African American Experiences

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dream (speech) 1964: Civil Rights Act 1965: Voting RightsAct 2008: Barack Obama - the first African American president of the USA Black Lives Matter General Information 1950s-1960s Struggle for blacks to gain equal rights • slavery ended after civil war - discrimination did not They fought along with whites against that ● Thanksgiving: The Americans give thanks to the pilgrim fathers on Thanksgiving -> came to America on the ship Mayflower from England and lived there World War II Black people had low-paid jobs, weren't allowed to join the military Tuskegee Airmen: first black aviators Civil War 1861-1865 free states (North) vs. slave states (South) -> slavery was the cause for war Abraham Lincoln had to be elected to win the war, the North won and slavery was abolished South Hot weather and climate →agriculture (tobacco, cotton...) Dependent on slavery No technology Farming, rich farmers → Slavery North Colder weather →not so much agriculture Revolutionary → education becomes more important Technology, machines →industrial revolution Less farming, modern Increasing population →more cities →Some northern states declared slavery illegal From Slavery to Civil Rights Status of slaves in the USA before 1861: - - ● ● 1619: First slaves in Virginia (from Africa) Trade in human beings¹ had existed along the west coast of Africa for centuries In American colonies labour-intensive crops such as tobacco, cotton and later sugar cane were grown for the European market Not enough labour to satisfy the demandèthe colonies started to import slaves from Africa Slave Songs: "We shall overcome" -Pete Seeger "Young, gifted and black" - Nina Simone "They don't care about us" - Michael Jackson "Go down, Moses" The slaves worked and lived on their masters' plantations No human-beings, no property, no education, no citizenship è no rights Work all day, no time for cooking, washing, sleeping è overstrained, overtired Racially inferior, property of their masters è have to obey, no decisions ● Sanctions for slavery are set in the Bible è legal Armed observers è violence Their owners could beat, rape or even kill slaves without fear of punishment (slaves were no legal citizens of the USA) Reconstruction era: 1864: 13th Amendment -> abolishment of slavery 1868: 14th Amendment -> African Americans gained citizenship 1870: 15th Amendment -> African Americans get the right to vote ● Songs the slaves sang while working Part of their own culture To express their feelings Feeling of togetherness KuKluxKlan: Founded 1865 in Tennessee Multiple thousands of members in several groups in the USA today Extended into almost every Southern state by 1870 -> white southern resistance to the Party's reconstruction era Main goal: reestablish white supremacy (through democratic victories in state legislatures across the South in the 1870s) -> decline Burning crosses, staging rallies/marches that denounce immigrants, Catholics, Jews, African Americans, lynching black Americans • 1960s: bombings of black schools, churches -> violence 1920s: peek -> 4 million members nationwide • "the white race must keep itself pure" Lynching: Instilling fear in the hearts of black Americans (e.g. Blacks were arrested on made-up charges, sentenced to death by an all-white jury or handed over to a bloodthirsty mob) Jim Crow Era Der Ausdruck Jim Crow (,,Jim, [die] Krähe“) war in den USA im 19. Jahrhundert die Bezeichnung für das Stereotyp eines tanzenden, singenden Schwarzen, der vor allem in den Minstrel Shows ein beliebtes Thema war. Geschaffen wurde die Bühnenfigur vermutlich vor 1832 von dem weißen Komiker Thomas D. Jim Crow Laws: To marginalize the blacks in the South Prohibited African Americans to - ● Movements/Acts (that led to equality) Little Rock Nine (1954): Segregated schools ● ● ● ● Use the same Public facilities as whites Go to the same schools In some cases: live in the same town Marry interracial Vote (hard voter literacy test) Black people in the North affected: jobs, more discrimination in their daily lives Rosa Parks (1955): Started a boycott: didn't move for a white citizen in the bus Became a symbol for dignity and strength ● Civil Rights Act of 1957: Difficult for blacks to vote President Eisenhower signed a civil rights legislation: no one could prevent anyone from voting anymore Civil rights Act moved people to change their view Black students were invited to join a school for whites Were discriminated, had to leave: escorted by federal troops ● Woolworth's lunch counter: Four college students didnt want to leave when they weren't served People joined the cause Raised awareness ● Civil Rights Movement 1963: March on Washington: One of the most famous events for the civil rights movement Organized and attended by civil rights leaders Peaceful march in Washington D.C. • Over 200,000 black and white attendees ● 1964: Civil Rights Act of 1964 "Recall" of the Jim Crow Laws ● 1965: March, 7: Bloody Sunday › Civil rights movement in Alabama • Took a violent turn: • 600 peaceful demonstrators were blocked by Alabama State, they didn't want to stop protesting so many of them were beaten and teargassed so that some had to be brought to hospital • „Bloody Sunday" because of the violence August,6 : Voting Rights Act New law signed by President Johnson that banned voter literacy tests, provided federal examiners in certain voting jurisdictions