Summary Of Ain 'T No Makin' It By Jay Macleod

Sometime we don’t understand why at the time but, as life unfolds we see the full picture and understand by and by. I think Howard Thurman knew there was a strong call on his life that he could not escape. The more he learned, the more he wanted to learn. It was important to him to make a difference in the way African Americans saw academics, spiritual disciplines and social ethics. The more I read, it was evident the influence Morehouse had on Thurman to strive for perfection in all areas of his life.

Jay MacLeod’s book Ain’t No Making’ It is a treatise on social reproduction theory, that is, the ways in which class inequality is reproduced across generations, and is equally relevant and informative to understanding the cycle of poverty today as it was in 1987 when it was first published. The explanations of the life trajectories of the men studied in this book are especially important in light of the inflamed rhetoric and intense debate that characterize the interactions between the two distinct ideologies that have bifurcated the theorists of educational reform: Economically deterministic theories and the theories emphising the autonomy of the cultural level. Though the attempt of the author is to provide a perspective which allows for the simultaneous existence of the two theories. We will see that neither perspective can be said to be entirely endorsed by the conclusions found in Ain’t No Makin’ It. Building off previous scholarship of Bowles and Gintis, Bourdieu, Bernstein and Heath, Willis and Giroux, McLeod seeks to investigate the tension between personal agency and structural barriers to social mobility, or in his words, how “class based institutional mechanisms set limits on mobility, thereby ensuring social reproduction, while cultural innovations can be at once both functional and dysfunctional for

Social Capital refers to the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling the society to function effectively. This term is essential to become successful in life. Another factor that can affect an individual is mindsets; this is the established set of attitudes held by someone. The book, The other Wes Moore and the documentary All the Difference both are inspired by the author Wes Moore and his mother Joy Moore. It explores the struggles between two young African American men and their different path in life.

To understand that of any person, his whole life, from birth, must be reviewed. All of our experiences fuse into our personality. Everything that ever happened to us is an ingredient.” To Malcolm X, book has the power to change a man’s whole life. Maybe that was why he agreed to Haley’s offer in writing his life into a book. Besides that, Malcolm X also intended to make his life’s account as proof of some social values so that his objective reader may see how in the society to which he was exposed as a black youth.

It is a story of young men fighting for their rights, just because they are lower class. One of the young men is named Two-Bit Mathews. Two-Bit is a jolly, shoplifting, wisecracker. And here is why. The first word to describe Two-Bit is “jolly”.

Life itself is a perplexing labyrinth, where one will encounter positive and negative experiences and must learn to utilize the lessons derived from those experiences. The lessons are to be applied to one’s life and contribute to the development of one’s ethics and morals. If one does not wish to grow out of his or her youth mentally, then his or her ethical and moral growth will be virtually impossible. The main character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel This Side of Paradise, Amory Blaine, is a young man who encounters many tribulations in an upper class society while facing his difficult school years. His personality traits are exceedingly egocentric and convey a personal craving for success in his youth.

Bledsoe: Brockway and the leaders of the Brotherhood. Of the two, the brotherhood leaders resembled Dr. Bledsoe the most and it showed through the way the narrator connected with them. Without question, the narrator changed his identity and did as he was ordered to do. All of it was justified in his mind due to his perspective of the Brotherhood. In his eyes, the Brotherhood was working to better to the lives of young black men.

Being an American gives citizens the right the live the American dream, cultivate the world’s melting pot, and strive to innovate new ideas. For most immigrants coming to America they strive to 'live the American Dream.’ In America we, the people, have the capability to turn our lives around and achieve the goals we dream of. Every American citizen is

“Romero’s Shirt” written by Dagoberto Gilb reflects how difficult is to life in a foreign country and having to start from nothing. Romero, the protagonist, is an immigrant described as a hardworking person that live with his family but does not fully enjoy his life. He has focused so much in his economic situation that he has not taken proper care of his family and even himself. The author uses a shirt, at the beginning very insignificant but that gains a high connotation as the story evolves, to symbolize how important was to Romero his old life. The author uses an object, a simple shirt to represent a full set of feelings that make Romero remember where he comes from every day of his life.

Booker T. Washington once said, “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” W.E.B. Du Bois quoted, “The worker must work for the glory of his handiwork.” These are two quotes from two great leaders of the African American community in the late 19th and 20th Century. Although they were great leaders, they both had their own outlook on strategies regarding social and economic progress in the African American community. Regardless of their differences and outcome of their strategy, both remarkable leaders had one common goal, to end racism in America and build up the black community. Booker Taliaferro Washington was born into a slave family in Virginia (1865-1915).

Success according to (Merriam-Webster, 2015) is “favorable or desired outcome; also: the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.” Success is defined as something that can be worked for or given to someone. Young African American males all define what success is for them individually and their own definition may be what influences their level of success. Since not all the same factors contribute in the lives of young African American men, the common factor that they do all have is that of a

Born black, Du Bois was the true leader of bringing equality to his fellow African Americans. Following many years of struggle, Du bois succeeded in achieving the NAACP organization that still stands today and strives for equality. Also for Du Bois he knew what he was doing as as.”political thinker. As he stated in one of his novels The Philadelphia Negro

Marcus had a major impact on so much people lives .His journey to the United States created on of the most empowering movement in history. He enlighten so much black people and revealed to them that they have as much equal right as any other race. And that they can have respect and dignity within their race. Garvey created the UNIA and had various of goals to achieve, in his words,” We’ve got to teach the American Negro blackness, black ideals, black industry, black United States, and black religion. Blacks of the entire universe, linked up with one determination, that of liberating themselves and freeing the great country of Africa that is ours by right”(Meader).