Still We Rise Mya Angelou had a poem entitled “Still I Rise” about empowering others and being lifted up through struggles. Often times when it comes to remembering past heroes to society who have made a tremendous step forward for civil rights we think of the greats like Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, or even Malcom X. These leaders made America refocus their attention to the true meaning of humanity: togetherness. Their attributions to our country has made a great difference but today, we have yet to appreciate our present heroes. Whether they have died or are continuing to fight today, their efforts, through the history text books, have yet to go unnoticed. Of course we do not want them to be forgotten but in addition we need to see …show more content…
Being around African Americans and Latinos and their strong musical backgrounds Clemente found the discomfort of the Hip- Hop culture degrading women, persons of color, and society when it is already at a low. Clemente took it upon herself to fight for intercultural and media justice. Most known as a Hip-Hop activist Clemente, being a lecturer and journalist, educated the youth on modern day songs and analyzed the lyrics. One example is of her work was examining Rick Ross’s verse on the song “UOENO” where he rapped about drugging girls and raping them. Clemente wants, in that situation, young women to have self-care when it comes to drinking safely. In addition to her Hip- Hop activism, she has joined the Black Lives Matter Movement. In a world of men seeming to be the hardest workers, we thank her for her …show more content…
Not only the first minority, or most modern, but the first African American President. In 2008, he held the record for the youngest voters to vote in history. Chicago born and Harvard college graduate made it his mission to be a change in the world. After being ridiculed his entire two terms Obama has done more than his haters could have ever imagined. Fighting for civil rights, he will go down in history for legalizing Gay marriage in all 50 states. On June 26th, 2015 the world observed that Obama was not just for the rights of minorities but equality for all. After George Bush and his failed 8 years of searching, Barack Obama in a matter of minutes was able to retrieve Bin Laden and kill him in addition to ending the war in Iraq. Obama is also a part of the Black Lives Matter movement and wants others to work for justice by saying, “We are the change we seek”. Often compared to the works of Martin Luther King Jr, Obama has paved way for new political and civil activist in the
Together these two figures touched the lives of the people they fought for. Trying their hardest and giving all they had to correct the injustice that was happening. America is a melting pot for all different kinds of cultures and for their to be discrimination of any kind should not be tolerated. Martin Luther King Jr. and Elizabeth Cady Stanton can be considered heroes, for they dedicated their life to the betterment of a group of people they related so fondly
Also, in 2009 President Barack Obama was elected into office. Barack Obama is the first African American President of the United States. Obama issued executive orders and directing the U.S. military to develop plans to remove troops from Iraq. He also retracted George W. Bush’s policy that allows federal government funds to cover abortions.
“You’re ugly and you're fat!”, said Carlos to Amanda. Amanda is 15 years old and is a bit overweight for her age, she's been told so many things, so she started working out and eating healthy. Later in life, Amanda ended up getting a job in a modeling industry. She is very beautiful, had a great body, and now a large amount of money just because of the comments from others, The truth is Amanda was beautiful before she lost all the weight and the reality is Amanda got bullied because of her appearance and that motivated her and now she's traveling around the world . Truth and reality are the same because they're both based on opinions, they're different because the truth is what one says and reality is the actual fact.
In the article “ From Fly to Bitches and Hoes” by Joan Morgan, she often speaks about the positive and negative ideas associated with hip-hop music. Black men display their manhood with full on violence, crime, hidden guilt, and secret escapes through drugs and alcohol. Joan Morgan’s article views the root causes of the advantage of misogyny in rap music lyrics. In the beginning of the incitement her desires shift to focus on from rap culture condemnation to a deeper analysis of the root causes. She shows the hidden causes of unpleasant sexism in rap music and argues that we need to look deeper into understanding misogyny. I agree with Joan Morgan with the stance that black men show their emotions in a different way that is seen a different perspective.
For a long time, the popular genre of hip-hop has been criticized for its frequent vulgarity; whether it be its lyrical content, its possible contribution to a violent subculture, its degradation of women, or its praise for hypermasculinity. Out of all of these criticisms, the one characteristic of hip-hip music that has arguably been the most prominent and commonly discussed is its negative and sexual portrayal of women, particularly African American women. In both lyrics and music videos, African American women in much of hip-hop music are sexually objectified in that they are viewed exclusively as a thing to be used sexually by men. Other qualities such as intellect, independence, and most importantly, respect of women are made subordinate. As hip-hop music continues to degrade women in such a way, much opposition and backlash has intensified. An example of such objection was present in the well-known case that occurred at Spelman College, a historically black institution for women, in 2004 when students protested rapper Nelly’s presence on their campus for a bone marrow drive soon after his controversial music video “Tip Drill” was released.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for millions of Americans is an iconic portrayal when discussing civil rights and American democracy. His determination to change segregation through creative and savvy ways to reach the public led to his stardom. However, there were many others who helped during the civil rights era who do not get nearly as much praise as MLK Jr. Medgar Evers, James Meredith, A Philip Randolph, Jesse Jackson are a few gentlemen that rarely received the magnitude of media focus, popularity or scrutiny that the most charismatic civil rights leaders attracted. Instead they played different positions either, making telephone calls, visiting numerous homes, organizing community meetings and rallies. They tried building a large amount of support for their cause at the lower level.