and allowed the attorney general to contest taxes Purpose: civil right legislation and job equality Highlight: speech of Martin Luther King Jr. ,l have a dream" Civil Rights Leader Assassinated • February 21: Malcolm X was assassinated at a rally (Nation of Islam leader, founder of Organization ● 1968: Fair Housing Act: became law on April 11 Prevented housing discrimination based on race, sex, national origin and religion The last legislation enacted during the civil rights era ● Legislation initiated by president John F. Kennedy Signing was witnessed by the king and activists The law was about equal employment, limitation of the use of voter literacy tests and the allowance of federal authorities to ensure ● ● • April,4 Civil Rights Leader Assassinated: Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in his hotel room He was Nobel Peace Prize recipient ● Martin Luther King Jr. (1929- 1968): American minister and activist Famous Speech: I have a dream Assassinated in 1968 ● • Advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience -> inspired by his christian beliefs and Gandhi, nonviolent activism ● Malcolm X (1925-1965): ,Malcolm Little' = original slave name Muslim, African American Leader ● Articulated concepts of race pride & black nationalism in the early 1960s Superiority of blacks • Expressed frustration, anger, bitterness during civil rights movement Critizised "non-violence" : "ballot or bullet", "actions on all fronts by whatever means necessary" Helped to change the terms "black" and "coloured" Former drug dealer, leader of a gang, in prison for robbery Public speaker/ preacher Black Power: Black fist-> symbol for black empowerment Olympic project for human rights (Mexico) 1968 Scream for freedom prominent in the late 1960s and early 1970s emphasizing racial pride and the creation of black political and cultural institutions to nurture, promote and advance what was seen by proponents of the movement as being the collective interests and values of Black Americans Affirmative Action: A governoment or (private) program designed to redress historic injustices against specific groups by making special efforts to provide members of these groups with access to educational and employment opportunities e.g. with the use of a quota system, minoritized group members are given preference or special consideration in selection processes Controversial: equality of opportunity -> foot race ● Obama: Elected in 2008 as the first black president of the USA Said that Blacks still suffer, live in their own society which is humiliated by Whites respects Blacks and Whites, he is against racism ( he also pleads for the rights of homosexuals) ● • Well-known quotation during his presidential campaign: “Rosa sat so Martin could walk; Martin walked so Obama could run; Obama is running so our children could fly". "There is no Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States of America" - Barak Obama, 2004 George Floyd: Why did this case gain so much attention? Police violende & justice system: Many high profile cases where officers weren't convicted of any criminal offense George Floyd: protests led to a faster arrest of the officers than usual Use of guns by police officers more often wehen they have a confrontation with African Americans ● ● Announced his run for presidentcy in Springfield (the same place where Abraham Lincoln declared the abolition of slavery) Obama's election moves America towards a more perfect union (Obama Care, limiting greenhouse gases) Outstanding orator "Yes, we can" Winner of Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 Socio-economic divides & coronavirus Racial devisions in US society in housing, healthcare and employment -> net worth of white family 10 times greater than that of a black family African Americans are more affected by the coronavirus outbreak -> George Floyd had corona when he died, was affected at his job etc. ● "The coronavirus doesn't discriminate but our housing, economic and health care policies do" - Andre Perry (fellow at the Brookings Institution and author) Militarisation: Protests for George Floyd drew attention to the use of military equipment by the police (military vehicles for crowd control) ● ● Program from the 1990s that allows transferring military equipment to police departments -> transfer has been rising Trump: Takes demonstrations personally, an attempt to undermine his presidency but they aren't specifically about him Threatens military response "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" Added fuel to the storm by his actions More Cases / Incidents: Amy Cooper: ● • Amy Cooper said that the man threatened her and called the police Gained widespread attention Source: BBC News (George Floyd: Five pieces of context to understand the protests) Confederate and Columbus statues toppled by US protesters Removing/ vandalizing monuments that are connected to slavery Christoph Columbus, President Jefferson Davis ● White woman who called the police on an African American man for no valuable reason Christian Cooper wanted to watch the birds and asked Amy Cooper to put her dog on a leash Black Lives Matter Decentralized political and social movement Advocates for non-violent civil disobience Protesting against police brutality and all racially motivated violence against black people Formation: 2013 ● ● #BlackLivesMatter widespread on social media National headlines: protests for black people