African Essays (Examples)

African-Americans Activism -- Gaining Civil Rights and Pride

"e the understated are students at the Negro college in the city of Greensboro. Time and time again we have gone into oolworth stories of Greensboro. e have bought thousands of items at hundreds of the counters in your stories. Our money was accepted without rancor or discrimination and with politeness toward us, when at a long counter just three feet away from our money is not acceptable because of the color of our skins. This letter is not being written with resentment toward your company, but with the hope of understanding… e are asking that your company take a firm stand to eliminate discrimination. e firmly believe that God will give courage and guidance in the solving of this problem…" (Blair, et al., 1960) (primary source).

Introduction

African-Americans have come a long way in terms of justice and fairness. Brought against…

Works Cited

Blair, Ezeil, Price, David, McNeil, Joseph, Richmond, David, and McCain, Franklin. (1960).

In Lunch at the Five and Ten: The Greensboro Sit-Ins. New York: Stein and Day, 1970.

(Primary Source).

Krochmal, Max. (2010). An Unmistakably Working-Class Vision: Birmingham's Foot

African-American Art

The art of African-Americans became a powerful medium for social and self-expression. Visual arts including sculpture carried with it political implications related to colonialism, oppression, and liberation. Along with other forms of creative expression, African-American visual arts particularly flourished during the Harlem enaissance. Three exemplary pieces of art that represent the character, tone, and tenor of African-American art during the Harlem enaissance include Meta Warrick Fuller's "Ethiopia Awakening," Palmer Hayden's "Fetiche et Fleurs," and ichmond Barthe's "Feral Benga." Each of these works of art conveys liberation from oppression and a subversion of the dominant culture.

In Meta Warrick Fuller's bronze sculpture "Ethiopia Awakening," a woman embodies two distinct themes: of bondage and of liberation. The lower portion of the figure is rendered as would be an Egyptian mummy: legs and feet fully bound, wrapped tightly in cloth bearing a classical Egyptian palm-like motif. Egypt is the bastion of…

References

"Augusta Savage." Retrieved online: http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/1998/art/pages/savage.htm

Lewis, S.S. (2003). African-American Art and Artists. University of California Press.

Patton, S.F. (1998). Twentieth century America and modern art. Chapter 3 in African-American Art. Oxford University Press.

Vendryes, M.R. (2008). Barthe: A life in sculpture. University Press of Mississippi.

African Slavery

The periods in history in which the African peoples were subjected to slavery represents a complex phenomenon with a plethora of factors that can be used to try to explain this practice. Not only do you have to consider the factors responsible for the imperial expansion motivations for the slave owners, but there were also many responses to slavery by slaves and non-slaves alike that were made from different perspectives. Supporters of colonialism and colonial rule in Europe would often claim that the Africans were better off under then the protection of the colonist that they would have been otherwise. They would make arguments that the imperial nations made beneficial contributions such as bringing the end to African conflicts that were occurring between different tribes.

Although there may be cases where the Colonist did help end conflicts between tribes most of these accounts were pure propaganda. Furthermore, there…

Both of these techniques, however, tended to pervert the established regimes by either destroying them or granting them more power than they ever had before. Boahen sees the central cause behind this European imposed partitioning of Africa to lie within the changing economic postures of the European imperial powers: "The second half of the nineteenth century was the period during which international trade became increasingly competitive, following the spread of England's industrial capitalism to the other European countries as well as to the United States." (Boahen, 30). This competition led to neo-mercantilism and, eventually, wars.

Yet, the distinction between the direct rule of the French and the indirect rule of the British, Boahen contends, were fairly difficult to discern from the Africans' perspective, and essentially, became almost meaningless ideologies to be debated by theorists a continent away. Although clearly different in their conceptual forms -- one involving formal agreements and…

Works Cited

Boahen, A. Abu. African Perspectives on Colonialism. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.

African

Select African

Nation 1: Kenya and water pollution

The population of Kenya is growing, and at present more than half of Kenya's population lacks access to safe drinking water. Initially, the Kenyan government resisted international calls to privatize its state-directed water supply. However, the Kenyan government has recently instated a shift in its aim to provide clean water and appropriate sanitation to all of its residents. Having realized that the Kenyan government "could not, on its own, deliver water to all Kenyans by 2000 [as planned] since it lacked the resources to directly finance or subsidize these services...the focus then shifted to 'handing over' -- a process of finding ways of involving others in the provision of water services in place of the government" (Lamba & Memon 2005).

At present in Kenya, the government licenses Water Services Providers (WSPs) which may be private firms, community groups, NGOs, or local…

References

Lamba, Davinder & Ali Memon. (2005). Water sector reforms in urban Africa: a road to mercantalization? UCLA African Studies Center. Retrieved November 4, 2011 at  http://www.international.ucla.edu/africa/grca/publications/article.asp?parentid=107419 

Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). (2006). European Investment Bank (EIB).

