During the course of my studies, I’ve learned so many things about our people. I’ve learned about some of our greatest scholars, such as W.E.B. Dubois. I’ve learned how African-Americans such as Fannie Lou Hamer fought for voting rights through Freedom Summer. I’ve learned about powerful ancient African civilizations, such as the Axum Empire. I’ve also learned how hard our ancestors fought so that I could be educated about our history in school. Being educated about our history has given me a stronger sense of pride in being African-American. I want to share some of what I’ve learned with you, so that you will know the incredible things we have achieved as a people. One of the most important black figures …show more content…
He claimed that although slavery was over, African-Americans were not treated as full and equal citizens. Dubois developed the theory of double consciousness to explain the social divisions that exist in America. Double consciousness describes the feeling that your identity is divided into several parts, making it difficult to develop a coherent identity. Dubois discussed this within the context of being black in America. He asserted that because of the exploitive relationship that black people have had with America, African-Americans struggle to reconcile these two cultures that compose their identity. He describes the “veil” that has been put over African-Americans, so that others do not see them as they are, but only through the lens of racial prejudice. The pervasive racism in American culture can cause African-Americans to internalize their own oppression. This leads to the sensation of double consciousness, which Dubois describes as “the sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity“ (DuBois). This experience is demoralizing to African-Americans, causing their self-image to be distorted by the racist perceptions of whites. This issue is ever-present in American …show more content…
Like everything we’ve gotten in this country, it was not without a fight. Many young people organized, campaigned, and protested to establish the institutions we have today. The establishment of African-American studies programs was born out of the Black Studies movement. During the 1960s, black students at predominantly white institutions began to organize and demand that black studies curricula be instituted and that black faculty be hired. This movement led to the formation of programs, departments, and institutes, and centers at American colleges that we benefit from
Stewart’s essay “The Field and Function of Black Studies”, he implies that black history is dominated by continuing challenges by its critics and the weak attachment of many scholars to the black studies movement and to black studies units even when the research of such scholars examines the black experience (pg. 45). Statistics show that 70.2 percent indicated that the number of full-time faculty members who have appointments outside black studies and another academic units is stable, proving the fact that black studies has established a beachhead in higher education. This statistic demonstrates how things have been stable in terms of growing the teachings of black studies, which causes challenges. A challenge that can be seen from this issue, is the lack of financial support available to faculty and students. Small budgets are provided to Black Study departments at many universities, therefore, making it difficult to purchase materials and hire more educated, experienced staff
For almost two hundred years, Historically Black Colleges and Universities or HBCUs have played a pivotal role in the education of African-American people, and negro people internationally. These schools have provided the majority of black college graduates at the Graduate and Post-Graduate level; schools such as Hampton University, Morehouse University, Spellman University and Howard University are four universities at the forefront of the advanced education of blacks. For sometime there has been a discussion on whether or not these institutes should remain in existence or if they are just another form of racism. There were also concerning the quality of education provided at these institutions. In my opinion, from the evidence provided in our own world today, HBCUs are very important and significant in the education of black people throughout the nation, and are essential to our society.
Throughout American history many African Americans have been overlooked in the field of science. Some powerful minds and great inventors haven’t been re-introduced to new generations. African Americans have contributed a great deal to the advancements of our country and one of the major fields they have made contributions to is in the field of science. Many successful African Americans have been overshadowed by their Caucasian counterparts. More of our children should be aware of these great historians. African Americans that have made major contributions in the field of science that should be discussed, studied and taught to our society to educate new generations of the vast majority of these great scientists.
The historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are fledgling to compete with Predominately White Institutions (PWIs). HBCU were established to serve the educational needs of black Americans. Before HBCU college was create blacks were generally was denied admission to traditionally all white institutions. Since black Americans was prohibited from whites schools HBCUs became the principle means for providing postsecondary education. There are several reasons why all blacks’ schools does not compete with predominately white schools. HBCU’s most of the time do not keep their accreditation, their tests scores are very low, and do not get as much funding
In the 1960s black student unions were created as a stepping stone for African Americans everywhere to voice their social concern and culture on college campuses everywhere. The black student union created in September of 2015 on Post University’s Campus was created to address pressing social issues in the black community while bridging the gap between all races through education. Through the use of planning and strategic management, the possibilities of success of the black student union becomes endless.
The idea of double consciousness was first conceptualized by W.E.B. Du Bois. In his writing “The Souls of Black Folk” Du Bois reflects on the subjective consequences of being black in America. On the concept, Du Bois says: “After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world,--a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness,--an America...
