The Harlem Renaissance was the movement of African American culture through different forms of art. Through “jazz” to the” blues,” one can get a sense of emotions African Americans had during this time period. During the 1920’s and even up to now, there hasn’t been too much to thoroughly define the Harlem Renaissance movement, but it’s been used to express the African American experience.
The Civil Rights Movement is the time period between 1955-1968 in which African Americans worked to stop racial discrimination and “restore suffrage” in the South. The movement was known not in aspects of the law and society, but for the basic freedom of African Americans and their rights as human beings. The Civil rights movement did its best to accomplish its goals and a lot of goals were accomplished. The movement brought about many changes in all aspects of our culture. But, the movement is not over. There are still civil rights that are being violated and it seems that the fight for civil rights will be a continuous endeavor. We cannot change every individual’s perspectives and thoughts which is why the fight for civil rights is ongoing.
Important event that occurred in Money, Mississippi, was the murder case of Emmitt Till in 1955. The way they killed this young boy was unnecessarily brutal. Killing a little boy for making a comment to a white girl is very extreme even if the boy was African-American. This murder was done by two white men, Roy Bryant and his half brother J.W. Milam who thought it was actually enjoyable. Emmitt Till’s mother wanted the nation to see his beaten, disfigured face and had an open casket funeral service. This service created a significant boost to the civil rights movement. Over 50,000 people viewed this funeral and many realized the severity of this case and opened people’s eyes more so on what was going on. I had briefly covered this subject in history class but not in detail. I have not seen Emmitt Till’s picture until this class and it definitely angers me to see what happened to him.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee SNCC was founded in 1960 in North Carolina. The students came together to be involved in early sit in movements, freedom rides, and were also involved in the Mississippi Freedom summer. At first, the philosophy of the SNCC seemed to be founded on the notion of non violent demonstrations and exercises. The group also practiced on Christian influences and worked with black and white members for civil rights. However, by the mid-1960’s the committee drifted from their early views and started to become influenced by Marxism and Black Nationalism ideas. The group moved from non violent tactics to militancy and more aggressive procedures. The notion of black power came about with the SNCC, but was opposed by Martin Luther King. The group was no longer in existence by the 1970’s.
I think the personal philosophy will indefinitely come from life experience. The importance, however, lies in the fact that we must still be open to different tactics and perspectives. Malcolm may have been influenced a lot by violence and hardship that he faced and witnessed since a young age, while Martin may have been brought up with a different understand and learning of life. However, the two were such a significant character of the time and even now due to their open ideas of different perspectives. The two may never have practiced the other philosophies, but they understood the need for both kinds of philosophies. It is what life is about. You cannot have violence without peace and peace without violence. It’s a matter of balance in life, a balance that we cannot live without. I think that Malcolm and Martin understood this, accepted it, and embraced the philosophies of one another, without having to practice it.
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566483/Harlem_Renaissance.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_civil_rights_movement
http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/sncc/a/sncc.htm
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
My Privileges
Privileges
1. I am privileged at having my parents around who loves and supports me 100 percent. Being of Korean decent, they are at times, overly involved in aspects of my life. When I was younger it was more of a hassle, but now that I’m older I’ve learned to appreciate their concern and involvement in my life.
2. I am privileged to not have any physical or mental disability. I say this because my brother suffers from physical disability and I see the hardship and difficulties that he faces daily. The mere physical handicap gives him limitations that I take for granted.
3. I am privileged to be in a time period where discrimination and segregation is culturally and socially unacceptable. Although, we still see cases of racism within individuals or small groups, for the most part it is now illegal and intolerable by the majority of people.
4. Having citizenship in the U.S. I am privileged to have “equal opportunity” when it comes to benefits, school scholarships and grants, passport, visas, lower school costs (compared to international students), and much more. There are situations where I am not easily granted these “opportunities” and I may be questioned as to whether I “deserve” these benefits, but having an American citizenship allows me much more freedom then others from Korea.
5. Having been brought up in the States, I’ve been privileged to be able to attend grade schools at no cost. Public education is not free in all countries.
6. My parents worked hard as immigrants in this country which allowed me to get a good education in good schools. I never had to worry about my school not being safe or having to go through a metal detector every morning.
7. For the most part I was treated fairly within the school systems and classes. There was a case in my English course here at OU where I felt discriminated against, but generally it was never a problem in my schools.
8. I am privileged to be able to work, since so many people don’t have jobs at this time.
9. Not having “broken English” is a privilege, because I see the discrimination that occurs to people who don’t fluently speak English.
