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The Mis-education of the Negro came off to me as a very interesting and meaningful book. It was written by Mr. Carter Woodson. The craziest but yet so realistic thing about this book is that it was wrote many years ago but it speaks on the truth of our society today. I guess it is true what people say, that history does repeat itself. I was responsible for reading the first four chapters of this book. In the first four chapters of this book a lot of truth is revealed. From the background of the Negro to the educational abuse of the Negro. Mr. Woodson started this book off by basically telling how the oppressor looked down and ridiculed us as African Americans. He started off by saying that Negro were taught to admire other ethicality groups …show more content…
In more modern times Negroes seemed to have morally surrendered on trying to belong. In the past Negroes wanted to be a part of society and America. They wanted to belong. During the years that the book was written blacks no longer care to belong. In the past a Negro wrote, “I am a man and deemed nothing that relates to man a matter of indifference to me.” In more modern times a Negro would say, “Now, I am a colored man, and you white folks must settle that matter among yourselves.” This was found in the pages of The Mis-Education of the Negro in chapter 10. You’d think that this meant they gained some pride in their race, but what I got from the chapter was that they accepted that they were inferior and has also accepted their fate that whites have made for them. They no longer resist and fight. The people in more modern times stopped standing up for themselves and even highly educated Negroes began to support things such as …show more content…
Throughout the school systems they do not offer classes about the Negro Literature and the involvement of the Negroes in History. They expect us to learn bits and pieces that they provide in textbooks, but not the overall truth. Many Negros find themselves imitating the ideal of a good slave without knowing. Their mind became enslaved to do what he or she is told to do. Without the truth about the history of slavery, many don’t understand why they’re being judged for jobs, school, etc. Woodson placed the responsibilities on the teachers; their job is to address the concerns students may have. Instead, of ignoring the fact that race is the biggest question, that is brought to the children while they are at home, in the streets or even at school. Changing the curricula and adding more about the Negro history is a start. The problem is, no one is brave enough to approach the problem head on and make a change. These HBCU were based of the European colonists before coming to America. They 're putting emphasis on Greek philosophy and modern European, and not enough involvement of Africans ideals they always
The thing that I consider most interesting about this article is Alan Locke’s comparison of the old Negro vs. the new Negro. He pictures the old Negro as put together, they had life set up a certain way there was nothing new and exciting about it. In his description of the new Negro he uses words such as radical and new psychology. He mentioned
The transition of being a black man in a time just after slavery was a hard one. A black man had to prove himself at the same time had to come to terms with the fact that he would never amount to much in a white dominated country. Some young black men did actually make it but it was a long and bitter road. Most young men fell into the same trappings as the narrator’s brother. Times were hard and most young boys growing up in Harlem were swept off their feet by the onslaught of change. For American blacks in the middle of the twentieth century, racism is another of the dark forces of destruction and meaninglessness which must be endured. Beauty, joy, triumph, security, suffering, and sorrow are all creations of community, especially of family and family-like groups. They are temporary havens from the world''s trouble, and they are also the meanings of human life.
What is the point of educating the African Americans if all they will be is paid slaves anyhow?, “Lo! we are diseased and dying, cried the dark hosts; we cannot write, our voting is vain; what need of education, since we must always cook and serve?” (par. 11). Du Bois doesn’t understand the issue with African Americans living among, equal to, and determined with the Whites, “Will America be poorer if she replace her brutal dyspeptic blundering with light-hearted but determined Negro humility? or her coarse and cruel wit with loving jovial good-humor? or her vulgar music with the soul of the Sorrow Songs” (par. 12). Du Bois and the African American population are determined to change the mindset of the Whites and America as a whole to be more accepting of African Americans and ultimately
Analysis of Mis-Education of the Negro The most important aspect for a teacher to understand is that every student that comes through their door has their own experiences, history, and point of view. Mis-Education of the Negro is about how the euro-centrism-based learning has, in one way or another, crippled the African-American community and their pursuit for an equal opportunity in our society. Written by Carter Godwin Woodson in 1933, this African-American studies book is written so that everyone can understand what society has done and what they can do to correct their wrongs. Author Carter Godwin Woodson dedicated his life to studying African-American history and fought so it can be taught in schools and studied by scholars.