Retrieved November 4, 2011 at  http://www.eib.org/projects/news/lesotho-highlands-water-project.htm 

Troubled waters on Africa's largest water scheme. (2011). World Watch.

The independence movement cites their influences for peaceful reform as "Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela" ("Biafra Case"). Their devotion to a peaceful accord between Nigeria and Biafra, creating another independent Biafran nation is largely ignored and ridiculed by the Nigerian government.

The official group fighting for independence is the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), formed in 1999, and Nigerian police are cracking down on members of the group, making it even more difficult for Biafrans to fight for nationality. A June 2005 reporter notes, "Nigerian police officials declined to comment on record about MASSOB. Several described the Biafran nationalist movement as a banned organisation, but were unable to cite any law or decree banning it" ("Nigeria Cracks Down"). The reporter goes on to cite specific examples of peaceful MASSOB protesters being fired on by Nigerian troops (seven were killed), confiscation of…

References

Author not Available. "Biafra Case." Biafraland.com. Nov. 2001. 5 Aug. 2005. http://www.biafraland.com/biafra_case_files/frame.html

Author not Available. "Nigeria Cracks Down on Biafran Movement." African Master Web. 27 June 2005. 5 Aug. 2005.  http://www.africamasterweb.com/AdSense/BiafranMovementCrackDown.html 

Editors. "Biafra." Wikipedia.org. 3 Aug. 2005. 5 Aug. 2005  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biafra

African Centered Education

In 'The Miseducation of the Negro', Carter oodson (2000) argues that the education provided to African-Americans ignored or undervalued African historical experiences, and overvalued European history and culture. This has caused the alienation of African-Americans, who became dissociated from themselves, by ignoring or cutting African-Americans' links with their own culture and traditions. oodson argued that this type of education has caused African-Americans to reject their own heritage, while positioning them not at the center of European culture, but rather at its margins. oodson predicted that such an education would result in the psychological and cultural decline of the African-American people.

For oodson and many others, the solution to this problem could be found in the development of an educational system that responded to African-Americans. This model, built on the traditional African-American colleges, would teach both the history and culture of Africa together with that of the United…

Works Cited

Asante, Molefi Kete (1991). "The Afrocentric Idea in Education." Journal of Negro Education (Spring).

Carruthers, Jacob. (Winter 1995). African Centered Education. Africa Within. Retrieved from the Internet at  http://www.africawithin.com/carruthers/african_education.htm .

Woodson, Carter. (2000). The Miseducation of the Negro. Africa World Press.

Kalamu ya Salaam. The Importance of an African Centered Education. Gwen Brooks Writers Conference.

The simultaneous convergence of these leaders, groups, and movements, is easy to understand when one considers the environment of the Harlem area during the early 1900s. With vast numbers of new African-American citizens having come from the racist south, the area was ripe with social, political, and cultural concepts that come with new found freedom. In such a charged atmosphere, leaders such as Garvey had an audience ready to listen, and motivated for change. As their empowerment became reality, the view of those individuals altered, and with assistance from groups such as the UNIA, their ideas became reality, creating a new social order and an entirely new cultural center.

Black power as a movement rose from the freedom movement of the 1960s. A political movement, black power strove to express a racial consciousness throughout the world, although the movement was centralized in the United States.

This paper discusses the black…

References

Alkalimat, a. (2003). Introduction to Afro-American studies. Chicago: Twenty-first century books.

BRC. (2003). Cotton and the boll weevil. Retrieved December 15, 2007 from Georgia Country. Website:  http://www.georgiacountry.com/cotton.php .

Educational Broadcasting Company. (2002). The great migration. Retrieved December 15, 2007 from PBS. Website:  http://www.pbs.org /wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/great_migration.html.

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2002). Jim Crow law. Retrieved December 15, 2007 from PBS. Website:

" (Thompson et al., 2000, p. 127)

4. Further research and resources

There are many areas of this subject that are in need of more extensive research in order to more adequately deal with the problems involves. One example of this can be seen in the fact that, "Black women are three times more likely than white women to die during pregnancy, and twice as many black babies as white babies die in infancy." (Why do African-American women have more pregnancy problems?)the literature notes that there has been very little research on why these figures should be so high among African-American females. This is one of the many areas that require more extensive research and study with regard to this particular minority group.

Another instance of this lack of research is in the area of partner violence and abuse. Studies have shown that partner violence is high among African-American couples…

References

African-American. Retrieved October 4, 2006, at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American 

African-American Women's Health and Social Issues. Retrieved October 4, 2006, at  http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/C8082.aspx   http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5006804972 

Brown, C.M. (2004, June). Advancing African-American Women in the Workplace: New Study Finds Challenges Remain despite Push for Diversity. Black Enterprise, 34, 46.

