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Diversity in the usa essay
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As the election date for a new president approaches, many Americans are looking deep within themselves to vote for one of the candidates. However, this arises the question: Who will be more beneficial to my country? Could it perhaps be a woman who hides so many things, or a man who is sexist, racist, homophobic, and islamophobic? Americans are faced with the tough decision of choosing a person who will have an immense amount of power for four years. Although all of this is true, in order for anyone to truly vote for the candidate that will benefit America, one has to be a true American. This arises another question: What is a “true” American? Many dictionaries would define an American as someone who was born in this country, however let us take a deeper look into what it means to be a true American. Citizens of America could all have multiple …show more content…
Without the foundation of respect, a person cannot label themselves as an American. Throughout history, we are made aware of the vast issues that come with racial inequality and the disrespect for others whom have not shared the same cultural background. In a poem titled “Let America Be America Again,” Langston Hughes writes of an image he had of America, and an image of what he believes America should look like; he involves the struggling times of people who were at the bottom of the racial spectrum,“I am the negro bearing slavery’s scars, I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek” (Hughes 38). Due to the English ousting thousands of Africans from their homes, slavery was brought forth; through slavery, we can see the disrespect that the american people had awards people who were african. For one to be truly American, they
New York: Norton, 2013. 1462. The. Print. The. Weaver, Robert C. “The Negro As an American: The Yearning for Human Dignity.”
This essay will summarize and reflect upon 5 individuals who were born into, and grew up in the United States of America under slavery. Lucinda Davis, Charity Anderson, Walter Calloway, Fountain Hughes and Richard Toley each have a compelling story to tell about the time when black Americans were not looked at as citizens and were not free to make decisions that were afforded to white Americans. Although their stories are brief and do not reflect all of the daily hardships that were faced by slaves during that time in our Nation’s history, they are, nonetheless, powerful in their message. Fearing above all else a beating that would result from a perceived act of disrespect, the fact that each of these individuals survived is an example of the human spirits desire to survive in the direst of situations and the ability to overcome insurmountable odds.
African American’s have faced a great deal of harsh and cruel treatment throughout our society. From being stripped from their homeland of Africa and being brought to America as slaves, African Americans have seen and been through it all. Author and renowned poet Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks discusses and describes many of the cruel and unfair treatment that African Americans have faced throughout our civilization. Brooks’ not only speaks on the racial prejudice of African Americans, but she also discusses the heartaches, the life, and the growth of African Americans as a people. Brooks’ poetry and stories are very similar to her own experience growing up as an African American woman.
As a poet who paved the way for African American artists to flourish in a white dominated world, Langston Hughes changed the face of writers during the era of the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes is the descendant of a mixed race and background, but he is considered the father of the “New Negro Movement.” His most noted piece of literature, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” which was written in 1926, still applies to the youth and elderly of Blacks in America. As a young black woman in America’s 21st century, the realization has been made that not many things have changed in regards to the plight of the “Negro” in America. William Pickens said, “The new Negro is not really new; he is the same Negro under new conditions and subjected to new demands” (79). This quote claims that the Negro is neither new nor old but constantly evolving based upon new situations and predicaments. “The Negro Artists and the Racial Mountain” supports the statement that Black Americans are continuously scrutinized for assimilating into Western culture but are praised for embracing Pan-Africanism.
What does it take to be a true American? This question is something that is always in the back of people’s minds every day as they try to execute the right interpretation of one. Being an American is more than being a legalized citizen, it is about recognizing the accurate perception of different ideas of a better society and their benefits. Despite all the diversity of ethnicity, culture or religion, being a real American is about being able to be devoted to their country and to fight for their rights and freedoms.
“The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, – this longing to attain self-consciousness, manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message f...
The interaction between African American and White differed in every aspect especially toward social problems. Social interaction between these two groups was unequal. African American experienced racial discrimination. This struggle can be best described in “Cora Unashamed.” “Cora Unashamed” by Langston Hughes effectively portrays the inequality between African America...
