In Mudbound, the recurring social issue of racism pops up. This issue of racism becomes present through character interactions, and contributes to the theme of inequality, which reflects the unfair treatment of colored people in our society during World War II.
When the KKK go after Ronsel, the KKK, exhibits the extreme of the idea of white supremacy. The KKK knocks Ronsel out and hangs him, as they beat information out of him about his child. The KKK’s actions show how they think that they can do what they like to Ronsel, and that they see people like Ronsel as people who have no right to resist them. They see themselves as superior to people of color, especially the black race. This infectious idea of white supremacy is what causes the unfair treatment of people of color, that they don’t deserve to be seen as human or given the same human rights as whites.
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When Hap injures his leg, Henry offers him to use his mule to make work in the fields easier for his family. However, this isn’t from the goodness of Henry’s heart as we later see as he talks to his family about how he sees an opportunity to line his pockets from the Jacksons, by putting them in debt to him with his borrowed mule. Henry trying to put the Jacksons in debt, is an example of whites not thinking about how their actions affect the colored people, but how it affects themselves. They use their superiority for their own benefit and self gain, leaving the colored for worse. Henry doesn’t see the Jacksons as a parallel to his family, but more like slaves, not caring if they have any means of feeding
...ism and segregation, it is what will keep any society form reaching is maximum potential. But fear was not evident in those who challenged the issue, Betty Jo, Street, Jerry, and Miss Carrie. They challenged the issue in different ways, whether it was by just simply living or it was a calculated attempt to change the perspective of a individual. McLurin illustrated the views of the reality that was segregation in the South, in the town of Wade, and how it was a sort of status quo for the town. The memories of his childhood and young adulthood, the people he encountered, those individuals each held a key in how they impacted the thoughts that the young McLurin had about this issue, and maybe helping unlock a way to challenge the issue and make the future generation aware of the dark stain on society, allowing for more growth and maximum potential in the coming years.
Being African American has never been easy. At birth, we are born with a target on our backs for simply being a different color and whites are born privileged. One would think that when slavery was abolished that the target would be removed but that isn’t so. King states in his article that “…white supremacy saturated public culture...”
They hated anyone who was not a white Christian, and would go as far as to kill anyone who was not. This group is the Ku Klux Klan. This group of people were known primarily for their very Nazi-based ideologies, which in turn, they ended up murdering many who were not white, or even burning down the homes and business’ of those who weren’t. They were strongly against the progressive movement of the American Government toward the African American people. Although today this group has lost many in numbers, there are still a surprisingly large amount of people who are part of
A few years ago, my mother told me something thought provoking: we had once lived on the same block as the leader of the local Ku Klux Klan chapter. That had been in Charlotte, North Carolina, around 1994. The Ku Klux Klan, according to Blaine Varney in Lynching in the 1890’s, used to “…set out on nightly ‘terror rides’ to harass ‘uppity Negroes’….” They are far more infamous, however, for their “lynching”—nightly “terror rides” that included murder—of African Americans. Varney tells us lynching levels reached their pinnacle in 1892, with 161 recorded murders that year. In modern times, most Americans would agree that the Klan, along with any form of white supremacy, has no place in society—and pointing out its survival is a good way to imply that we, as a people, are still not perfect.
The sheriff of the town who witnesses such power struggles notes why white people continue to torture Black people, “There it is. America. You can see it right out our window. Church-attending, moral-living average men and women in all their glory. Normal people, they need something to hate. Something to blame for why things ain’t perfect in the world. Something to explain their fear” (Johnson 107). By blaming Black people, white people temporarily alleviate their own pain because at least another person’s world is worse than their own. This suggests that white people continue to torture Black people because they do not want to blame themselves for their own problems. Clearly, black people are made to seem inferior by the perceptions of different white
The population of African Americans from 1865 to 1900 had limited social freedom. Social limitations are limitations that relate “…to society and the way people interact with each other,” as defined by the lesson. One example of a social limitation African Americans experienced at the time is the white supremacy terrorist group, the Ku Klux Klan or the KKK. The KKK started as a social club formed by former confederate soldiers, which rapidly became a domestic terrorist organization. The KKK members were white supremacists who’s objective was to ward off African Americans from using their new political power. In an attempts to achieve their objective, Klansmen would burn African American schools, scare and threaten voters, destroy the homes of African Americans and also the homes of whites who supported African American rights. The greatest terror the KKK imposed was that of lynching. Lynching may be defined via the lesson as, “…public hanging for an alleged offense without benefit of trial.” As one can imagine these tactics struck fear into African Americans and the KKK was achiev...
