Personal Narrative: Black History Month

Since it’s Black History Month, I want to take the time to highlight the strides Brown took to personally end gang violence in the 1980’s. In 1988, NFL Hall of Fame recipient Jim Brown founded the non-profit organization “Amer-I-Can.” The program influences individuals to meet their academic potential and to not conform to negative environment standards. The program also provide training and education for incarcerated women, that entails a 60-hour curriculum combined with life management/self-improvement programs,

Black History Month Project By : Shanese ( B ) Hoyte Michael Jackson Was born August , 29 , 1958 his birthplace was Gary , Indiana , USA michael jackson has 9 siblings and he is the 8th child out of the 10 children and he has 3 sisters , and 6 brothers and he lived in a 3 bedroom house in gary indaina and his dad name is Joseph Walter Jackson and he was born July , 26 , 1928 and he is from Fountain Hill , Arkansas , USA and he is 83 years old and his the father of michael jackson and his other brothers and sisters Michael Jacksons mom name was Katherine Esther Jackson she was born May , 4 , 1930 and she is from Barbour County , Alabama , USA and she is 81 Years Old and she is the mother of michael jackson and his other brothers and

Black History Month started in 1915 and was made to appreciate colored people and has carried on for centuries and is still around. The good and the bad in the declaration.The good is the African-Americans won at the declaration at court.

Living in a place where you don’t know if stepping on your porch, or going to get your mail may be the last day of your life. I come from a very happy family but a very cruel world, everything that looks good is not good. Momma always told me no matter how bad a situation is I can drop to my knees and God will be there, and wherever I am his angels are always with me, so fear was rare.

Pick up a history book, flip through its pages, and find a section(s) dedicated to African Americans. There will be a supercut of slavery and a few inventors, enough to count on one’s hand. Ultimately, only the historical characters that are considered salient are provided, which are white educators, Presidents, legislators, advocates, inventors, etc. This issue engenders the remaining reason to advocate Black History Month. “Carter G. Woodson was the sole individual responsible for creating Negro History Week in Washington, D.C., in February 1926” (Edmondson). Years later, President Ford extended the week into an entire month. It began as an infrastructure to help eradicate the neglection of African American history; nonetheless, over the years, there has been much debate concerning the annual celebration. Although Black History Month has received backlash from both African Americans and Caucasians, it is still a necessity in today’s life because it provides historical information that the youth cannot find in textbooks and recognizes neglected people who have fulfilled great actions.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States, and Citizens of America:

Segregation in the 1930’s was prevalent in the laws, daily lives, and education of African-Americans. Over the years, African-Americans have worked to get rid of segregation. They protested, demonstrated and fought for equal rights. However, even with all the advancements, they are still often segregated within our society today. It is very critical that people comprehend what segregation entails and the damages that it can cause and has

Where do we draw the lines between adoration and mockery, influence and appropriation, and individuality and stereotyping? Accordingly, the racial subject has always been a touchy topic to discuss, but with the lasting effects that the black minstrelsy has left in the society, we most definitely need to deal with the racial subject. Only this way can the American society move forward both as a nation and as a species, and through such efforts, only then can we ensure that such history can never repeat

Being black in America has become a curse and a blessing for those who identify within the black community. Most mainstream artists that are successful are black, there is biracial president who identifies himself black, and black culture has become the popular culture. Ironically, there in lies the problem with black culture becoming the dominating culture. Everyone wants to be black until police brutality, racism, and a historical prejudice are brought into the mix. In my group our topic was the title of my paper, “Shades of Grey”: Narratives of Black Experience. We covered the topics of the view of African-Americans in society, media coverage and stereotypes, and black cultural appropriation. My portion of the group assignment was to cover black cultural appropriation.

I grew up in a small town in Mississippi in a neighborhood about a five-minute walk from the Mississippi River. I spent the majority of my younger years growing up within this southern bubble. This place that I still call home and my experiences here helped to create the person that I am today. In my neighborhood in Greenville, MS we didn’t have much to do but staying out of trouble was the motive. Even when thinking of the activities to do they were pretty limited but that’s what caused for us to become creative. Kids in my neighborhood took joy in just running, playing sports, working out, or skipping rocks. Besides being born in such a unique place I must give create to the people who have made me who I am.

Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattilo Beals is a memoir about Beals experiences and her journey while integrating Little Rocks Central High School. She wanted to share her story about what it was like to grow up in the middle of the civil rights movement and what it was like to be one of the nine students who were the first African Americans to integrate a public all white school. During and after reading the book a few thoughts went through my head. First, was my reaction at the horrific things that were done to Melba by integrationist in Central High. For example, while in the bathroom stall a group of girls locked her in and began dumping paper that was light on fire onto her. Before reading this book I was not truly aware of the extent

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?".

Modern day classrooms were unheard and unseen of more than 50 years ago. If we were to travel back to the past and step foot in classrooms of that time, one theme would run throughout. More than 50 years ago, classrooms were segregated and spoke volumes about the oppression of the colored population. Before the Civil Rights Movement of 1964 and during slavery, classrooms were split up based on color and were limited resources depending on the color of their skin. (Graglia, 2014) Educating colored people wasn’t as important and in some states illegal. Many colored marched with pride for freedom over and over again. This was until May 17, 1954, when the famous case, “Brown v. Board of Education unanimously ruled “separate but equal” public schools for colored people and “white people” and that went against the constitution (Stallion, 2013). This case directly dealt directly with segregation between those of black color and those of white color. It allowed more students to study, work, and learn about each other together. As time went on, this also impacted students to keep studying and motivated students to earn higher education (Stallion, 2013). Assisting to the desegregation between colored people and “white” people, were many great public speakers. One man gave the famous, “I have a dream” speech and risked assassination (Tuck, 2014).

I am a free African American, but in a since I am not free. I am not a free person because I am not allowed to vote or speak out for myself and my country where I live in. I want to have rights, but I am not allowed to due to some circumstances. Even though I am a free African American, people are saying that there is no proof that I am a free African American. Also, when a white American captures me, I do not have proof that I was a free African American, and I will be sent into slavery. When they catch me, it is not fair to take me into slavery because I am a free African American. I also want to have the right to vote and have other privileges that white people have. Due to the fact that white people think that we are some cruel human being,

Scrolling through YouTube while on my way home from a trip to Destin, Florida, I came across a disturbing video called “Doll Test”. Featuring in the nine minute video was a man who quizzed several black children regarding a black and a white baby doll. Separately, each child responded to questions such as, ’Which doll is pretty?’, ‘Which doll in ugly?, and ‘Which doll is bad?’ ‘Which doll is nice?’. Image my shocked and saddened reactions to their replies. When, the man asked a child why the doll he picked was ugly and he answered “he’s black”. This video, and the comments of the children were a rude awakening. Many memories were conjured from deep within my mind. Memories that didn’t seem so revalent before viewing “Doll Test”. Brought back to mind was an event during the coloring activity with Pre-K. “White!”, the four to five year olds shouted when I asked them what color should the hand be. Another time, while spending the day at Hopewell, a young third or fourth grader girl, complimented me. Before a thank you could vacate my tongue, she blurted out that I also had nice skin because I’m ‘light-skinned’. When I told her she was beautiful, she shook it off because she was ‘black’.