African Americans who came to America to live the golden dream have been plagued with racism, discrimination and segregation throughout a long and complicated history of events that took place in the United States dating back to slavery to the civil rights movements. Today, African American history is celebrated annually in the United States during the month of February which is designated Black History Month. This paper will look back into history beginning in the late 1800’s through modern day America and describe specific events where African Americans have endured discrimination, segregation, racism and have progressively gained rights and freedoms by pushing civil rights movement across America.
Du Bois’s concepts many African American suffered racial discrimination at the hand of White-America. They were lead to believe they were not equal to their White counterparts merely based on the color of their skin. W.E.B Du Bois outline his concept that addressed the division of cultures. He called this division color-lines. Color-lines that also made it difficult for blacks see themselves as anything other than the way they were portrayed by white-America. We learned the term “Veils” a “physical demarcation of difference from whiteness as they attempt to be both American and African in a white Society, where one identity is less equal than the other”. W.E.B. Du Bois spoke of the “road of the double consciousness produced by wearing the veil the split identity of Black” has helped to further oppress African-American and their belief for equality”. Both terms “veil and double-counsciousness designed to affect the African-American Identity in a negative way. My essay not only addressed black-American and the effects of discrimination. I included other groups affected by discrimination such as Hispanic, Asians, gays, non-Christians, the elderly, and even women. Last I compared a movement recently created to combat discrimination against
The American Narrative includes a number of incidents throughout American history, which have shaped the nation into what it is today. One of the significant issues that emerged was slavery, and the consequent emancipation of the slaves, which brought much confusion regarding the identification of these new citizens and whether they fit into the American Narrative as it stood. In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B Dubois introduces the concept of double consciousness as “the sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others” (Dubois 3). This later became the standard for describing the African-American narrative because of the racial identification spectrum it formed. The question of double consciousness is whether African-Americans can identify themselves as American, or whether the African designation separates them from the rest of society. President Barack Obama and Booker T. Washington, who both emerged as prominent figures representing great social change and progress for the African-American race in America, further illustrate the struggle for an identity.
Historically, HBCUs were the only way for African-Americans to receive a higher education. The fight for equal education was an ongoing struggle that African Americans encountered due to opposition from Whites when it came to African-Americans obtaining equal rights. For instance, the textbooks in the white schools portrayed blacks as inferior and other media, like literature, newspapers, cartoons, and commercial products showed them as imbeciles. The government condoned and promoted the idea of black in...
...oted in the birth of the discipline itself (Karenga, 476). The mission of the discipline, problematic administrators, and campus opposition are examples of obstacles that often attempt to prevent the missions of African-American Studies. However, African-American Studies has continued to defend its stance over time. Thus, as long as there is an African-American culture, the quest for knowledge in the African-American studies field will remain.
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B Dubois is a influential work in African American literature and is an American classic. In this book Dubois proposes that "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line." His concepts of life behind the veil of race and the resulting "double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others," have become touchstones for thinking about race in America. In addition to these lasting concepts, Souls offers an evaluation of the progress of the races and the possibilities for future progress as the nation entered the twentieth century.
Durkheim and DuBois are both Non rational, Collective thinkers whose actions are motivated by morals and ethics, principles, practices, beliefs, habits, or passion, and the lives of the past are patterns, which are the result of the futures’ fundamental formation. Both theorists have concepts, and studies which overlap with one another, and both theorists can be combined in their ideas through W.E.B. Du Bois’ classical work The Souls of Black Folks. In the book the metaphorical veil is brought to attention as the visual manifestation of the colour line, while in Durkheim’s theories the symbolic veil can be viewed as a sacred and profane object. Durkheim’s theory of the collective representation ties in to the depiction of the blacks and the prejudice behind the veil within society.
...ners they continued to fight. As more and more African American students were admitted into white Southern schools, segregationist continued to retaliate and defend their schools against them. No matter how difficult the situation turned out for some of them, and without much help from the government, African Americans did everything they possibly could to protect their educational rights for the sake of their future and success, and in the hope of promoting equality for all African American people of the United States. These students became the symbol of freedom and opened up the window of opportunity for all black people, for their ancestors, and for the future generations to come.
African-Americans’ lives are better. We have more opportunity and more equality. What we do not have, we fight for. Yet we still see the traces of the past sufferings of our people’s lives today. We still see those traces of racism they were subjected to being repeated in our kin’s lives.