Awareness And Racism In Elizabethan England

Many colored individuals were forced into slavery and each and everyone of the slaves had a different experience with their master. The slaves were treated as if they were nothing, a piece of property that the white people owned. They were not allowed to learn how to read or write; only needed to know how to do their chores and understand what their master was saying. They were just an extra hand in the house that had no say or existed in the white people world. The slaves’ job was to obey their master or mistress at all times, do their chores and take the beating if given one. In many occasions, the woman house slaves were treated more cruelty than any other slaves the master owned. Reading four different stories from four different people

Racism is not an idea that developed on one specific date. It evolved over time through a collection of acts and experiences that overtook many individuals. Such a time would be the Middle Ages, anywhere from the fifth century to the fifteenth century of the common era. The question at hand is not when racism was born, rather, what happened in the Middle Ages that allowed and pushed forth the birth of racism. The Middle Ages was a time when slavery was taking hold, when religion was redefining its ideals, and when persecution against minorities took hold of nations large and small. Because the Middle Ages harvested so many ideas that separated the masses from the minorities, racism was able to cultivate into the injustices we see today.

In the 19th Century, “Antebellum” era America, citizens were witnessing America go through a radical metamorphosis. The country had gone from an agricultural empire to an industrial beast, seemingly overnight. To compensate for these great changes and difficulties, many idealists forged plethoras of reformation movements. One of these being, the Second Great Awakening. Two of the issues the Second Great Awakening brought light upon were Temperance (alcoholism), and the ever capsulating issue of racism. For a short modicum of time, many Americans were very against the overconsumption of alcohol, and although racism is always an issue everywhere, many leaders of the Second Great Awakening were abolitionists in addition to being religious leaders.

In 1791 Benjamin Banneker accuses Thomas Jefferson of being a hypocrite by owning slaves and previously stating, “All men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Benjamin Banneker was the son of a former slave. He drafts this letter in 1791, to Thomas Jefferson to address these issues in a respectful and historical tone.

Constant struggle of racism has been around since the 17th century when slavery was established according to Theresa Richardson, a writer that studies in philosophy and education, she explains how slavery started in “This essay traces the history of class oppression from the 17th century, when the institution of slavery was invented as a means of securing the unpaid chattel bonded labor or Anglo-Europeans, to the emergence of unfree labor as a form of racial oppression, and subsequently the institutionalization of racial slavery in the 18th century” (Richardson). Racism is defined, as the prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief of one’s own race is superior. Progressing through

Throughout the Canadian theatre canon, stories about what it means to be Canadian and to have a Canadian identity are often explored, but a lot of these stories are often focused on one specific lens of being Canadian, the white Eurocentric lens. Canada often prides itself for being multicultural and an accepting country where people of colour from all over the world can move here and live a prosperous life. However, this is reflected very poorly in Canadian theatre. Harlem Duet written by Djanet Sears in 1997, challenges the white Eurocentric lens by focusing this Canadian story on the relationship of a black couple. This play explores many themes from race, feminism, and what it means to be Canadian or more specifically a black Canadian.

This extent of hostility and aggression coming from several other sources in the play was enough to ruin Othello. Thus, Othello’s downfall was more of a result of his race being that the main underlying motive behind the characters’ efforts to destroy him was racism.

New Historicism is concerned with the political function of the literature and also the concept of

Gary Nash, the author of the book, The Forgotten Experience, talks about the arbitrary lifestyle Native Americans and African American faced during the American Revolution, which occurred on April 19, 1775. Many Native American tribes in the east of the Mississippi joined the colonist to fight the war at the “home front” against the British. However, some of the Native Americans took advantage and fought against the colonists by themselves. On the other hand, African American fought the Revolution for freedom. They wanted to escape from being slaves and have equal rights as whites. Nash mentions in his writing that, “What has been largely lost in our recording of American history is the fact that for many of the people of North America the

When people of one race believe themselves to be superior to those of another, only catastrophe can result. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, racism was extremely prevalent, and white supremacy was much more pronounced. In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, both covert and overt racism, assimilation, and jealous dispositions all foreshadow the untimely death of Desdemona and Othello.

white have created conflict between the members of the play. Since the 16th century dictates that black people, or Moors, are inferior to white people, Othello is stuck in the darkness as an outsider; thus suggesting that interlopers are alone, not part of a community. Within these contrasting worlds, outsiders, like Othello, try to integrate into society, but can’t. For instance, this ingrained mindset portraying the inferiority of black people is further shown when Othello exclaims, “Her name, that was as fresh as Dian’s visage, is now begrimed and black / As mine own face.” Since Othello utters that since he is with Desdemona, her reputation “is now begrimed and black,” it presents how a black man can tarnish the “fresh” identity of a white women. Since Othello is accepted and praised as a war hero, but not accepted as lover, love becomes a barrier that leads to a tragedy. Societal expectations push people to the point where they try to surpass society’s norms. Though, when they reach this tipping point, tragedy will

In an attempt to fulfill the incessant need for comfortable dichotomies, societies tend to be divided into two groups: the ‘in-crowd’ and the ‘others’. These strict dualities, constructed upon the inherent need for adversaries, are often as arbitrary as they are false and based on nothing but fear. Regardless of their invalidity, however, simply the belief that these divisions are warranted is enough to render them truth, having a lasting impact of the health of a society and the individuals within it. In his work Othello, Shakespeare explores this concept—focusing on the city of Venice and the prejudices against the Moor. By the end of the

unthinkable amount of chaos and devastation. While racism on its own can lead to many societal evils, racism coupled with jealousy can create a truly catastrophic force that can only lead to pure destruction. When someone of a different race and culture is placed in this kind of society, this destruction will only naturally follow. In the play Othello, William Shakespeare focuses on the tragic outcomes of Othello, a Venetian general and black Turkish Moor, and Desdemona, his white Venetian wife. Throughout the play, both covert and overt racism, assimilation, and jealous dispositions all foreshadow the untimely death of Desdemona and Othello.

Racism is a very tragic but important part of history. Blacks in the early 1900s sacrificed their lives just because there was a small chance of change. This just emphasizes how badly they were being treated. But with many sacrifices and attempts things changed.

In the first chapter of What is African American Religion, the origins of Africans in the Americas, their relations with European nations, as well as the establishment and conclusion of slavery, is introduced. This chapter also spoke on the various labels used by Europeans to define black bodies and validate their enslavement and mistreatment. By constant use of degrading and demeaning descriptors to categorize black bodies, a link is sought to be established, correlating blackness and inferiority.