10. I feel that I am privileged to be in a supervisory position at work regardless of my nationality and age.
11. I am privileged to own my own vehicle and in any case I am not able to afford one, one can be appointed to me by my parents.
12. Living in a society in which we have easy access to many supermarkets at affordable costs is a privilege. Having the chance to eat all types of fruits all year long, for example, is a privilege. I visited Korea four years ago for the first time and was surprised to see the cost of strawberries at $15.00 a case. Fruits that are not in season are almost impossible to even find.
13. Being in America, which is known as the melting pot, gives us the opportunity to learn about many different cultures, if we wish.
14. Also, to be able to experience and enjoy many different ethnic foods is a privilege. You can drive down the streets of most cities and find different cultural restaurants.
15. It is a privilege to have access to knowledge and information through the internet, public libraries, public museums, and even television.
16. We are privileged to enjoy the entertainments that we have today, such as, xbox, playstations, nintendos, etc. We have so much to choose from.
17. I think that having the freedom to choose and practice you’re religion is a great privilege I have. In most countries it is not a matter of choice.
18. I’ve been privileged to grow up in a stable home and family.
19. I am privileged to help others at work, where I deal with people who have problems with addictions and mental issues.
20. Being Korean, I’ve faced many stereotypes. Some good like “you Asians are smart”, some bad “Asians are so cheap and never on time,” but whether good or bad, I’m glad to have experienced these stereotypes. Through my own incidents and my parent’s incidents of racial stereotypes and sometimes discrimination, I can be grateful of all the privileges that I have.
1. I am privileged at having my parents around who loves and supports me 100 percent. Being of Korean decent, they are at times, overly involved in aspects of my life. When I was younger it was more of a hassle, but now that I’m older I’ve learned to appreciate their concern and involvement in my life.
2. I am privileged to not have any physical or mental disability. I say this because my brother suffers from physical disability and I see the hardship and difficulties that he faces daily. The mere physical handicap gives him limitations that I take for granted.
3. I am privileged to be in a time period where discrimination and segregation is culturally and socially unacceptable. Although, we still see cases of racism within individuals or small groups, for the most part it is now illegal and intolerable by the majority of people.
4. Having citizenship in the U.S. I am privileged to have “equal opportunity” when it comes to benefits, school scholarships and grants, passport, visas, lower school costs (compared to international students), and much more. There are situations where I am not easily granted these “opportunities” and I may be questioned as to whether I “deserve” these benefits, but having an American citizenship allows me much more freedom then others from Korea.
5. Having been brought up in the States, I’ve been privileged to be able to attend grade schools at no cost. Public education is not free in all countries.
6. My parents worked hard as immigrants in this country which allowed me to get a good education in good schools. I never had to worry about my school not being safe or having to go through a metal detector every morning.
7. For the most part I was treated fairly within the school systems and classes. There was a case in my English course here at OU where I felt discriminated against, but generally it was never a problem in my schools.
8. I am privileged to be able to work, since so many people don’t have jobs at this time.
9. Not having “broken English” is a privilege, because I see the discrimination that occurs to people who don’t fluently speak English.
10. I feel that I am privileged to be in a supervisory position at work regardless of my nationality and age.
11. I am privileged to own my own vehicle and in any case I am not able to afford one, one can be appointed to me by my parents.
12. Living in a society in which we have easy access to many supermarkets at affordable costs is a privilege. Having the chance to eat all types of fruits all year long, for example, is a privilege. I visited Korea four years ago for the first time and was surprised to see the cost of strawberries at $15.00 a case. Fruits that are not in season are almost impossible to even find.
13. Being in America, which is known as the melting pot, gives us the opportunity to learn about many different cultures, if we wish.
14. Also, to be able to experience and enjoy many different ethnic foods is a privilege. You can drive down the streets of most cities and find different cultural restaurants.
15. It is a privilege to have access to knowledge and information through the internet, public libraries, public museums, and even television.
16. We are privileged to enjoy the entertainments that we have today, such as, xbox, playstations, nintendos, etc. We have so much to choose from.
17. I think that having the freedom to choose and practice you’re religion is a great privilege I have. In most countries it is not a matter of choice.
18. I’ve been privileged to grow up in a stable home and family.
19. I am privileged to help others at work, where I deal with people who have problems with addictions and mental issues.