the have been shot by the police George Floyd Afroamerikanische Erzähltraditionen und Literatur Poems: Dream Deffered (Langston Hughes) Ballad of Birmingham (Dudley Randall) Afroamerikanische kulturelle Beiträge Slave Songs ,,They don't care about us" Michael Jackson ,,Glory" John Legend ,,Go down, Moses" Michael Jackson (1958-2009) King of pop -> Musik The Hate U Give - Book (and film) It is about the sixteen year old Starr Carter who witnesses a police shooting where her childhood friend Khalil gets killed and later on manages to gain her voice by speaking up. Topics: Identity and blackness; the weaponizing of stereotypes against black people; the cyclical nature of racialized poverty The Hate U Give is Angie Thomas's first novel about a teenage girl who grapples with racism, police brutality, and activism after witnessing her black friend murdered by the police. Starr comes to the conclusion that it isn't the hate you give infants, but the love you show that is much more powerful. How to behave in front of cops: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Do whatever they tell you to do Keep your hands visible Don't make any sudden moves Only speak when they speak to you Look at the cop's face, remember their badge number Quotes: ,,It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black" You keep asking her about Khalil like he's the reason he is dead" 99 ,,Investigating or justifying?" "Something to live for, something to die for" ,,Funerals aren't for the dead people. They're for the living." ,,Sometimes you can do everything right and it still goes wrong. The key is to never stop doing right" Selma The film "Selma" (2014) was directed by Ava DuVernay, written by Paul Webb and tells the story of Martin Luther King and the voting right marches from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. Historical drama Meaningful scene: march The people are willing to go on and on in order to achieve their dream Martin Luther King Jr. as a civil rights activist, father, husband Tension between the black community (Martin Luther King) and President Lyndon Johnson, the troops Stylistic devices: Rhetorical devices used in speeches: Anectotes, personal info -> gets the reader on your side Contrasts -> emphasis Emotive language -> arousing sympathy Personal pronouns -> speak directly to listener, about themself Repetition -> emphasis Rhetorical questions -> makes the reader agree as it seems obvious ● • Tone -> anger, grief allusion: brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing etc. -> simplify complex ideas and emotions, give it a magical touch Example: "Don't act like a Romeo in front of her." - "Romeo" is a reference to Shakespeare's Romeo, a passionate lover of Juliet, in "Romeo and Juliet". symbol: -> to signify ideas and qualities, by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense metaphor: imaginative way of describing something by referring to something else which is the same in a particular way -> vividly portray Simile: comparison (as, like) personification: attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human Example: This is the beginning of the end. paradox: contradictory statement, two words that contrast, e.g. beginning of an end Allusions: reference, typically brief, to a person, place, thing, event, or other literary work with which the reader is presumably familiar Sound: Alliteration Anaphora Assonance - repetition of vowel sounds Consonance - same ending Onamatopeia - slurp, floated like a feather... Narrative perspective: first/third person narrator/narration Atmosphere and how it is created Setting Stylistic devices (allusions, symbols, metaphors) African American English - Ebonics ,black speech' term was created in 1973 by a group of black scholars who disliked the negative connotations of terms like 'Nonstandard Negro English' Slang Examples Bling-bling - sparkling Bad-ass ...-ass omission of the final consonant in words like ‘pasť' (pas’) and ‘hand’ (han’) pronunciation of the th in ‘bath' as t (bat) or f (baf) pronunciation of the vowel in words like 'my' and 'ride' as a long ah (mah, rahd) drop- ping b, d, or g at the beginning of auxiliary verbs like ‘don't' and ‘gonna’, yielding Ah 'on know for "I don't know" and ama do it for "I'm going to do it." sentences without present tense is and are, as in “John trippin" or "They allright" Different views on ebonics Black rappers, writers, comedians, singers etc. praise it: "this passion, this skill, ... this incredible music." (James Baldwin) Use it for a dramatic or realistic effect Others view it as a sign of limited education or sophistication, as a legacy of slav- ery or an impediment to socioeconomic mobility. Some deny its existence Operatoren: Outline, present, summarize, sum up: give the main features, structure or general principles of sth Explain: make sth. clear taking into account culture-related differences if necessary Summarize: give a concise account of the main points or ideas of a text, issue or topic Discuss: give arguments or reasons for and against; especially to come to a well- founded conclusion Illustrate: use examples to explain or make clear Point out, state: present the main aspects of sth. briefly and clearly Analyze/ examine: describe and explain in detail Comment: state one's opinion clearly and support one's view with evidence or reason Assess, evaluate: express a well-founded opinion on the nature or quality of sb./sth.