Code of Ethics. Retrieved October 5, 2006, at  http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp   http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001364647

African-Americans in the U.S. Armed Forces

This research paper proposes to discuss the importance of African-American soldiers in the United States military. It will do so from a decidedly comprehensive approach which highlights their contributions to the major martial endeavors the U.S. has undertaken since its inception. In examining the history of these soldiers within America, this paper proposes to also deconstruct the motives which galvanized African-American soldiers to enlist in the military. These motives will be contrasted with those of conventional European-Americans'. In order to properly provide the context for the examination of the influence of African-Americans in the U.S. military, this paper proposes to consider the extreme amount of reliance on African-American labor that helped to build the basic municipal, social and economic structures of the country.

Additionally, this paper will illuminate the type of treatment which African-American soldiers were subject to during virtually all phases of the…

Works Cited

Bryan, Jami. "Fighting for Respect: African-American Soldiers in WWI." www.militaryhistoryonline.com. 2003. Web.  http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/articles/blacksMilitary/BlacksMilitary1812.htm 

Kuryla, Peter. "Ralph Ellison, Irving Howe, and the Imagined Civil Rights Movement." Society. 50 (1): 10-15. 2013. Print.

National Archives. "Teaching With Documents." www.archives.gov. 2010. Web.  http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/369th-infantry/ 

National Park Service. "Stories From The Revolution." www.nps.gov. 2008. Web.  http://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/african_americans.html

it's theme touches on mercantilism and the slave trade, colonialism, and the African experience, and suggests that this experience unties all Africans, even those who have never lived on the continent. Lowe's article adds to this theme by showing that Africa is still viewed as unpopular in the media, and suggesting that the media contributes to furthering that stereotype by its use of the word tribe. Furthermore, the article suggests that those across the world who share the African experience must share this burden of misrepresentation. Finally, D.T. Niane's retelling of a traditional African tale shows Africans' experiences and values, allowing readers to draw comparisons and contrasts with other cultures. In addition, the theme of traditions, culture, belief systems, and forms of knowledge add to the information in the previous articles, showing how the common African experience shared by so many is unique and special. Thus, by summarizing and reacting…

Works Cited

Lowe, Chris. "Talking about 'Tribe': Moving from Stereotypes to Analysis." African

Action. 2008. Customer did not provide web address.

Naine, D.T. "Sundiata -- Keita: The Lion King." Princeton Online. 1997. 7 March 2009.  http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/sundiata.htm 

Palmer, Colin a. "Defining and Studying the Modern African Diaspora." American

African-American Assimilation and Acculturation

Self-identity and acceptance are important for any individual attempting to adapt to society and social change. Many African-American's have a difficult time adapting to cultural values and traditions in Western America. Some assume that assimilation an acculturation to Western values will remedy the social distress that exists within the African-American population. Many have described the current social status of African-Americans as in a state of distress. Much controversy exists regarding the subject of assimilation and acculturation of African-American's to American culture. This paper will explore the issues surrounding acculturation while also examining Pan-African movements and assimilation.

The most important question to ask is whether assimilation and acculturation are positive outcomes for African-Americans. Many would argue that assimilation might contribute to the current state of social crisis that exists among African-Americans. Young (2003) for example, notes that African-Americans share "an ancient and vital history" including values and…

References:

Adeleke, T. (1998). "Black Americans, Africa and history: A reassessment of the Pan-

African and identity paradigms." The Western Journal of Black Studies, 22(3): 182.

Parenti, M. (1978) Power and the Powerless, New York: St. Martins Press

Young, Carlene. (2003). "Assimilation and social change dynamics in African and African-American communities." The Western Journal of Black Studies, 27(3): 164.

frican-mericans

Baroch, ndrew J. "10 Years after Million Man March, frican-mericans return to Washington." VO News. Retrieved November 13, 2005, from http://www.voanews.com/english/mericanLife/2005-10-14-voa7.cfm.

This article was making a connection between the century-old Million Man March and The "Millions More" March that was scheduled for October 15, 2005. Though the Million Man March was specifically organized for efforts to register frican-mericans to vote in U.S. Elections and also to increase black involvement in volunteerism and community activism, the Millions More march this year was set in order to address the still existent inequalities that exist with regard to racial discrimination. In addition to racial discrimination, Ms. Wharton-Boyd, one of the many organizers of this march said, "Our issues fall into the area of health, social services, health, reparation, political stability, cultural development." Ms. Wharton-Boyd was also careful to remind readers that this event isn't a protest, but "a way to come together…

According to the findings of this article and the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, President Bush's national approval rating has declined to 39%, the lowest level during his Presidency. "And among African-Americans, Bush has only a 2% approval rating, proving that African-Americans are not fooled by Republican's hollow apologies and empty rhetoric on outreach to the African-American community." They (African-Americans) believe that they have heard empty promises from the Bush Administration with regard to "employment, education, access to health insurance, and the issue of poverty" and average household incomes.

10. Williams, Michael Paul. "A Strain in the Ties that Bind." Times Dispatch.com. Retrieved November 13, 2005, from  http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle& ; c=MGArticle& cid=1128768081495& path=!news!columnists& s=1045855935174.