Hooded Americanism: The First Century of the Ku Klux Klan: 1865 to the Present by David Chalmers records the history of the Ku Klux Klan quite bluntly, all the way from its creation following the civil war, to the early 1960’s. The author starts the book quite strongly by discussing in detail many acts of violence and displays of hatred throughout the United States. He makes a point to show that the Klan rode robustly throughout all of the country, not just in the southern states. The first several chapters of the book focus on the Klan’s creation in 1865. He goes on to discuss the attitude of many Americans following the United State’s Civil War and how the war shaped a new nation. The bulk of the book is used to go through many of the states, and express the Klan’s political influence on both the local and state governments. The author starts with Texas and Oklahoma, and goes through the history of the Klan geographically, finishing with New Jersey and Washington. The author stresses that the KKK did not just commit acts of violence towards minorities, but also carried political power. He continues to discuss the impact of the Klan on Civil Rights movements in the 1960’s, and various other important political controversies between the 1920’s and 1970’s. Towards the middle of the book, David M. Chalmers focuses on portraying the feelings of governments and state legislatures, as well as normal citizens towards the Klan. To do this more effectively, the author uses excerpts and quotes from editorials and newspapers, along with several dozen pictures. The conclusion of the book was used mainly as an overview of all of the major incidents and deaths involving the Klan, and how their persistence has allowed them to still exist today despite a lack of resources and support.
From the summer of 1979 to the summer of 1981, at least twenty-eight people were abducted and killed during a murder spree in Atlanta, Georgia; these killings would come to be known as the Atlanta Child Murders. While the victims of the killings were people of all races and genders, most of the victims of the Atlanta Child Murders were young African-American males. These murders created great racial tension in the city of Atlanta, with its black population believing the murders to be the work of a white supremacist group. (Bardsley & Bell, n.d., p. l) However, when police finally apprehended a suspect in the case, they found it was neither a white supremacy group, nor a white person at all; it was a 23 year-old African-American man named Wayne Williams. (“What are”, n.d.)
The main claim of the article is that African Americans have been treated unfairly throughout history and are still being treated unfairly compared to Caucasians. One of the reasons given in support of the claim is “In the early 20th century, civil rights groups documented cases in which African-Americans died horrible deaths after being turned away from hospitals reserved for whites, or were lynched — which meant being hanged, burned or dismembered — in front of enormous crowds that had gathered to enjoy the sight.” (Editorial Board, screen 3) Another reason given in support of the claim comes from the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saying “The dead have something to say to a complacent federal government that cuts back-room deals with Southern Dixiecrats, as well as to every Negro who has passively accepted the evil system of segregation and who has stood on the sidelines in a mighty struggle for justice.” (Editorial Board, screen 3) The argument consisted of several components such as quotes from famous activists and referring to historical events involving African Americans being victims. The components are presented in a certain order with the historical events coming first, the quotes from famous activists coming second, and the overall explanation of the Black Lives Matter movement coming
Coates writes, “To be African in the Baltimore of my youth was to be naked before the elements of the world, before all the guns, fists, knives, crack, rape, and disease. The law did not protect us. And now, in your time, the law has become an excuse for stopping and frisking you, which is to say, for furthering the assault on your body”. What Coates is saying is that for African-Americans unjust laws hurt and try to destroy African bodies than protect them from harm. What Coates really means by this is that the laws are created to benefit white Americans than African-Americans. Coates believes that the United States still have white privilege and African-Americans will never be equal or treated better than White Americans. Coates argues that police brutality to African-Americans still exist today. Coates writes, “And you have seen men in uniform drive by and murder Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old child whom they were oath-bound to protect. […] the police departments of your country have been endowed with the authority to destroy your body. It does not matter if the destruction is the result of an unfortunate overreaction”. What Coates is saying is that the police 's job is to prevent violence and protect the people. Yet, the police are abusing their powers to destroy African-Americans lives. Not only are policemen murdering criminals, they are murdering innocent unarmed African-Americans children. Therefore, Coates does not believe that King’s hopes were
Cunning over Strength or Strength over Cunning? Scholars have been going back and forth about this for years. One Scholar, named David Leeming, has voiced his own opinion, he said, “Finally, Homer’s listeners might well have been particularly fascinated by another homecoming story-this one about a somewhat unusual hero, known as much for his brain as for his brawn.” He does not exactly say cunning over strength, but what he is saying that Odysseus is being noticed for his brain as much as he was for his strength. In the Odyssey, cunning over strength is found throughout the book because it is a theme of the book. In the book, we see Odysseus and women use their wits over strength to take down their enemies and/or get out of difficult spots. Homer's point of view in this book is to show the reader's the true power of cunning over strength through Odysseus mainly, but as well as women.
