Bruce Watson wrote this book in order to give in detail the story of the savage season of 1964 that made Mississippi burn and made America a democracy. The authors purpose is to share the horrific stories of this summer and tell anyone who will listen what these people really went through. “...forever democrats with a small d, and forever touched by this single season of their youth. But, first they had to survive Freedom Summer.”(14) This Summer changed Mississippi forever and it changed everyone involved in this rebellion. The blacks were ready for change but they needed help to get the job done. The race relations in Mississippi in 1963 was definitely not the best. Some blacks were scared to go out and even scared to vote. They knew if they did that they were be terrorized by the whites. The whites viewed the blacks as the lower class. “73 percent thought blacks less intelligent, 88 percent thought they “smelled different,” and 89 percent thought they had “looser morals.”(9). Whites clearly did not like or think of blacks as equals, they thought of …show more content…
On July 16th was “Freedom Day” before July 16th every one hung onto the 50s. The drag races every night, the Yankees still the best team, the old movies and doo-wop music. Everyone was satisfied with the now and did not forsee any changes that should be made. Now Freedom Day was here and people were nervous, excited, and scared. Picket lines making there way to the courthouse and others making there way to the courthouse steps. The cops stood in front of court house with there weapons and buses waited to take people to jail. The police sherrif told them they could register but the picketers need to leave. Then people cops came down and escorted people to buses, beat the others and dragged them to the buses. July 16th was just another day but now the 50s were fading away and America was not as peaceful as they made themselves
Many of the differences are purely imaginary because of how others perceptions of whites have rubbed off on them “Man, did you smell them?" (pg. ) These imaginary ideas stem from racial prejudice and the hostility history and current segregation at their time had pushed into their
July 23rd, 1967 marks the date of the start of one of the most infamously known acts of civil unrest in American history. Following up with the shocked attitudes among Americans that day, former President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed an 11 member advisory commission on the subject matter (Kerner). Their goal was to acquire information regarding “What happened? Why Did it Happen? What can be done to prevent it from happening again?”
It was commonly conceived by white people that African culture is inferior to their own. Du Bois later claims, “the sense of identity thrust upon black Americans living in a world in which white political and economic leaders assumed that to be American was to be white.”
As a representative of slavery, Frederick Douglass in the speech, What To The American Slave Is Your 4th Of July?, denounces America’s disposition towards slavery, noting its emergence into a flagrantly hypocritical state. Douglass supports his denouncement by arguing that, to the African American slave, whether freed or not, the Fourth of July is merely reminiscent of the blatant injustice and cruelty they stand subject to every day. The author’s purpose is to declare that slaves are men as well, in order to slander the nation’s misconduct and unveil the great sin and shame of America: slavery. Douglass’s formal writing style addresses his audience of Americans who observe the holiday, as well as others interested in the topic of slavery and deception ー where America reigns.
Many people when they hear the words “Fourth of July” they think about fireworks, cookouts, and sparklers! During the 1850’s it is a day that reminded many of the horrors and injustices in the world. On July 4, 1852 Frederick Douglass, a former American slave and an abolitionist leader, spoke in Rochester, New York about the affectation of celebrating independence. In his speech, “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery” he claims celebrating independence when there are slaves widespread is unethical. To convince the reader of his claim he uses rhetorical questions, word choice and anthesis in hopes to shed light and spark action on the wrongful situation.
Although a century apart, Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and Frederick Douglass’s What to a Slave is the fourth of July are kindred spirits. Notwithstanding the many differences in their respective writing styles, deep down the essence of the message conveyed is still very much the same. Both Martin Luther King Junior and Frederick Douglas had similar beliefs and concepts related to the treatment of the African American community. They both describe a tough yet heart breaking situation that makes them question their moral values and doubt the system and its ability to change for better.
In the essay, “A Genealogy of Modern Racism”, the author Dr. Cornel West discusses racism in depth, while conveying why whites feel this sense of superiority. We learn through his discussion that whites have been forced to treat black harshly due to the knowledge that was given to them about the aesthetics of beauty and civility. This knowledge that was bestowed on the whites in the modern West, taught them that they were superior to all races tat did not emulate the norms of whites. According to Dr. West the very idea that blacks were even human beings is a concept that was a “relatively new discovery of the modern West”, and that equality of beauty, culture, and intellect in blacks remains problematic and controversial in intellectual circles
During this time started the buzzing about John Smith go around so people decided to create a “peaceful demonstration” that did not hold for too long. The piece was ruined as people started throwing rocks and molotovs toward the precinct, this led to that people started plundering and ruin stores. After a while of this unpeaceful breakout were police officers allowed to use weapon and that's when the riot got a lot worse. The following night had 5 people been killed and 425 people incarcerated and Hundreds wounded. During that day, 3,000 National Guardsmen arrived along with five hundred state troopers.
At night when everybody was marching or in the streets taking a break, police officers would come, shoot the lights out in the street so no marchers could see them. The police officers then beat them. Sometimes, the marchers would go in corn fields to get sleep instead of walking all night or sleeping on the streets. Cops and police
Frederick Douglass, born a slave and later the most influential African American leader of the 1800s, addresses the hypocrisy of the US of maintaining slavery with its upheld ideals being freedom and independence on July 4th, 1852. Douglass builds his argument by using surprising contrasts, plain facts, and provocative antithesis. Introducing his subject, Douglass reminds his audience about the dark side of America for slaves, in sharp, surprising contrasts with the apparent progressivity within the nation. He first notices “the disparity,” that “the sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and deaths to me,” as an African-American former slave. It is surprising for the audience to hear that the Sun does not bring him any prosperity, that the Sun, the source of life on earth, brings him destruction.
When most people hear the words “Fourth of July” they think about fireworks, cookouts, and sparklers. During the 1850’s, the Fourth of July served as a reminder of the many horrors and injustices in the world. On July 4, 1852, Frederick Douglass-- a former American slave, abolitionist leader and adroit speaker-- spoke in Rochester, New York about the affectation of celebrating independence. In his speech, “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery”, he claims celebrating independence is unethical when slavery is widespread. To convince the reader of his claim, he uses rhetorical questions, emotional appeal, and antithesis in hopes of shedding light and sparking action on the wrongful situation.
As a young country, the United States was a land of prejudice and discrimination. Wanting to grow their country, white Americans did what they had to in order to make sure that they were always on top, and that they were always the superior race. It did not matter who got hurt along the way because everything that they did was eventually justified by their thinking that all other races were inferior to them. A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki describes the prejudice and discrimination against African Americans and Native Americans in the early history of the United States.
The history of the blacks is neglected in African-Americans classrooms, resulting in the development of an inferior feeling among the blacks. In chapter two of the book, Woodson states that education in American schools drifted from the truth when it started conditioning the blacks to admire the Greeks, British, and Romans. Consequently, the African-Americans developed a belief that they have a lower intellectual ability. The mindset is still present in the contemporary United States. For instance, business started by the black people are not well received in the locality they intend to serve.
Black people were treated as less than because of their race and often had low paying jobs working for white people. Racism was especially bad in the south in states like Mississippi, where The Help takes place. The Civil Rights movement also started during this time so racial tensions were even higher during this
This book also shows how black people assumed they were less than white people. An example of this is when Bigger and his friends started playing like they were whit because they knew they didn’t have the same opportunities as white people so they had no choice but to just act like they did in a childish