This final article also deals with discrimination, but this one is that happens between blacks in America. "Go back to Africa" is what some African-Americans tell African immigrants in this country. This is a pattern that is happening throughout the United States and it is resulting in high tensions and Blacks in both groups hoping to redefine themselves away from the other group.

The role of African-American parents has often been characterized as more dominant than those in white families, at least partially due to the difficulty of keeping the family together under pressure. Extended family structures are still more common in African-American families: for economic and later cultural reasons, grandparents are more likely to live with adult children, and. Grandmothers were often asked to function as babysitters, as African-American women were more apt to be forced to work than their white counterparts. However, this multigenerational framework has had a positive effect on many families and created a strong social support structure for families during trying times.

In highly stressful circumstances, such as crime-ridden urban locations, children may be more apt to have children earlier, and to leave school given that their observable role models do not present college as a likely future option. Such has been the case for many African-American young…

It is believed for every dollar that flows into Africa in the form of foreign loans eighty cents flows out as capital flight. One of the significant constraints to the growth in Africa is the low savings and investment. Trade and current account deficits are another source of worry. Though overall fiscal discipline showed improvement, fiscal profligacy remains an issue. Some of the African currencies experienced massive price increases due to conflicts and political instability giving cause for concern. The adverse climatic conditions seen in 2002 had a severe negative impact on agriculture. The four key challenges that the African countries face include escaping poverty by going beyond averages; attaining fiscal sustainability and thereby exiting from dependence on aid, enthusing the African bureaucracies and thereby enhancing the capacity to deliver, and moving to mutual accountability and thereby taking the most effective path to development effectiveness. (Overview - Accelerating the Pace…

References

Basu, Anupam. Calamitsis Evangelos, a; Ghura, Dhaneshwar. "Promoting Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Learning What Works" International Monetary Fund. August 2000. Retrieved at  http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues/issues23/ . Accessed on February 25, 2005

Economic Costs of malaria are many times higher than previously estimated." Press Release WHO/28. April 25, 2000. Retrieved at  http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2000-28.html . Accessed on February 25, 2005

Accelerating the Pace of Development" Retrieved at  http://www.uneca.org/era2003/overview.pdf . Accessed on February 25, 2005

Recent Economic Trends in Africa and Prospects for 2003" Retrieved at  http://www.uneca.org/era2003/chap1.pdf . Accessed on February 25, 2005

African-American Civil ights Struggle

African-American Civil ights

How Have African-Americans Worked to end Segregation, Discrimination, and Isolation to Attain Equality and Civil ights?

Background to the Movement

Discriminatory Laws

World War One and the intensification of the Problems

The American Civil ights Movement

osa Parks

Other measures

Civil ights Act 1964

The modern world talks about no racial discrimination, no gender disparity and equality for all strata and ethnicities of society. Discrimination is seen as a complete and utter no-no, with discriminators being classified as insensitive, ignorant brutes deserving some form of punishment.

Sad as it is, but this same taboo was a norm some years back when the African-American community in America was, at times, treated even worse than slaves. At least the slaves knew that they were somehow bound to their masters, but African-Americans who were equally educated and belonged to similar backgrounds were discriminated against on public…

References

Arsenault, R. (2006). Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice. New York: Oxford University Press.

Borgna, B., & Haney, E. (2007). Civil Rights Timeline. Retrieved October 26, 2011, from  http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html 

Boxer, A. (2011). Civil Rights -- The International Dimension. History Review, (70), 21-26. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Chappell, K. (2006, January). Remembering Rosa Parks. Ebony, pp. 126-134.

Mills (n.d) explains that historians often dichotomize African nationalism into two distinct groups according to their long-term nationalist goals for post-independence Africa. The first type of group was termed as being the primary resistance, which was characterized as consisting of individuals whose goal was to reinstate the traditional African societies that existed prior to the advent of colonialism. The second type of group was termed as the secondary resistance, which consisted largely of Africa's intellectual elites who wished to develop modern civil societies within post-independence Africa. Mills noted that groups tended to often display both types of resistance tendencies, thus making the dichotomy inapplicable to every situation.

African nationalism came about as a strong reaction towards the unjust political, economic, and social domination of Africa by its European colonialist masters. Nationalists were affected by several ideological influences from outside Africa. Foremost among these influences was the ideology of Pan-Africanism. This…

Works Cited

African nationalism." Hutchinson's encyclopedia website. (2005). Retrieved April 18, 2005 at http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0029558.html

Mills, Wallace G. "Nationalist and independence movements in British colonies." (n.d.)

Retrieved April 19, 2005 at http://husky1.stmarys.ca/~wmills/course317/13African_Nationalism.html

Mills, Wallace G. "Origins and development of African nationalism." (n.d.) Retrieved April 19, 2005 at http://husky1.stmarys.ca/~wmills/course322/17African_natm.html

e learn that art can indeed reflect life but it can also inspire it beyond what the human mind can dream.

orks Cited

Bailey, Thomas, et al. The American Pageant. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company, 1994.