wrote. One being Power and another being, of course, Freedom and Liberty. The power theme shows itself when King Jr. responds to the allegations his critics set forth when they say his demonstrations are “unwise and untimely” (2014b, 268). The local clergy were trying to prevent unorderly conduct by openly critiquing the demonstrations. They were hoping to persuade the demonstrators leaders to simply as to not rock the boat, so to speak. The theme of power is also present in King Jr.’s description of having to tell his daughter she can’t go to the public amusement park that had just opened because it was closed to colored children (2014b, 270).. He goes on to detail the humiliation that takes place by the nagging signs reading “white” and “colored”, and how no hotel would accept blacks when driving cross country, forcing them to sleep in their cars (2014b, 270). This is oppression, simply put. One group exerting its power over another. However, Freedom and Liberty also show up when King Jr. confesses that over the past few years he had become gravely disappointed in the white moderate. He implores them to not allow the desire for order overcome the necessity for justice. He details how people of good will and shallow understanding which are in the majority are much more dangerous to liberty and freedom than people of absolute misunderstanding and ill well (2014b, 271). Those good willed outnumber the
This means that if you do not act a certain way a White person does, you do not fit in the societal norms. On the other hand, some people believe in reverse racism, acting racist towards the dominant group. An example of a saying is, “People of Color are just as racist as we are. In fact, now there is reverse racism and White people can’t get into college or good grades” (126). This perspective shows that the person of color is the blame for why white people can not get into college because diversity is needed. However, a person of color does not get into college or good grades because of their color, but because of their determination and persistence to do well in school. Reverse racism is not true because there is no institutional power within it. White supremacy is evident because of the way society portrays a White person in comparison to a Black person. An example is the Eric Garner case. Eric Garner, an African American man, was selling illegal cigarettes in the streets of New York when Officer Daniel Pantaleo put him in a chokehold while Garner desperately screamed “I can’t breathe” eleven times. Officer Daniel Pantaleo did not face any charges from killing a human being because he is white. This shows the corrupt society we live in because of a human being’s color, they are granted a higher privilege. If a Black man killed a White man for the same
There were many inequalities in the history of African Americans, especially during the timeframe of this movie. It appears that those inequalities and injustices were observed by many. The debate team from Wiley College used those experiences and research to present their views in order to persuade others to see a different perspective through their eyes.
It distorts the world around us, many times letting us find ways to justify our wrong doings and questionable acts against someone else. One of these ways of justifying and allowing hate to run ramped is to make the someone hates seem different, wrong or less than them. This is seen constantly throughout mudbound in both action and outwardly spoken comments. Even if when the thing that person hates shows some good or a worthy act of redemption the hate filled person always goes back to these thoughts of inferiority or difference. When Isabella and Amanda got very sick Florence agreed to come help them.In doing so she was sacrificing time with her family especially since she wouldn't be able to go back home for a few days due to the illness being possibly contagious. While she was doing all she could to help them get better Pappy sat and watched letting his hate fester. When it came time for bed he was appalled by thought of Florence sleeping there, “‘Well then,’ Pappy said, ‘ she can damn well sleep out in the barn with the rest of the animals.’”( Jordan