African American history

by

Making Light of Slavery?

 

Recently in the Texas History class I am teaching a student shared an example of how two friends would quasi reenact an enslaved, enslaver situation at the place where they work. The White person would tell the Black person “get to work” and so on.
This student followed up in an email asking my thoughts: “How do you feel about that though, specifically, making a joke out of slavery? Do you think it’s offensive, ignores the plight of the enslaved, or perhaps something I/we haven’t considered? Or is it okay, diminishing the detrimental effects on the psyche of the African Americans by satirizing it?”
I asked if I could have time to think about it and “reply” here. This student said yes, so here goes.

 

– Click through to read more –

 

Source: andrewpegoda.com

by

Ferguson Protests Erupt Near Grave of Ex-Slave Dred Scott, Whose Case Helped Fuel U.S. Civil War

 

AMY GOODMAN: Just miles down the road from the scene of protests in Ferguson, we’re hearing a lot about Florissant. Just down Florissant is the grave of Dred Scott, who’s buried in the Calvary Cemetery on West Florissant Avenue. Born a slave in Virginia, Dred Scott sued in a St. Louis court for his freedom. The case went to the Supreme Court, resulting in a landmark Supreme Court decision that’s called the worst ever. In 1857, the court ruled African Americans were not citizens of the United States, and therefore had no rights to sue in federal courts. The court described blacks as, quote, “beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations, and so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect,” unquote. Again, the Dred Scott decision, considered the worst decision in the history of the Supreme Court, in the slave state of Missouri, the seven-to-two decision. The chief justice was a slave owner himself. In fact, a number of the Supreme Court justices were slave owners themselves.

To talk more about the significance of this case today, we’re joined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, professor of law at UCLA and Columbia University, founder of the African American Policy Forum.

Kimberlé, thank you for joining us. Professor Crenshaw, talk about the significance of Dred Scott’s body just lying down the road on Florissant, the road we’ve heard so much about, as these protests continue and escalate.


KIMBERLÉ CRENSHAW: Well, really couldn’t be more symbolic. As you point out, Dred Scott is widely regarded as being one of the worst cases ever. And there are two ways in which we might see its relevance in this particular moment. One, when the Supreme Court was trying to decide whether African Americans could be citizens, what they considered was the way African Americans were treated. They weren’t necessarily looking at formal law. In a lot of ways, free blacks had more rights than white women did. But the overall idea was that they could be enslavable. The overall idea is that they weren’t seen as having the same social worth as white Americans and could be enslaved for their own good. So the very possibility of their enslavability meant that, at least as far as the founders were concerned, they were going to be forever and permanently a stateless people. And that would have likely been the case had the case not led to a civil war.

 

Source: www.democracynow.org

by

U.S. History from a Reparations Perspective

 

Stubborn as a Mule 

This is a MUST SEE internationally award winning film that depicts and explores facts of history that are not whole known or taught in any educational system. It is an eye-open look at the concept that makes the case for why reparations should be open for discussion and the necessity for it to be addressed. -John Wills


AWESOME DOCUMENTARY!

 

Source: thoughtprovokingperspectives.wordpress.com

by

UNC Academic Scandal: Whistleblower, Former Athlete Speak Out

ESPN Video: North Carolina whistleblower Mary Willingham and former football player Deunta Williams discuss the fake classes that student-athletes were allegedly encouraged to take in order to maintain eligibility to play.

See on espn.go.com

by

Rosewood

 

“Rosewood was a Black town in the American state of Florida that was burned to the ground in 1923 by Whites. The state of Florida says eight died: six Blacks, two Whites. Survivors say between 40 to 150 died, nearly all of them Black. Several eyewitnesses saw a mass grave of Blacks with maybe 27 bodies, but to date it has not been found.

 

No Whites were ever charged with a crime, ”

 

 

Community Village‘s insight:

 

If you click through to the full article, make sure to read the last line.

 

People to this day still try to blame Black and Brown people for problems that are not caused by Black and Brown people.

See on abagond.wordpress.com

by

Person Of The Day: Malcolm X

 

Malcolm X was assassinated on this day, dying in a hail of bullets right before addressing the Organization of Afro-American Unity in Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom. Several accounts of the stories have been told, with many pointing to the NOI being responsible for the leader’s death.

 
See on thoughtprovokingperspectives.wordpress.com

by

Walker’s “Appeal”

A

 

““Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World, but in particular, and very expressly, to those of the United States of America”(1829) by David Walker, a free Black American, was a forceful condemnation of slavery and racism. In America it was a guiding light for Blacks. It radicalized Whites. It was banned in the South.”

 

 

Community Village‘s insight:

 

I grew up going to majority White churches.

 

I never heard a mumbling word about racism or oppression.

 

@getgln

See on abagond.wordpress.com

by

The Destruction of Black Wall Street

 

“Greenwood, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa, was the type of community that African Americans are still, today, attempting to reclaim and rebuild.  It was modern, majestic, sophisticated and unapologetically…”

 

Linda Christenson writes the following:

 

“The term “race riot” does not adequately describe the events of May 31—June 1, 1921 in Greenwood… In fact, the term itself implies that both blacks and whites might be equally to blame for the lawlessness and violence. The historical record documents a sustained and murderous assault on black lives and property. This assault was met by a brave but unsuccessful armed defense of their community by some black World War I veterans and others.

 

During the night and day of the riot, deputized whites killed more than 300 African Americans. They looted and burned to the ground 40 square blocks of 1,265 African American homes, including hospitals, schools, and churches, and destroyed 150 businesses. White deputies and members of the National Guard arrested and detained 6,000 black Tulsans who were released only upon being vouched for by a white employer or other white citizen. Nine thousand African Americans were left homeless and lived in tents well into the winter of 1921.
Read more at EBONY http://www.ebony.com/black-history/the-destruction-of-black-wall-street-405#ixzz2ttGF3GVa
Follow us: @EbonyMag on Twitter | EbonyMag on Facebook
See on www.ebony.com

by

Last Night on Jeopardy No One Wanted to Answer Qs About Black History

Happy Black History Month, everyone, courtesy of last night’s all-white College Jeopardy panel! In the second round of play, the contestants sailed through five of the categories–including “International Cinema Showcase,” “Weather Verbs,” and “Kiwi Fauna”–but avoided the sixth like the, ahem, black plague. That category was “African-American History.”

See on jezebel.com