Carter G. Woodson, author of The Mis-Education of the Negro” wrote his novel on the main issue that the education system had failed to educate the Negro about African history. His intention was to inform the audience about the mis-education of the African American race. Mr. Woodson supported his scholarly work with his investigations from a wide spectrum of races for 40 years by studying students from different levels.
It is impossible for anyone to survive a horrible event in their life without a relationship to have to keep them alive. The connection and emotional bond between the person suffering and the other is sometimes all they need to survive. On the other hand, not having anyone to believe in can make death appear easier than life allowing the person to give up instead of fighting for survival. In The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, Aminata Diallo survives her course through slavery by remembering her family and the friends that she makes. Aminata is taught by her mother, Sira to deliver babies in the villages of her homeland. This skill proves to be very valuable to Aminata as it helps her deliver her friends babies and create a source of income. Aminata’s father taught Aminata to write small words in the dirt when she was small. Throughout the rest of the novel, Aminata carries this love for learning new things to the places that she travels and it inspires her to accept the opportunities given to her to learn how to write, read maps, and perform accounting duties. Early in the novel Aminata meets Chekura and they establish a strong relationship. Eventually they get married but they are separated numerous times after. Aminata continuously remembers and holds onto her times with Chekura amidst all of her troubles. CHILDREN. The only reason why Aminata Diallo does not die during her journey into and out of slavery is because she believes strongly in her parents, husband and children; therefore proving that people survive hardships only when they have relationships in which to believe.
Through every single obstacle a person went through no one gave up. Colored people did not lose hope in becoming equal to white people because they knew they were capable. What the author was trying to prove was exactly that. Although blacks were slaves and were always belittled by white they proved to be more than what the whites thought they were capable of. They stood up for themselves and they did it in several events that occurred in the book. For example, in the chapter a black teenager, James Crawford, was not slightly intimidated by a deputy registrar that attempted to sound intimidating. In the conversation the registrar made some menacing remarks to this young African American teenager saying he would put a bullet through the teenagers head. Not afraid at all, Crawford valiantly told him if it happened he would be dead, but people would come from all over the world. This young man was not afraid to stand up for himself and was not going to tolerate it in any way. Malcolm X was another inspiration to African Americans for the way he stood up for them. He had a strong connection with the people who were influenced by him. In late 1964, Malcolm X told a group of black students from Mississippi, “You’ll get freedom by letting your enemy know that you’ll do anything to get your freedom; then you’ll get it” (Zinn 461). This quote connected to how
As I read "Rage of a Privileged Class," I could not help but feel saddened, angered, and shocked by what blacks have on their minds, let alone what they feel. It provides an insight of what they have gone through, and what they continue to go through. The Author, Ellis Cose, offers stories, experiences, and his own encounters to help picture the frustration blacks have endured for years. The chapters of the book enlighten on the way they have been mistreated, and continue to be mistreated. The book as a whole is amazing, however, three chapters stand out in my mind. The chapters I would like to discuss are three, five, and nine.
It was with this in mind that the term “New Negro” was coined. “ The average white man of the present generation who sees the Negro daily, perhaps knows less of the Negro than did the similarly situated white man of any previous generation since the black race came to America. Pickens’s also cites this as the source of racial issues, “Furthermore and quite as important as anything there has been some change of attitude in the white people among whom the Negro lives: there is less acquaintanceship, less sympathy and toleration than formerly “. This is in concert with Locke’s belief, as he states, “if the Negro were better known, he would be better liked or better treated.” William Pickens also discusses education as a means of diversifying and uplifting the Negro community.