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Penguin, 1982.

Levernier, James a. "Frederick Douglass: Overview." Reference Guide to American Literature, 3rd ed. 1994. GALE Resource Database. Site Accessed August 3, 2006. http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com

Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.

Richard Powell. African-American Art. 2005 Oxford University Press. http://www.aawc.com

Rodriguez, Junius P.. "African-American Experience: Art." African-American Experience. 12 September, 2008. http://aae.greenwood.com

Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, (1990). 278.

Bailey, Thomas, et al. The American Pageant. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company, (1994). 69.

Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a…

Works Cited

Bailey, Thomas, et al. The American Pageant. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company, 1994.

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Penguin, 1982.

Levernier, James a. "Frederick Douglass: Overview." Reference Guide to American Literature, 3rd ed. 1994. GALE Resource Database. Site Accessed August 3, 2006.  http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com 

Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.

African-Americans History And Culture

The false and misleading notion that "African-Americans created themselves" completely ignores and invalidates the rich history of those whose ancestry lies in the great African continent. While African-Americans have adopted and incorporated many cultures into their own (not unlike any other cultural group in America) that in no way signifies that African-American's have no culture or history of their own.

"Black people have no history, no heroes, no great moments," this was told to a young Arthur Schomburg by his 5th grade teacher. Schomburg, with both African and Puerto ican ancestry went on to become a great historian and curator of African-American history; helping to dispel the very "truth" that his teacher tried to feed him about his own history and culture many years prior. The statement that "African-Americans created themselves" simply means that the Black American is devoid of history and a culture to call…

References

Bascom, L.C. (1999). A renaissance in Harlem: Lost voices of an American community. New York, NY: Bard.

Painter, N.I. (2006). Creating Black Americans: African-American history and its meanings, 1619 to the present. London: Oxford University Press.

The 1950s was a time when the last of the generation of slaves were beginning to disappear from communities but their first generation children were attempting to make sense of the lives they led and the cautionary tales they had applied to their lives as a result. The work shows that for the 1950s African-American family it was a time of remembrance and resolution as well as a time to reflect on change and hope for even greater change in the future, with the inclusion of the fact that defacto segregation and suppression was still occurring in a rampant manner all over their lives.

Secondary Sources

Jewell, K. Sue. 2003. Survival of the African-American Family: The Institutional Impact of U.S. Social Policy. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Jewell develops a social history that demonstrates all the many disparities of the African-American vs. majority culture and how these disparities, legal, social and economic…

McLoyd's work brings to mind the manner in which the 1950s conservative slant echoed the discrimination of the past and present. The work demonstrates that during the 1950s academic work began to be even more direct with its assassination of the individual as the source of limited progress. In other words the period demonstrates an extreme prejudice, where African-American Families themselves were in short blamed directly for their inability to succeed in the American landscape, regardless of the fact that the social, legal and economic conditions were almost completely against them.

Itagaki, Lynn M. 2003. Transgressing Race and Community in Chester Himes's if He Hollers Let Him Go. African-American Review 37, no. 1: 65.

Itagaki's work is a literary and social criticism of the works of Chester Himes, an African-American man who moved his family to Los Angels in the late 1940s and through the 1950s and 60s experienced contradictions in the ideal and the actions of those living there. The white community rejected and repressed the African-American family with all the same and worse segregation and discrimination when they were attempting to grow and become stronger, many by leaving the south. The work describes the volume of Himes' works but looks most closely at his beloved novel if He Hollers Let Him Go. The message of the work is distinctly responsive to the 1950s as a period of social transition for the African-American families, as they are told one thing and treated in a manner altogether different.

At the same time, however, the ghettoes resulted from the people's desire to form a united community to which they could relate and that could offer comfort from a society that, despite its more opened views, still viewed blacks from the point-of-view of the segregation policy.

The ghettoes however represented an environment that would later offer one of the most important and relevant elements of the American culture: the music and religious atmosphere that was traditional for the black community. As a means of resisting the struggle against segregation and inequality, many communities saw music as the connection that united all black people in their suffering. The soul music thus became a means of expressing both sorrow and joy, hope and despair among the black communities. Even though such practices had been seen in the South as well, once the Great Migration started, the black people exported their core values…

Bibliography

African-American World. The Great Migration. Educational Broadcasting Corporation. 2002. 28 April 2007  http://www.pbs.org /wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/great_migration.html

Crew, Spencer R. "The Great Migration of Afro-Americans, 1915-40." Monthly Labor Review,

Encyclopedia Britannica, Jim Crow law, 2007. 28 April 2007  http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9043641/Jim-Crow-law/ 

Grossman, James. "Great Migration." The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. 2004. 28 April 2007  http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/545.html

African-Americans have been and are still continuing to be affected disproportionately by poverty, mortality rates for treatable diseases and employment discrimination, as recent studies show. A study last month resolved that black patients die from cancer at higher rates than whites, and still another study found that employers still practice a form of racial profiling that prevents many African-Americans from entering or moving up in the job market. While these and other finding point to the continued existence of institutional racism, conservatives have conducted efforts in the last years to dismantle affirmative action programs, arguing that they are no longer needed. Many say that the U.S. is unable to recognize and deal with contemporary racism because it has also been unable to deal with its past history of slavery, and with slavery's legacy.