Within the booming business that has become the rap world, certain musical themes and issues are more prevalent than most. In addition to such topics as drugs, alcohol and police brutality, a dominant theme within rap music is the denigration and derision of women. Indeed, as the above lyrics to Akinyele's song “Put It in your Mouth” illustrate, many male rappers use violent and misogynistic lyrics to create an image of women that is both degrading and disgusting. The graphic and shocking nature of this particular type of rap causes it to be widely publicized, and thus it serves as a definition of rap for a majority of people today. However, there are a number of female artists within the rap music genre spreading messages of female empowerment and respect, not denigration. These female artists, often ignored due to the hype surrounding their male counterparts, use their lyrics to create raps which focus on life as women; dealing with issues of love, power, and discrimination. The face of women in rap culture is both multi-faceted and contradictory.
In Charles M. Payne’s article “The view from the trenches” he discusses, the civil rights movement, specifically the amazing leaders that over time have become lesser known and swept under the rug. Payne enlightens the readers of the things black activist leaders had to go through during the civil rights movement. Payne also talks about the black community and how they were treated by police force, United States government and white supremacists. Payne supports those by saying, “All kinds of people are important to this history Appalachian whites, Black professionals from quite privileged backgrounds, quasi socialists, radical democrats, church-based activists, advocates of self-defense for Black people, advocates of racial separatism, people
In her autobiography, Maya Angelou tells the story of her coming into womanhood in the American South during the 1930s. She begins with the story of an incident she had on Easter Sunday in which she’s in church reciting a poem in front of everyone; however, she messes up leaving her unable to finish the poem, so she runs out of the church crying and wets herself. Growing up her parents had a rough marriage, and eventually they got a divorce when Maya was only 3 years old. Their parents send her and her older brother Bailey to live with their grandmother Mrs. Annie Henderson in Staples, Arkansas. Staples is a very rural area and their grandmother owns the only store in the black section of the town, so she is very respected amongst the people
The time has come again to celebrate the achievements of all black men and women who have chipped in to form the Black society. There are television programs about the African Queens and Kings who never set sail for America, but are acknowledged as the pillars of our identity. In addition, our black school children finally get to hear about the history of their ancestors instead of hearing about Columbus and the founding of America. The great founding of America briefly includes the slavery period and the Antebellum south, but readily excludes both black men and women, such as George Washington Carver, Langston Hughes, and Mary Bethune. These men and women have contributed greatly to American society. However, many of us only know brief histories regarding these excellent black men and women, because many of our teachers have posters with brief synopses describing the achievements of such men and women. The Black students at this University need to realize that the accomplishments of African Americans cannot be limited to one month per year, but should be recognized everyday of every year both in our schools and in our homes.
Mclune (2015) is an African American woman who is opposed to sexism on black on females in the hip –hop culture and wants this nonsense to come to an end once and for all. As a Black lady, Mclune (2015) voices and reveals her angry and frustration in her article. Mclune (2015) discusses how black women are frowned upon by hip-hop male singers in the music industry and the affects this has on the women. The hip-hip male singers do this by showing black women as
...l. The hardships and brave African American that fought for African American civil rights will forever be remembered as strong heroes that stood to make a change for the future of African Americans.
Maya Angelou is a well acclaimed poet, author, and civil rights activist. Though she passed away in 2014, her work continues to awe and inspire people worldwide. Angelou had written numerous poems, but in this analysis I will be focusing on “Caged Bird,” “Phenomenal Woman,” and finally “Touched by An Angel.” In these works we see her approach issues such as equality, racism, feminism, love and many more issues as well. Angelou is a very skilled poet; though some people find her work too straight forward and little more than common text broken into stanzas. Maya Angelou 's poems are easy to understand; and though I do enjoy her work, I find that how she structures her poems can be confusing
Society creates the thought of what makes an ideal woman; however, Maya Angelou shows us what truly makes an authentic woman in her poem, “Phenomenal Woman.” The word “Phenomenal” is defined as something that is magnificent, remarkable, breathtaking, as well as extraordinary. This poem illustrates confidence and beauty from within, instead of the conventional view that society tends to have, which only focuses on the appearance. She shows how to acknowledge womanhood. One is able to appreciate the poem, even further, by analyzing many of the poetry elements that Maya Angelou illustrates, such as imagery, tone, and diction.
It is said that when we look in the mirror, we see our reflection; but what is it that we really see? Some people look through the glass and see a totally different person. All across the world identity is an issue that many women have. Woman today must be skinny, tall, thick, fair skinned and have long hair in order to be considered beautiful. Maya Angelou feels otherwise, as she gives women another way to look at themselves through her poem "Phenomenal Woman".