Chapter sixteen begins with the reconstruction period of the civil war. From previous history classes I have learned more in depth about the war and why the North was fighting against the South, but overall I think the most important part to look at from the civil war is the end of it and what was to come after it, which was the reconstruction era. Lincoln had just released his emancipation proclamation and freed the slaves. As happy as this may seem it was actually quite the opposite. Attitudes of white southerners towards black in the south hadn 't changed a bit after the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1865 Carl Schurz was sent by President Andrew Johnson to investigate the current conditions of the confederacy after they were defeated in the civil war. While there he shared in his “Report on the Condition of the South” that southerners have a belief “so deeply rooted… that the negro will not work without physical compulsion”. Overall this just shows how the attitudes of white southerners were no different. They truly believed that the blacks weren 't able to work or function without force. Many northerners and abolitionists, such as Wendell Phillips, at this time saw this and actually said that Lincoln didn 't do enough. They wanted him to do a complete overhaul of southern society. Personally I understand where these people were coming from. They were people who really wanted all the issues to be resolved. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was a step in the right direction, but he could have done more. Schurz even noted that “negroes who walked away from the plantations, or were found upon the roads, were shot or otherwise severely punished”. Former slaves weren ...
As I read through the excerpt Richard Pratt states that we as Americans “have not yet learned our lesson.” After many years of oppressing the black man, mistreating them, beating them, seeing the black race as something less of a human being, was highly hypocritical coming from Americans whom wrote in the doctrine of our Declaration that “ all men are created free and equal” and of the clause in our Constitution that forbade “any abridgment on the right of citizens on account of race, color, or previous condition.” African Americans were not offered schooling programs; they were separated from their family, sold to work as a slave for the
The issue of whether HBCU’s are still needed have been occurring constantly in today’s nation. HBCU’s have been in existence for almost two centuries now. Their principal mission is to educate African Americans, and they have. HBCU’s graduate more than 50% of “African American” professionals and public school teachers. But, HBCU’s have been facing challenges such as their decrease in diversity, financing, and graduate rates which has caused a speculation of their importance in today’s communities. I believe that HBCU’s are still needed.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is a prime example of Woodson’s argument on “miseducated” blacks. Although Thomas benefitted from programs like affirmative action, once he reached the high point in his career he supported legislature to end such programs. Hampton University and other Historically Black Colleges and Universities must take it upon themselves to teach their students the importance of contributing to their communities once they graduate and enter into the business world. Colleges like Hampton, Howard, Spelman and Morehouse have the opportunity to produce professionals that can restructure and save the black community. Students who graduate from these institutions have the resources and knowledge that are needed to revive the African American community and their economy. Black colleges must educate their students on the need for black businesses, role models and the importance of staying connected to their culture and community.
Imagine this; the year is 1836. You are a 17-year-old student interested in learning more about the world around you; however, such an opportunity won’t come your way because you are black. Due to this fact you have no hope of furthering your education past the reading, writing, and arithmetic their slave masters taught your parents. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. The minds of many African American’s go to waste due to individual ignorance of their people and thus of themselves. Historically Black Colleges and Universities were put into effect to educate the black mind and eliminate the ignorance. The discussion of whether Historically Black Colleges and Universities are still necessary in the 21st century has taken place in recent years. Within the discussion many debate that due to the fact that the world is no longer like it was in the 1800’s, the time period in which Historically Black Colleges and Universities were created, the purpose of them no longer exists. However, the cultural significance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities seems to be overlooked by those who argue their importance and relevance in a time where blacks have the option of attending predominantly white institutions (PWIs). The purpose and grounds on which Historically Black Colleges and Universities were developed are still being served. The need to increase efforts to not only rouse, but support Historically Black Colleges and Universities is necessary now more than ever in order to preserve our past, fulfill the purpose of our present, and ensure our future.
I’ve seen racism on a day to day basis, and I know how slavery has had long lasting effects on the advancements of the black community. It was compelling however to learn some of the logistics and facts of his argument and to understand even more how the government segregated people of color. I was pleased that he made this book promoting the truth and backing it with facts that a lot of white people like to deny. I feel it is Caucasians people duty to try and help educated other Caucasian people on the injustices in America and I applaud him for that. He was extremely well educated on the topic of his book and mentioned some upsetting and surprising facts and terms. I was able to learn about the de facto segregation I had been living in my entire life and exactly why. Racial segregation, especially in public schools, that happens “by fact” rather than by legal requirement. For example, often the concentration of African-Americans in certain neighborhoods produces neighborhood schools that are predominantly black, or segregated in fact ( de facto ), although not by