One of the most influential and monumental leaders for the freedom of Blacks was one Malcolm Little…

Philip Randolph stepped into the limelight and became a very visible national spokesperson for African-American rights in the 1940s and 1950s. He focused his attention on the rising number of blacks on relief and the number of defense industry jobs that were increasing with the war effort heating up. These jobs traditionally excluded blacks. Randolph proposed the March on Washington - a mass action protest to demand change. He was also a great leader and helped the Blacks get their freedom.

James Farmer was also a great black leader and his efforts paid seed into the black freedom movement although he himself could never see through to the end of his dream. Rather than become an ordained Methodist minister, Farmer, who told his father he would rather fight that church's policy of segregated congregations, chose instead to go to work for the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR). Farmer was FOR's secretary for race relations, helping the Quaker, pacifist organization craft its responses to such social ills as war, violence, bigotry, and poverty.

Information on the leaders from:  http://www.stanford.edu/~tommyz/

African-Americans in the News

From some of the articles that I have studied, it seems that many articles on the African-American community focus on their problems, on analyzing them and on suggesting possible solutions by which the community can improve its condition.

One of these articles, for example, addresses the problem of HIV / AIDS as it is reflected in the African-American community, suggesting that the best solution may actually revolve around taking responsibilities rather than pointing fingers to the people who are to blame. Taken from the Philadelphia Inquirer and quoting directors from the lack AIDS Institute, the article is keen to point out that "in 2005, AIDS in America is mostly a black disease"

. However, even more worrisome is the perception existing at the community level according to which HIV / AIDS was a white manmade disease, specially created to eradicate and/or control the community. In this…

Bibliography

1. African-Americans Should Take More Responsibility in Fight Against HIV / AIDS, National Conference Speakers Say. March 2005. On the Internet at  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=20606 

2. Spriggs, William. African-Americans and Social Security. Dollars & Senses. Issue #256, November/December 2004. On the Internet at  http://www.dollarsandsense.org/1104spriggs.html 

3.  http://www.naa.org/Presstime/PTArtPage.cfm?AID=6178 

4. Study: Hispanics a Key News Target. On the Internet at

African-American Heritage & the Amish

African-American people traditionally have different communication patterns and family roles than their white counterparts. They are more likely to have families headed by single parents (usually single mothers) and they are also more likely to have poor communication skills and not express their deepest feelings so that they can get help for the family problems they are facing (Franklin & Moss, 2001). Unemployment and underemployment runs high through the African-American community, although there are certainly exceptions. Because the culture of the majority of African-American people is different from the culture seen in the white community, the interaction between the two groups can sometimes be more complex than one would expect. African-Americans are more likely to be part of the high-risk population when it comes to health and well-being (both mental and physical), and they are more like to live in areas of the country and…

References

Franklin, J.H., & Moss, A. (2001). From Slavery to Freedom. A History of African-Americans. New York: NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Kraybill, D.B. & Olshan, M. A, ed. (1994). The Amish Struggle with Modernity. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England.

Salzman, J., ed. (1996). Encyclopedia of Afro-American culture and history, New York, New York: Macmillan Library Reference USA.

African-Americans are second only to Native Americans, historically, in terms of poor treatment at the hands of mainstream American society. Although African-Americans living today enjoy nominal equality, the social context in which blacks interact with the rest of society is still one that tangibly differentiates them from the rest of America. This cultural bias towards blacks is in many notable ways more apparent than the treatment of other people of color, such as Asian immigrants, as is reflected in disparate wages and living conditions experienced by these respective groups. Common stereotypes hold the successful, college educated black man or woman as the exception rather than the rule, whereas Asians are commonly thought of as over-achievers. Although any bias undermines social interaction in that it shifts attention away from individual merit, the bias towards African-Americans can be said to be worse than most, and lies at the root of discrimination and…

Bibliography

Tamar Lewin. Growing Up, Growing Apart. New York Times, June 25, 2000.  http://query.nytimes.com/search/article-page.html?res=9402E1DF1730F936A15755C0A9669C8B63 

Thomas Dolan. Newark and its Gateway Complex. Rutgers Newark Online, September, 2002. http://www.newarkmetro.rutgers.edu/reports/2002/09/gateway/gateway2.php

George Breitman (Ed.), Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements, published in 1990 by Grove Weidenfeld: New York, NY. pp 4-17 http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/malcolmxgrassroots.htm

High Rises Brought Low at Last. The Economist: July 9, 1998.  http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=142018

.."1.

