white person in the book, can be seen as the epitome of Stowe’s unintentional racism. Injected into the novel to demonstrate that not all white people are violent and demeaning toward African Americans, little Eva devolves the problem of grossly unfair systemic oppression and the global failure to acknowledge the humanity of another race to the representation of slavery as the effect of bad people having greater power within society than good ones. The described problem shines particularly clearly in the scene of Eve’s death: “AS bright, glorious smile passed over her face and she said, brokenly, – ‘Oh, love – joy – peace’” (Stowe 878). As a result, the struggle of African American people and the tremendous injustice dominating the U.S. society at the time is simplified almost offensively to the problem of some people being generally bad and violent toward other. Therefore, the creation of Eve as a proxy character for representing the quote-unquote good and well-intentioned white people grossly misrepresents the very notion of slavery and minimizes the struggle of African American people.

Author’s Intent

At this point, it is importing to point out that the specified critique does not imply that Stowe’s novel was not important or that the author was in some way a racist. Quite the contrary, the book has proven to be exceptionally popular, having produced quite significant impact on American culture. However, when viewed from the perspective of African American culture and the challenges that African American people have experienced, the novel turns out to contain some problematic ideas, particularly, the character of uncle tom and the representation of the so-called virtuous white people with the help of Eve’s character.

Thus, despite having produced a profoundly positive effect on the perception of African American people and their plight in the Jim Crow environment of the U.S., “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” must be recognized as a highly controversial novel. Specifically, the emphasis on the role that white people played in the liberation of African Americans has been exaggerated severely in the novel, minimizing the positive effect that the novel produced and affecting the perception of the message of slavery being a revolting phenomenon based on an inherently wrong premise of ostensible superiority of a specific race. As a result, the novel remains an essential part of American literature that his help in advancing the idea of abolitionism as the only sensible approach toward rebuilding relationships between African Americans a white Americans. At the same time, one must admit that Stowe’s book is filled to the brim with the characters and ideas that are presently largely considered questionable, at best, and racist, at worst: “Mas’r will go his own way!” (Stowe 847). Therefore, while the value of the novel can be debated due to the positive reception among white people and rather mixed reception among African Americans, the manner in which Stowe constructed her characters and represented their relationships with the ostensibly good white people represents undiluted racism. While it would not be quite fair to blame the described effect solely on Stowe, one must admit that her writing does, in fact, contain the concepts that would be seen as racist in present day.

Conclusion

Despite the presence of an admittedly positive intention in Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” the image of an inactive African American person that objects not to slavery but to violent slave owners devalues the initially positive message and reduces the significance of the novel, making Stowe’s perspective quite racist. Therefore, despite Stowe’s narrative was progressive enough at the time to spark the willingness to protest against slavery in white American population, it did not succeed in creating the characters that could subvert the established stereotypes and represent a strong opposition o the status quo; Instead, the character of Uncle Tom reinforced the specified notion, while the character of Elisa contributed to perceiving African Americans as strong and driven.

Work Cited

Stowe, Harriet Beecher. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature, shorter 9th edition, edited by Robert Levine, W. W. Norton & Company, 2017.

Racist Presentation of African Americans in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” has a complicated and quite controversial legacy. On the one hand, the novel was one of the first literary attempts at portraying the plight of African Americans in a sympathetic way by a white person. On the other hand, the protagonist has since morphed into a stereotype that has been deemed as a rather racist representation of African American people (Stowe). Therefore, defining “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” as either an entirely flawless attempt at addressing the atrocities of slavery or a completely butchered portrayal of African American people and their struggle would be wrong. Furthermore, claiming Stowe to be a racist would be inappropriate given the difference in the time period and the inability to receive explanations from the author herself. However, viewing the novel through the present-day lens will show that the novel has several problematic elements that would portray Stowe racist in her depiction of the lead characters and the struggles of African American people in the era of slavery. Due to the excessive focus on the role of white Americans in the liberation of African American slaves, as well as the portrayal of the titular character and his family members as compliant, lauding the specified qualities, the novel introduces a rather racist concept of an African American person.

When discussing the presence of racism in Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” one must focus on the way in which the titular character was developed first. Specifically, uncle Tom has been defined multiple times as a rather offensive archetype of an African American slave who is compliant and content with his status and is happy to serve his master. Indeed, in a range of scenes, Uncle Tom never questions the cruelty of white people or the unfairness of the situation, in general, perceiving slavery as a given: “The longest way must have its close – the gloomiest night will wear on to a morning” (Stowe). For instance, in the scenes in which he interacts with George Harris, especially in the scene when he is being sold to a ruthless and intimidating slave owner., Uncle Tom is portrayed as a benevolent and rather passive character: “The next day, Tom and Adolph, and some half a dozen other servants, were marched down to a slave-warehouse, to await the convenience of the trader, who was going to make up a lot for auction” (Stowe). As a result, the idea of resistance as a positive force that will allow African American people to oppose slavery and discrimination, eventually claiming their humanity, dissolves.

Additionally, Stowe’s portrayal of the white protagonists in the book appears to be excessively patronizing in relation to struggles of the Black characters. For instance, the focus on George Shelby, both in his childhood and as he grows up into an adult, represents an example of how the issue of racism was pinned on specific white people in the book as opposed to the very concept of slavery as an atrocious and dehumanizing concept. Specifically, by portraying the idyllic relationships between Uncle Tom and George Shelby, both as the latter as a child and as he became a young adult, create an illusion of a positive relationship between a slave and a master, suggesting that a compromise could exist: “I’m sure, Aunt Chloe, I understand my pie and pudding privileges” (Stowe). Therefore, even though the author intended the boo to manifest the necessity to abolish slavery, there is a distinctive problem in the power dynamic between the titular character and his white owner, which subverts the positive message an ultimately devalues it.

At the same time, it is worth noting that even though Uncle Tom’s name is placed in the very title of the book, is not the central character and, therefore, is not supposed to represent all African American people in the story. Instead, the book centers a character named George who is, in fact, much more determined and willing to escape slavery, fully recognizing the horrendously unfair and inhumane premise on which it is based. Specifically, George voices some of the key ideas regarding the problem of racial relationships in the U.S.

Although the current interpretation of Uncle Tom’s character could be blamed on the misinterpretations in the staged versions, Stowe’s description of African American people in the novel makes Stowe rather racist in her representation of African Americans in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” coupled with an excessive emphasis on the contribution of white people to the abolitionist movement and the attempt at painting the picture of quote-unquote “good’ slave owners and compliant, content slaves, the specified perspective becomes particularly egregious to a modern reader. Therefore, although the novel was created with good intentions in mind and did have a profound impact on white Americans, encouraging them to accept the idea of abolitionism and condemn slavery, it also led to the emergence of several harmful stereotypes. Therefore, it could be argued that Stowe was unintentionally racist when building her protagonist and developing the plot, particularly, by placing white characters at the forefront.

Work Cited

Stowe, Harriet Beecher. . Project Gutenberg, 1995.