Barbara Johns Imagine This Was Your School Analysis

Lucy Terry was a person that did not take no as an answer in her fight for equal opportunity, qualifying her as a perfect candidate for the Council for Change. Lucy Terry is the first known African American woman poet, as well as argued a case in front of the Vermont Supreme Court. The case was a disagreement about some land in which she is said to have won against false accusations by Colonel Eli Bronson. Terry has also Appealed to the Governor and his council for protection against familial threats by neighbors as a given a three hour speech in front of the Board of Trustees at Williams college for the rights of her son to attend Williams College in Williamstown Massachusetts. After reading Lucy Terry’s “Bars Fight” I would have to say the

Deep in a swarm of 500,000 women, men, and children; a small huddle of girls headed by lead singer MILCK sang their song “Quiet”, loudly, for all the world to hear during the Women’s March on Washington in 2017. Their voices carried a tune of faith, hope, and power, which Jill Lapore echoed in her work “Wars Within”. Lapore’s writing is essential to providing significant insight into the election of 2017 by connecting to past historical moments which many members of James Madison’s student body can recollect and link to the severity of the election results. Lapore uses the connections between the civil war era and present day America to tie together the presence of inequality in simple historical terms. The usage of this connection allows for readers to compare cause and solution to possibly be persuaded to enact change as Fredrick Douglass did in the past.

Florence Kelley was a social worker who fought for child labor laws and she successfully improved conditions for working women. She delivered a speech for the National American Woman Suffrage Association and she used different strategies to convey and persuade the Association that child labor should end. Throughout her speech, she mainly focuses on a little girl’s experience with child labor. Not only does that connect her purpose more with her audience because they are focused mainly on WOMEN suffrage, but even if that group of people wasn’t her audience they would still connect with the little girl because of her innocence and purity.

During this time, it was very important to have courage and be able to stick up for yourself. The president at the time knew that many people would be angry when the Civil Rights Act was issued and they could begin to protest or they may not follow the rules. Sue Monk Kidd, author of The Secret Life of Bees, incorporated courage because she felt that it was important to show how one problem in society can give a person the courage to do

The Voting for Rights Act and repel of many Jim Crow laws wasn’t going to change or erase racial tension. The realty was that political rights wouldn’t put an end to the poverty and mistreatment of African Americans. Ms. Moody believed that the non-violent demonstrations rallies weren’t really that effective to the degree that was needed. They weren’t being respected as people of color regardless if they were being humble. African Americans couldn’t eat at white restaurants or use the bathroom and drink form the same bathroom as whites.

In the informational short story, Susan B. Anthony Dares To Vote, the author shows us that we should always be courageous. In

Anne Moody’s autobiography, Coming of Age in Mississippi takes place during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement. During this period of time African Americans did not have much say in society. Most African Americans acted as if they were deaf and blind puppets that had no reaction to anything that the White man said or did due to fear. Anne Moody, takes the reader through her personal journey, enduring extreme poverty growing up to joining the Civil Rights Movement where she found “something outside [herself] that gave [her] meaning to life”  (Moody 286).

Melba Pattillo Beals wrote Warriors Don’t Cry as a memoir of her battle to integrate Little Rock’s Central High. The nonfictional story focuses on the life of Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the nine teenagers chosen to integrate central high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. Being threatened and harassed by her school mates while her own community ignore her during her attempt to bring equality in Arkansas is heartbreaking as her remarkable story is displayed in this book. There are lots of literary elements used to create this memoir as they help the writing spring to life. Some of them are: first point of view, conflict, plot, theme, symbolism etc.

She was enraged at the Nazi oppression and racial intolerance that she had seen. “My children are safe while others are threatened” (Cole, 1). She soon acted on that anger, by joining the underground National Movement Against Racism (MNCR). While there, she walked the streets

She showed courage in refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, which led to her arrest and not only the loss of her job but also her husband 's. She even received death threats for years. Because of this courage, it led to heroic deeds, the deed of hoping to end racial segregation. Even if it did happen in the long run,

This showed she never had courage because she never had the guts to stand up for herself and say something. Another

One of the most challenging experiences in life is dealing with an inevitable truth. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird Mrs. Dubose finally reveals her hitherto unknown strength upon her death. Jem and Scout both witness - although to what extent they are affected is not stated- to what Atticus called “the bravest person [he] knows” and as result learn that true courage has nothing to do with guns. After her son’s brutal killing, Mrs. Till went above and beyond by demonstrating to others the audacity to oppose the prejudicial community - accelerating the civil rights by posing as example and statement in Keith Beauchamp’s documentary The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till.

In order to change history, people must learn from their mistakes. Segregation in North America has been a big issue in North America that unfortunately still happens in the world today, however, it is not as bad as it once was. In the poem “History Lesson” by Natasha Trethewey, the author uses mood, symbolism and imagery to describe the racial segregation coloured people faced in the past compared to more recent times, where equality is improved and celebrated. The author uses language and setting to influence the mood and meaning of the poem.

Many people, everyday get bullied. When this happens, you have to stand up for yourself. You can show courage, by standing up for yourself, and for what’s right. Many African American people, in our history, have stood up for what’s right, by showing courage. This includes Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, MLK, and many more.

It’s 1921, segregation is at its peak. Could you survive? In my novel “White Lilacs” Rose Lee had to face many challenges. She survived by learning to contain her emotions and remain respectful.