The United States as a country has always been an entity unique amongst the world’s myriad of nations: a conglomeration of cultures, ethnic groups and religious backgrounds from around the planet, all fused together to yield something entirely new. Since its very inception, those who dwell within its borders have attempted to ascertain the makeup of the American identity, in order to pin down how exactly one can come to be considered as an American themselves. This is inherently quite a subjective issue, but the conversation primarily boils down to three core factors that make the American people who they are: a dedication to preserving the natural rights of every human being, a belief in the importance of the individual in deciding their own
Nationalism is extreme loyalty and devotion to one particular nation, and many Americans are nationalistic about their country. But even though they are loyal to America, defining what it means to be a true American is tricky. Being American is one complex thing, but the concept of being American can not be fully grasped. What it means to be American may in fact be one of the biggest mysteries of all time. Indeed, discovering what it means to be a true American could possibly take an entire lifetime. One thing, however about all true Americans is certain: we are all alike in that each one of us is different from the Americans in important ways. We are diverse in our backgrounds, races, and religions. Nevertheless, we are exactly identical in the we feel toward our country, even though we express our pride in a million different ways.
During the 19th and 20th century, an entire race had been selected to become two-thirds human and would not only be abducted from their homes, but forced into slavery in a foreign country. Betrayed by both their fellow man and the white man, the African Americans were brought in chains, like criminals, to America to work and be treated like cattle, and live in a society where equality and basic human rights were restricted and out of reach. Despite all the obstacles against them, including the gripping chains of slavery, Langston Hughes and Phillis Wheatley became some of America’s most renown and profound writers, who have greatly contributed to American literature, as a voice for African Americans, through their works like, “I, Too, Sing
Often depicted as a melting pot, America is always being put on a pedestal by the rest of the world due to the large amounts of successful immigrants in the United States. Millions of people have packed their bags and moved to America in hopes of achieving their dreams. While some succeed, others fail and are let down by the dim reality that not everyone can achieve their goals. This essay will compare the poems, “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes and “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus to exhibit my perspective on both works. Both poems portray people’s hopes that America will be great, however, due to the different eras and the authors’ backgrounds, the poems have different meanings. Lazarus’ poem was written in the early stages of America, as it describes her cheerful
The civil rights movement may have technically ended in the nineteen sixties, but America is still feeling the adverse effects of this dark time in history today. African Americans were the group of people most affected by the Civil Rights Act and continue to be today. Great pain and suffering, though, usually amounts to great literature. This period in American history was no exception. Langston Hughes was a prolific writer before, during, and after the Civil Rights Act and produced many classic poems for African American literature. Hughes uses theme, point of view, and historical context in his poems “I, Too” and “Theme for English B” to expand the views on African American culture to his audience members.
Langston Hughes gained fame during the explosion of African-American artistic expression, a period called the “Harlem Renaissance”. Hughes was a prominent figure during the Harlem Renaissance, as he and many other African-American poets, novelists, artists and singers rose in popularity in this movement based out of Harlem, New York. The oppression of African-Americans served as an artistic inspiration for Hughes, with many of his poetry and stories dealing with the plight of African-Americans during the time of Jim Crow laws in the United States. The disdain for the oppression and discrimination Hughes experienced matches only the patriotism and adoration he felt for America, ‘the land of opportunity’. In his poem I, Too, Hughes explores the
Thesis: The poems “Negro”, “I Too”, and “Song for a Dark Girl” by Langston Hughes was written around an era of civil inequality. A time when segregation was a customary thing and every African American persevered through civil prejudice. Using his experience, he focuses his poems on racial and economic inequality. Based on his biographical information, he uses conflict to illustrate the setting by talking about hardships only a Negro would comprehend and pride only a Negro can experience, which helps maintain his racial inequality theme.
Anand Giridharadas’ book, The True American, combines both sociology and history into a story that describes the constant struggles people have to endure daily. By bringing together the lives of many different people, Giridharadas describes what living in the United States is really like for the different cultures. He indirectly uses the story as an example of the false assumptions regarding certain groups of people and shows how things aren’t always as they seem. The True American argues that instead of living in a unified society, a great divide between immigrants and the American poor exists, which is caused by contradicting beliefs regarding the importance of family, as well as the prospect of education.