Although the movie does concentrate on saving the black people on being stereotyped there is a contradiction, it doesn't defend their violent nature. Again the audience is faced with a raw clan which commits murder. lack, violent, illiterate people it is negative image that has been presented several times through the media. In spite of this it is worth considering that the director desire was not at all to depict black people as being very cult people, but he wanted to show two different perspectives about black people, one of them is that some are smart and educated and others have a more furious nature due to the fact that they lack education. The media in any case should not present an elementary part of the black culture. It is rather dazzling to see on the screen such a complex black character as Delacroix. The reviews revealed that people…

Bibliography

Rux, Carl "Eminem the new white negro," Everything but the burden: what white people are taking from black culture, Greg Tate. Broadway Books, 2003

Dyson Michael, "Race rules: navigating the color line,  http://www.amazon.com 

Bamboozled, Wikipedia, The free Encyclopedia;  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboozled 

Rux, Carl "Eminem the new white negro," Everything but the burden: what white people are taking from black culture, Greg Tate. Broadway Books, 2003

It also represents a series of extremely ingrained economic problems. The African Union proceeds from the OAU's ambition to bring some level of cohesiveness to the fiscal and monetary policies driving the continent. Like the EU and APEC before it, the AU takes the position that in the scheme of globalization, its interests are likely best represented in some mode of unity. Accordingly, we find that "economic and monetary union is one of the aims of the African Union. Current African development initiatives envision regional integration in the context of effective macroeconomic management and corporate governance, and enhanced partnership between Africa's best- performers and international development partners. This entails promoting increased regional trade and convergence of monetary policies." (Amoako & Essy, p. 4)

This more concrete orientation suggests that in many ways, the AU would be a natural point in the evolution of the modern African continent, bringing greater practical…

Works Cited:

African Union Commission (AUC). (1973). AU in a Nutshell. AU.Int.

Amoako, K.Y. & Essy, A. (2002). African Development Forum III (ADF III). UNPAN.

Globalization and Workers Rights (GWR). (2010). Organization of African Unity. ITCILO.org.

Organization for African Unity (OAU). (2001). Summit on AIDS. SYDAFRIKA.dk.

African and Native Americans

When discussing the experience of minorities in early America, it is tempting to fall into one of two extremes, either by imagining that the treatment of minorities by European colonizers was equal across the board, or else was so different that one cannot find congruities between experiences. Like most things in history, however, the truth is far more complex, because although the same religious, political, and economic ideologies motivated Europeans' treatment of Native Americans and Africans, the effects were mixed. In some instances Native Americans were treated to the same kind of brutality and disregard as those Africans caught up in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, but more frequently, European colonizers attempted to treat Native Americans as something closer to equals in an attempt to manipulate them into favorable actions, such trade alliances or military support. Furthermore, the experiences of Native Americans and Africans in America prior…

Bibliography

Clark, Andrew F. "The Atlantic Slave Trade Revisited." Journal of Third World Studies 22

(2005): 273-284.

Maass, John R. "The Frontier War for American Independence/The French and Indian War."

The Journal of Military History 69 (2005): 228-230.

African-American authors have been essential to elucidation of the race and gender issues that face Blacks living in America. In particular, Black female authors have confronted the woes of societal stereotypes and idiosyncrasies that reflect life in America for people of color. The intention of this discussion is to examine how women writers analyze the race, class, and gender discrimination that black women have often faced. e will examine the works The Color Purple by Alice alker and The Bluest Eye written by Toni Morrison.

Alice alker

First let's examine The Color Purple which was published in 1982 and subsequently became an academy award nominated screenplay. There are several aspects of the novel that explore race, class and gender. The novel is narrated by a character named Celie. The primary theme of this novel has to do with plight of Celie and explores the manner in which women are treated…

Works Cited

ClassicNote on The Bluest Eye.  http://www.classicnote.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/bluesteye/fullsumm.html 

Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Simon & Schuster. Edition 1970

Selzer, Linda. Race and domesticity in 'The Color Purple.' http://www.sistahspace.com/sistory/writers/walker/race.html

Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York: Harcourt, 1982

African estaurant evival

New York is home to people from all over the world, and it is well-known that they often bring with them cuisine from their homelands. Foodies descend on food courts in subterranean malls in Queens, ussian bakeries in Brooklyn, and ethnic food trucks pretty much anywhere throughout the five boroughs. For being a cosmopolitan city with such cosmopolitan tastes, surprisingly little attention is paid to the diversity of African food. The continent of Africa is rich in food tradition and, increasingly, we are seeing these traditions manifest throughout New York. This trend is occurring in many places, in particular Manhattan and Brooklyn. In fact, several openings over the past few years have dramatically altered the African dining scene, and this development is very much worthy of coverage. This citywide exposure to the African food trend makes it an excellent topic heading into the summer eating season.

