Black History Month Reflection

Black history month is known as African-American History Month in America, is an annual observance in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. Black history month has been celebrated since 1926, and is greatly appreciated. Black history month month celebrates people like Boston Massacre figure Crispus Attucks, Underground Railroad leader Harriet Tubman, Legal figure Homer Plessy, Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Bus-riding activist Rosa Parks, ‘Black Power’ advocate Malcolm X, and Educator Booker T. Washington. Due to this group, it is evident how blacks have contributed to the fiber of American culture, ranging from useful inventions to innovative musical interludes, and beyond. Blacks have served and died in defense of their adopted homeland.

Throughout the entire month of February, Midwestern State University has been celebrating Black History Month, an important time for students of color to celebrate what it means to be black, while also educating other students about the cultural significance of the African-American community.   Many organizations, such as the African Student Union, the Black Student Union, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, are hosting events and celebrating the diaspora of African culture.   Some events that are happening on campus to help celebrate Black History Month include a theatre performance called "Facing Our Truth: Theater Performances", a premiere to Marvel Studios ' "Black Panther", and a lecture entitled "Critical Conversations Series: Is Free Speech Free?".

After WWI more than one million African-Americans moved from the South to Northern cities beginning in 1915 in what became known as the Great Migration. There were several push and pull factors that contributed to the Great Migration. Blacks sought to escape poverty, Jim Crow, and racism as a new KKK formed. Northern cities attracted a new generation of black men because of enfranchisement, jobs created by industrialization and WWI, and media outlets such as The Crisis.

Historical events fall along the lines of celebrating holidays such as Black History Month in school or even church. William E Cross ’s Nigresence model discusses five stages which include emersion, immersion, pre-encounter, encounter, and internalization commitment. First, the pre-encounter stage happened in middle school being exposed to so many Caucasian people, and considering how a like we acted. Acted which means growing up in the country and using the same slang as well as taking a liking in the same activities.

In the paper, "Two Years Are Better than Four,” the writer, Liz Addison, communicates her sentiment on the essentialness of junior colleges. She writes in light of the absence for consideration and significance to junior colleges. As she would see it, junior colleges do not get the affirmation and thankfulness that they merit. Inside of the article, Addison references Rick Perlstein commonly and gives him mention for his thought that school as it used to be, a period of relaxation, had arrived at an end. Addison fuses the principal thought of her paper into the initial few sections and expresses, "My conjecture, finding for some hidden meaning, is that Mr. Perlstein has never set foot in an American Junior college" (Source A).

Benjamin “Pap” Singleton was an African-American civil rights activist and successful businessman integral to the beginnings of black nationalism. He greatly influenced the resettlement of thousands of African-Americans to Kansas, know as the “Great Exodus,” after the ending of Reconstruction. There he advocated for black-owned businesses and fought to improve black communities through providing education and jobs. Youth and Freedom Benjamin Singleton was born into slavery somewhere around Nashville, Tennessee in 1809. During his youth he trained and worked as a carpenter and cabinet maker.

In her 2013 “Bowie State University Commencement Speech”, found in They Say/I Say, Michelle Obama, the current First Lady of the United States, uses several rhetorical strategies, including historical references and appeals to emotion and history, in order to drive her central message of the importance of education and the responsibly of her audience to deliver the legacy of education to the next generation. Throughout the piece, Obama relays a historical analysis of the progress made in education for African Americans, including an exploration of the toil and sacrifice made over the decades so that that progress could come to pass. She concludes by calling the graduating students to action to carry on the legacy of educational excellence that

"This book must be regarded as a greatly important contribution to race relations literature. It is invaluable for the manner in which authors combine the lessons of history with insightful analyses of empirical data to demonstrate patterns of change over the past fifty years in the status of African Americans... Provocative and stimulating reading." —James E. Blackwell, University of Massachusetts, Boston "Presents a wide-ranging reanalysis of the seminal work done by Gunnar Myrdal in 1944, examining virtually every issue that Myrdal noted as relevant to the American race question. In so doing, Clayton and his contributors have brought the matter up to date and shown how the American dilemma continues into the twenty-first century."

“The Harlem Renaissance” was the name given to the cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem between the 1920s and 1930s, around the end of World War I. This movement took place in Harlem, New York a predominantly African American community. The Harlem Renaissance was associated with the origin of African American culture drawing writers, artists, musicians, photographers, poets, and scholars to Harlem.

Black Power Huey Newton, cofounder of the Black Panthers, once said, “Black Power is giving power to people who have not had power to determine their destiny.” Due to the mistreatment of African Americans a speech was given and a phrase was coined that raised awareness of the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement. Stokely Carmichael was one of many who were leaders in the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, Stokely Carmichael was chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Boston’s economic and social opportunities and the presence of an established black community attracted many blacks who were migrating to Massachusetts. Many of the blacks born in the city were familiar with the migrant experience. Respectively, many members of the black community developed an empathy for the problems of newcomers. The diverse origins of these migrants contribute to the character of the antebellum black community. In 1850, 16 percent of these migrants had been born outside the borders of the United States.

I utilize my platform to make the voices of African Americans in my community heard and felt, enlightening people who would have otherwise never been aware

The History Channel lists several famous speeches on their website. Of the listings, I chose to discuss two speeches related to the Civil Rights Movement. The first speech I chose to listen was titled “A. Philip Randolph on Struggle for Racial Equality.” The second speech I chose to listen to was titled “Lyndon Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act of 1964.” I believe that these speeches are listed as some of the greatest speeches according to the History Channel because they address the long time struggle of racial inequality in the United States.

More so, she works to allow bring readers into the transformation of Washington D.C. into a city of urbanization and political changes. The author includes various maps and figures to illustrate various aspects of the antebellum capital. Chapter two focuses on the Freedmen’s Bureau and their role in helping freed African Americans gain equal rights. Masur also pens accounts about African American’s newly acclaimed rights in business community. Continuing, chapter three characterizes equality in terms of political debates that included equality in public institutions and

Low high school grades or SAT or ACT scores will not carry as much weight when applying to a four-year university if you do well as community college. Taking developmental classes, such as lower-level math, science, or English courses, can make up for poor grades you received in high school. Admissions counselors at four-year universities like to see you overcome your problems and bettering