The Church itself was the 16th Street Baptist Church and was designed by the State of Alabama 's only black Architect and was finished in 1911. The church was a large part of a heavily segregated in arguably one of the most racist towns in America. Birmingham had no colored Police officers of Firefighters and very few blacks could vote. The Church was very significant. The Church, besides having mass meetings of the local black community and holding various events was also a Rally point for the Civil Rights
On April 15, 2013, in Boston, Massachusetts the Boston Marathon Bombing occurred during a marathon which was a very devastating day in the United States , there was also two bombs that went off close to the finish line. Also, the Marathon is always held during Patriots’ day to honor the war. The Boston Marathon Bombing injured around two hundred sixty-four people and the explosion of the bomb killed three civilians also, there were fourteen people who were amputated. The bombing had two suspects both who were brothers and later on in 2012 their family emigrated to the United States. The Boston Marathon Bombing was a huge event throughout the whole United States and maybe the whole world. When the Boston Marathon Bombing happened I would
Luke 23: 24 ,”Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” That was the verse that 16th Street Baptist Church Sunday school lesson for September 15, 1963 was going to be based on (Howard, Betsy Child). Sadly, four very special little girls never got to hear it. The assassination of the four innocent little girls, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson and Carol Denise McNair during the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was unjust because they were innocent, the main causes for the assassination were racial and political; however, in those days some people thought certain murder was acceptable, therefore making it just.
The tragic event occurred on September 15, 1963. The act was carried out by members of the Ku Klux Klan, people who disliked blacks and did horrible things because of this, in Birmingham, Alabama. Alabama was a Southern state and allowed segregation. The explosion went off at approximately 10:20 A.M., when Sunday school was ending and the service was beginning. The police say that members of the Ku Klux Klan planted a bomb near the church. Four young girls, 11-year-old Denise McNair and 14-year-old Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, and Carole Robertson, were crushed by falling debris. Several others were injured in the tragedy.
In the 1977 novel, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. Morrison highlights the running theme of love. The theme of love is present in every relationship in the novel and is defined different from character to character. The women display love as a way of obsession whether it is over their spouses or over materialistic possessions. The men, however; define it differently, many are distant and secluded when it comes to expressing affection and love. This underlying theme significantly contributes to the overall storyline providing a unique characterization to each character, allowing the reader to really experience the character’s emotional development through the novel. The theme of love can be identified from the very beginning of the novel.
Throughout literature, most novels incorporate an adventure and an exploration theme about the hero journeying to find their path. In the novel Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, it begins depicting Milkman as a feeble dependent character that relies on his friends and family for all of his needs. However, as the novel progresses the view of Milkman develops into an independent figure through a journey. Milkman’s personality and mindset shift as the purpose of the journey diverts away from gold and greed. He comes to realize what’s important in the world and begins exploring what really matters; his race, family’s homes, and identity in the world.
In Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy,” there is an underlying sense of hope that is seen in spurts through the constant stories of injustice and unfairness that take place. Throughout the book there are multiple people that are wrongly condemned and have to suffer on the dreaded death row. All of the inmates of the row know they will eventually be executed, but only a select few stay positive and give the reader a sense of hope in such a negative situation. Mr. Jenkins is one of those men. The mentally ill man was in and out of foster care as a child, and his terrible experiences lead to more serious brain damage. The trauma lead to him stabbing a man without even knowing it, which brought him to the death row. Not only does he have to deal with
In Song Of Solomon by Toni Morrison, the setting takes place near Lake Superior in Detroit, Michigan around the black community. The story revolves around the character Milkman who is born in a wealthy colored family. The motif of flight plays a significant role in Milkman’s action in his journey. The motif flight represents escape from one's life burdens, freedom and life. Throughout Milkman’s journey to become more independent, and learn his family history. As a result Milkman achieve the ability of flight because he was forced to step out of his comfort zone and experience and see the world in a different and an unfamiliar way.
In the book Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison. Many characters in the books have grown throughout the novel. In the Song of Solomon character are faced with the harsh reality of white privilege in society. Another factor that led most of the characters in the book to change so dramatically as they did, was that they could not change something as badly as they wanted to. The hopelessness that comes out of oppression leads to a violent and extreme mindsets. The characters in the book that were affected by the oppression was Robert Smith and Guitar. The book first begins with a man who killed himself the same night that Milkman is born, Smith jumped off the Mercy Hospital Building with a note taped saying “I will take off from Mercy and fly away
Macon Dead III, commonly known as Milkman, is Ruth and Macon’s son. He is born the day when Mr. Robert Smith suicidal flies off the hospital’s roof and for that reason he is the first black baby born in the usual unmerciful, racist No Mercy Hospital in 1931. As the son of Ruth and Macon Dead, he is part of the upper black society in a wealthy, privileged family. Grown up under these circumstances, Milkman has a traumatized father since his father witnessed the murder of Jake, Macon’s father, trying to protect his land which is in the way of powerful white people as a young guy. Thereby, his family becomes “a victim of social violence and racism in the hostile south of the USA” and this event leaves a deep impression in Macon’s character (Gomez R. 118). So Macon had never experienced a happy childhood and since his mother died in childbirth, he has never had somebody caring for him. Consequently, Milkman grows up without a model father or loving husband.
Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon is an examination on the importance of self-identity in African-American society and the effects of a name. Names and labels are used to describe and symbolize people, places, and things, serving as a brief definition of the subject. Toni Morrison uses this definition in order to analyze the effects redefining or naming had on African Americans heritage and culture after their emancipation. Throughout the story, the central protagonist Macon Dead III or Milkman, searches his family’s history to reclaim his past and recreate himself. America’s history of slavery and it’s lasting effects have allowed African-American society and cultural identity to be dictated by the white majority. Although the horrors
His social awakening also inspires a change in attitude towards the treatment of women. Initially, Milkman objectifies Hagar and treats her as an inferior, but when he encounters Sweet, he begins to reciprocate her affections and treat her with respect. Furthermore, Milkman’s change in motivation for his flight south illustrates the development of his maturity through his pursuit of his family’s history, proving that attaining wealth is no longer his sole purpose. During his time south, Milkman was maliciously pursued by Guitar. His attempted murderer of Milkman creates the illusion of a resurrection to which Milkman develops social awareness. Milkman’s acknowledgment of racism and change in attitude towards women ultimately highlights his maturity and the development of an unmaterialistic identity through his metaphorical
Milkman meets Circe, an old midwife who helped deliver Macon Jr. and Pilate. Circe tells Milkman that Macon’s original name was Jake and that he was married to an Indian girl, Sing. Milkman then heads south to Shalimar, Virginia where his grandfather used to live. Milkman finds that his great-grandfather, was the legendary flying African, Solomon, who escaped slavery by flying back to Africa. However, because Solomon escaped and left his kids, Milkman’s grandfather, grew up an orphan. Furthermore, Macon Dead I’s son, Macon Jr., witnessed a white men murder his father. Macon Jr. never fully recovered from that horrifying moment which made him become a greedy, vicious man who was obsessed with money, thus, causing Milkman to share some of his characteristics.