Creating African Americans Chapter 1 Summary

Unchained Memories Review The documentary Unchained Memories were reading by African American actors and actresses from the last generation of born into slavery slaves and their experiences as slaves, their treatment as slaves, and the culture of the time. This documentary really stood out from other documentary and movies because these narratives were from actual slaves and none of the slaves had the same or even similar experiences. These narratives are so precious that they are held in the Library of Congress. Unchained Memories helped better my knowledge of the history of slavery in America because it solidified how hard the slaves were worked and how awful they were treated.

African American history is a corrective balance to the single story of American History because it exposes one to another side of history. It erases the concept that whites built America. African American history allows you to know that there is more to America than just what you learn in American History. It is not just white america because African Americans contributed a great deal to the development of america. A student who takes american history will began to believe that whites are the only people who contributed to the development of America.

According to Heather Andrea Williams, an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “Access to the written word, whether scriptural or political, revealed a world beyond bondage in which African Americans could imagine themselves free to think and behave as they chose” (8). This quote reflects on a classic topic utilized within captivity narratives. A captivity narrative is a variation of narrative that addresses the life of a person held in captivity who manages to find his or her way to liberation. The captivity narratives I have selected to review and compare are those of: The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass which was published in 1845, and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African, written by Himself released in 1789.

Although blacks were technically granted freedom in the North by the nineteenth century at the latest, in practice they were only granted restricted amounts of economic and social freedom while their political freedom was nonexistent. Despite their newly acquired freedom blacks in the north were constantly subjected to racial prejudices that undermined any effort to actively participate in the development of the American political system. Out of the six New England states in the North only one of the states, Massachusetts which was more tolerant of blacks at the time, permitted black males to both vote and serve jury duty, indicating that blacks had very little say over their representatives in the North (Doc A ). African American’s ability

I am an African American female whom is a descendent from the African Slave and a native American refugee. My culture runs deep in my veins and I am a product of the strength of my mother and father. While growing up I understood we were on the poverty line. My family lived in a small home with 3 bedrooms and occupied 7 people. I grew up in a small southeast Georgian town named Statesboro.

At the preface event held on Wednesday in the URC, the speaker, Dr. Cassandra Jones gave a presentation about the importance of African American Studies. Dr. Jones is the director of the African American Studies department here at Upstate and she had a rather interesting approach to the topic of “Why African American Studies Are Important?” Early on in her presentation she gave everyone in attendance five minutes to discuss and list three African American scientist, three African American politicians, and three African American authors. After completing the task Dr. Jones asked if anyone listed all nine. In a room filled with people, not one person raised their hand.

Why did we use Africans? One reason the colonists turned to using africans to work on their plantations is because after native americans became close to europeans they got diseases and it was killing off some of their population. When the native american population was decreasing they needed more people to work for them so they started using Africans. The middle passage was when colonists sailed across the Atlantic ocean and packed slaves into cargo ships. Another reason they used slaves is because Africans came from a very hot place so when it was hot where the colonists live they could work longer because they were used to the heat beating down on them.

Cox (2009) explain the logic in the numbers by asserting that “African Americans are convicted more frequently than Caucasians and other races (making up fifty-nine percent of persons convicted of drug offenses), African Americans are subjected to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines more frequently. "(Cox, 2009, p.23) Wooldredge (2007) correlates social and economic disadvantages as being a driving factor minorities being an easy target for felony convictions. Wooldredge (2007) believes that Sentences are more severe for minority defendants from more social And economically disadvantaged areas within jurisdictions.(Wooldredge, 2007, p.239) Disenfranchisement of felons, especially African-Americans have brought with it a large growing concern

Jefferson School African American Heritage Center – You offer a great chance to inform people of African American history in Charlottesville without the sugar coating you find in schools. But you state that we are in a post-racial society, so how can we trust that you understand African American heritage if you don’t understand the present times. Do not tell me that we are “post-racial” just because the white man traded in ropes on trees for bullets in guns and the white hoods for blue uniforms. Do not tell me that we are “post-racia”l when the white man makes up 72% of drug users while the black man makes up 60% of drug prisoners. Do not tell me that we are “post-racial” until you explain why the black man does time for the white mans crime.

The black slaves of colonial American brought their own culture from Africa. Contributed greatly to the development of American’s own dance, music, art, food and clothing. When Africans were taken from their homeland and brought to America as slaves, they also brought with them their individual cultures, languages and customs. Culture defines people’s values, beliefs, and personal interests. Culture is important because it allows people to maintain their identity.