20. Being Korean, I’ve faced many stereotypes. Some good like “you Asians are smart”, some bad “Asians are so cheap and never on time,” but whether good or bad, I’m glad to have experienced these stereotypes. Through my own incidents and my parent’s incidents of racial stereotypes and sometimes discrimination, I can be grateful of all the privileges that I have.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Blog Writting Assignment/Reflection
The NAACP has been instrumental in the African American experiences in many aspects. The issue of discrimination, in all areas of legal, education, transportation, employment, and many others, were brought to light through the NAACP. It was the established to help publicize and resolve issues of discrimination. The group was a cornerstone in educating the people of racial discrimination and pushing for the right for equality.
One of the most distinguished contribution of the Oklahoma NAACP was through the case of Guinn V. United States, in which, the “grandfather clause” concerning blacks rights to vote was overturned. The University of Oklahoma was also involved in cases of discrimination and racial segregation. Sipuel V. The Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma allowed the first black woman to have the equal opportunity for education. Clara Luper of Oklahoma and the NAACP of Oklahoma also prevailed over discrimination by their sit in movements. The sit in movement became wide spread throughout the state of Oklahoma and helped aid in the civil rights movement.
The legal movements profoundly contributed to the civil rights movement in that the laws changed. All people were given equal opportunities and rights through the law. That did not mean that it was still easy, but it was the first step in illegalizing discrimination. The NAACP played the majority of the part in the African American experience and the legal movement. The organization was a civil rights organization in which they fought the legal system through the experience of the African Americans.
The Reconstruction era was the time after the Civil war. The Confederate states had seceded and it was during this time that the Union was making plans to unite all the states again. There were many plans that were made for the Reconstruction and although it took many long and tiring years, things did start to change. From the present situation we can see that the Reconstruction was successful in political aspects. That does not mean, however, that the people of the era were willing to except the Reconstruction.
Currently, the NAACP continues to fight for civil justice, not only in African Americans, but for all races.
They still defend those who have had injustice and discrimination done against. The efforts of the NAACP still give our society hope of equal opportunity and equal rights.
The studies and lectures given in this course are very interesting and informative. Just in the NAACP information, there are many new things that I’ve learned. I did not know many of the information that I do now. Not only did I learn that it was the experience of African American, but being a minority myself, it also gives me hope that there is an organization that still fights for the civil rights of all races.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1595.html
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/N/NA001.html
http://afroamhistory.about.com/cs/reconstruction/a/reconstruction.htm
http://www.naacp.org/about/history/timeline/index.htm#2000
Monday, February 9, 2009
so tired...
I am so tired of work right now...the lack of sleep due to school, work, and church...because we don't have enough staff right now with everyone calling in sick and having health issues, I had to work Friday from 3:30 pm until midnight. went home and studied a little and had to be back at work Saturday at 7:30 in the morning. Didn't even get off until midnight then too. went home and studied for an hour and went to sleep. had to wake up by 8:00 am and get ready for church. Stayed for choir and praise practice and as soon as it was over, had to drive back to work. Supposed to get off at midnight, but had to fix people's mistakes on paperwork and didn't get home until 1:00 am. Ate, took a shower and by the time I got into bed, it was 2:00. Woke up at 7:00 am to get ready for school. Classes were good, took good notes but only through the first half of each classes. I have two exams on Friday and I still have to work today and tomorrow til midnight. I wish I wasn't the shift coordinator. But of course all the other staff members are lazy and don't even care about anything. I don't know how or why they lack responsibility. GET THINGS DONE PEOPLE! They think because i don't like leaving things undone, they can take advantage of this. Well, it's their turn to do the work now. I'm not doing anything ANYMORE! Also, I have to deal with a racist African-American staff member who works with us. I have to deal with patients affected by her racism. I have had several racial comments from our director as well who is also African-American. I've filed many complaints to central office about them both, but apparently our director is "connected" with people in central office. OK. i'm done venting. Need to eat before my FAVORITE CLASS. hehe. see you soon Ms. Flippin!
Friday, February 6, 2009
my thought for the day
I was thinking today how if African-American studies, NAACP, segregation laws, etc. was never found and applied, not only would it affect African-Americans, but Asians as well. I watched Gran Torino the other day and Clint Eastwood was calling the Asians "Gooks" and showed a lot of inconsideration towards the Asians in the beginning. I know racism still goes on today, but due to all the movements and laws, a lot of them coming from the African-American society, racism has gone down dramatically. Not only did these movements affect African Americans, but Asians and other nationalities as well. Thanks guys! heh heh
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