September 1959
Today was my first day at Mississippi University. I was marched into the school by policemen and military troops; they were swarmed around me, protecting me as if I was precious cargo. In any other situation of being surrounded by this many police I would be dead before I could take my last breath. It is different being treated like this; it almost makes me feel like an ordinary white man. Then I heard the yelling of an angry crowd, students, reporters and even some of the general public were there. They were sneering slurs at me and throwing bricks at me, after that I was overly aware of my dark skin contrasting against everyone else’s. I don’t belong here; the mob has made that very clear to me. The guards walked me up to
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People in class have finally been getting used to the fact a black man is there. No one has pushed me or spat at me in a few weeks. I’m mostly getting ignored now; they must be getting bored of me. I believe people can only be hateful towards someone else for so long before it starts to affect them. The hate letters have thinned out now, and to my surprise I have been receiving letters of encouragement. The letters are mostly from other black students from university, but I do get some from young children in high school and even some older people commending me on my courage. While I do think it’s rather kind of them, I don’t see myself as someone who deserves this. I am no one special; I’m not Martin Luther king, I’m just some guy getting an education for myself. It did make me start thinking of the future, these kids writing to me, what is there life going to be like? I wonder if they will have a proper chance at life, or if they will be forced into a box of oppression. Imagine living in a world where everyone has equal opportunities. Imagine a world where black and white people aren’t separate, where black people can go to any school in America. I want black people to not fear the police, because they would be on their side. Would we ever achieve this though? I highly doubt it would happen in my life time. I can’t stand to think about another generation of children growing up how I
I advocate for empowerment for the African-American community through education. While I would encourage African-Americans to act in a way that does not provoke a negative response, I would pass out pamphlets that outline their rights as American citizens, their right to record videos of their encounters with police, as well as how to utilize the legal system to their advantage in order to receive a, truly, fair trial. Furthermore, I would also encourage peaceful assembly and other avenues to commence change. In no way am I insinuating that respectability politics must be in play to alleviate this issue. However, I believe that education would enlighten communities to more insidious issues and give them the tools to work toward changing police-citizen relations as well as raise the standards of living within their own
Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattilo Beals is a memoir about Beals experiences and her journey while integrating Little Rocks Central High School. She wanted to share her story about what it was like to grow up in the middle of the civil rights movement and what it was like to be one of the nine students who were the first African Americans to integrate a public all white school. During and after reading the book a few thoughts went through my head. First, was my reaction at the horrific things that were done to Melba by integrationist in Central High. For example, while in the bathroom stall a group of girls locked her in and began dumping paper that was light on fire onto her.
The state troops were there to prevent them from going in, an order the Governor made that morning. Looking at the photograph you can see two different emotions. The blacks are looking in disbelief that they are not able to attend classes. And there loved ones are confused on the matter of what is happening. While looking at the police you see some who are in the motion of doing what they were ordered to do.
Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States founded primarily for the education of African Americans. Prior to the mid-1960s, HBCUs were virtually the only institutions open to African Americans due to the vast majority of predominantly white institutions prohibiting qualified African Americans from acceptance during the time of segregation. As such, they are institutional products of an era of discrimination and socially constructed racism against African Americans (Joseph, 2013). Successfully, millions of students have been educated in spite of limited resources, public contempt, accreditation violations, and legislative issues. The purpose of this research paper is to discuss
A famous saying is “a closed mouth doesn’t get fed” that represents how if a person does not put words onto their thoughts then they will never be heard. Diane Ackerman writes, “ ...although it is possible to have a thought without words, it’s rarely possible to know what one thinks without bronzing it with words.” Ackerman’s claims are valid, words need to be used in order to hear a person’s thoughts. Feminism is a political and social movement that is geared towards creating equality between males and females in various aspects of life (e.g work, education etc). Feminists throughout the world have different views on what they consider feminist goals based on the societies and cultures they live in.
Throughout history, the failure of the government to protect black people from ruthless enforcement officers, forced blacks to act in their own interests. During the 1930s, the National Negro Congress organized massive rallies against police brutality, the Black Panther was created to stem the tide of police abuse, and in the 1970s the Congress of African Peoples sponsored the “Stop Killer Cops” Campaigns (Fitzgerald, 2007). The list goes on and on of groups and campaigns that African Americans formed to protect themselves from white supremacy and most importantly police brutality. Although some observers claim that racial profiling doesn’t exist, there are an abundance of stories and statistics that document the
By acknowledging and understanding the privileges of my White identity, such as my cultural capital, I hope to change how I perceive issues and interactions with students throughout my future in higher
One of the biggest racial tensions in the world today is the acts of violence, murder, and racial profiling that are conducted by the members of the police force. Movements such as “Black Lives Matter” and many more have been started to enhance the visualization of the racial problem in the United States. These movements to me symbolize the fact that there will never be equal racial
On September 25th, 1957, nine black students courageously entered Little Rock Central High and their entrance “…sparked a nationwide crisis…” (Little Rock Nine). As they were meeting their new classmates an uproar began outside the school and to ensure that the nine were safe, Dwight Eisenhower, the president
Racism and equality have something that has been going on for a long time now, dating back to all the way when Martin Luther King gave his “I have a dream” speech. The topic racism is something that needs to be changed; we do not need it in the world we live in right now with everything that has been going on. The major thing that is going on right now is the topic of how cops treat African Americans. We have seen many cases of the cops shooting and killing blacks the past few years, and it is something that is becoming a major issue.
No matter their race, students should not feel socially unaccepted at school. In the essay, "Learning in the shadow of Race and Class" by Bell Hooks, she states “After my parents dropped me at the predominately white’s woman college, I saw the terror in my roommate’s face that she was going to be housed with someone black, and I requested a change.” (288). Bell explains the level of discomfort while being at a “white woman’s college.” Students should never have to feel like they’re not welcomed in schools.
Argumentative Speech Essay I am an African American, like many of you that are here today. Thank you for taking your time to listen to me, and consider what I may say to your own way of thinking. I know that some of the things that I say may be wrong to some or may be right to some, but know that you are the one who can really decide what is best for yourself and everyone around you. With that in mind I want to talk about our future.
For the next few months, the African American students attended school under armed supervision. Even so, they faced physical and verbal abuse from their white peers’’(Source B).This demonstrates how people got together and protested along with the African American students on how the segregationists were being racist and treating them like they were nonexistent. This also shows how the segregationists were ignoring the fact that others were disagreeing with them, but they were mainly focused on being inconsiderate and treating the ‘’Little Rock Nine’’ poorly because they were Negros. After All, the Little Rock Showdown displayed how the segregationists treated the Negro students unequally because they were just as qualified to go to school with white
Synthesis Research Paper Everyday growing up as a young black male we have a target on our back. Society was set out for black males not to succeed in life. I would always hear my dad talk about how police in his younger days would roam around the town looking for people to arrest or get into an altercation with. As a young boy growing up I couldn’t believe some of the things he said was happening. However as I got older I would frequently hear about someone getting killed by the police force.
This essay seeks to examine modern day manifestations of both racism and classism within a school setting. As investigation has shown, racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic discrimination may lead to negative mental health effects. This is alarming as such discrimination continues to linger among school systems ranging from elementary aged students all the way to college aged students. This essay also evaluates several methods of diminishing racial injustices outlined by various authors. It is in the hands of our current school administrators, teachers, and lastly students, to enact real change in hopes of achieving true racial equality.