There…

References

Kugel, S. (2007, March 18). Sampling a Continent at Home. Retrieved from nytimes.com:  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/travel/18weekend.1.html?_r=0 

Laing, N. (2013, October). New York's First African Restaurant Week Offers New Flavors and a Dash of Culture. Retrieved from fo2w.org:  http://fi2w.org/2013/10/14/new-yorks-first-african-restaurant-week-offers-new-flavors-and-a-dash-of-culture/ 

Pearlman, E. (2014). Ponty Bistro. Retrieved from blacboardeats.com: http://www.blackboardeats.com/sp/ponty-bistro-gramercy-new-york-3

Spiropoulos, R. (2014, June 28). Dining African: 3 Restaurant Biz Success Stories Savor N.Y. African Restaurant Week. Retrieved from blackenterprise.com:  http://www.blackenterprise.com/lifestyle/new-york-african-restaurant-week-wraps-in-style/

Social dissent and unrest should not be the result of multiculturalism, the authors point out, but nonetheless those are the social realities, in many instances, of the new global picture. There is now, like it or not, a "blurring of cultural borderlines," the authors report; and as a result, the notion of culture within the word "multiculturalism" no longer refers to habits and customs of a people in anthropological terms. Rather, "culture" in the term "multiculturalism" alludes to race, creed, sexual orientation, gender, and lifestyles of various and divers groups within the greater culture.

A very poignant quote is offered in the conclusion of the editorial, a quote which cries out to be read to those reporting on, studying and/or dealing with today's dramatic cultural changes in estern societies; it is a statement by Aijza Ahmad, who reflects the perspective of "the less-well-to-do colonial states," according to the editorial. "It…

Works Cited

Fourny, Jean-Francois, & Ha, Marie-Paule. "Introduction: The history of an idea." Research in African Literatures 28.4 (1997): 1-8.

Frazier, Herb. "Basket making is historical link: Craft provide link between cultures." NABJ

Journal 13.5 (1995): 4-7.

Gikandi, Simon. "Chinua Achebe and the Invention of African Culture." Research in African

988).

Perceived and real institutional barriers, a lack of awareness and real availability of need-based aid thus have a clear effect upon many students' perceptions about the role of the medical profession. Medicine is a demanding but rewarding field, and it is necessary that students dare to dream about becoming doctors, to ensure that African-American health outcomes do not continue to fall short of those of other minority groups, and to ensure that community concerns are addressed by the profession as a whole. Role models can be made more available by increasing access of African-American youth to African-American physicians, through visits to schools like the young doctors. Social barriers can be overcome by increasing educational awareness about scholarships and programs to help minorities navigate the challenges of medical school. Specific, culturally aware education about the barriers and ways to overcome financial barriers to medical school is essential to change the…

Works Cited

Ryan Blitzstein. "Racism's hidden toll." Miller-McCune Magazine. June 14, 2009.

November 8, 2009.

http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/racisms-hidden-toll-1268

Davis, Sampson, Rameck Hunt, & George Jenkins. The Pact: Three young men make a promise and fulfill a dream. Prentice Hall, 2006.

African Slavery

Slavery has existed since the beginning history, and references can be found throughout the Old Testament and other ancient writings from around the globe. Slaves were often the spoils of wars and battles for the victors, and usually were a different ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race from those who enslaved them (Slavery pp). In the majority of cases, intermarriage, granting of liberty, and the right to buy one's own freedom have caused slave and slave-owning populations to merge throughout the world (Slavery pp). Slavery is almost always practiced for the purpose of securing labor and in the strictest sense, slaves have no rights (Slavery pp). The 1926 Slavery Convention described slavery as "the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised," thus, a slave is someone who cannot leave an owner, master, overseer, controller,…

Work Cited

Niger: IRIN -- Focus on Slavery.

 http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=17957& ; SelectRegion=West_Africa

Obadina, Tunde. "Slave trade: a root of contemporary African Crisis."

http://www.afbis.com/analysis/slave.htm

" (Seitles, 1996)

Seitles claims that integration has been a success in the fight against racial prejudice and states that: "Social consequences of racial isolation intertwine with grim economic realities for minorities. Due to the lack of interaction between racial groups, African-Americans are unprepared to work and socialize in a white majority society, while conversely, whites are not relating to, working with, or living with blacks. Prospects for African-American children raised in such communities are greatly diminished because of the lack of interaction between blacks and whites. Moreover, minority possibilities for advancement consequently decline from the lower quality of education afforded to them in ghetto schools, precluding them from competing for high-income employment. Although these inequalities are not always directly caused by intentional discrimination, residential racial segregation perpetuates these inequalities. Thus, minorities who live in racially homogeneous communities are faced with disadvantages beyond the present economic and social inequalities associated…

References

Thomas Lee Philpott, The Slum and the Ghetto: Neighborhood Deterioration and Middle Class Reform, 1880-1930 New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. Appendix A, 407-410. Online available at: Plotkin (1997) http://www.public.asu.edu/~wplotkin/DeedsWeb/newberry.html

Wilen, William P. & Stasell, Wendy L. (2000) Gautreaux and Chicago's Public Housing Crisis: The Conflict Between Achieving Integration and Providing Decent Housing for Very Low-Income African-Americans Copyright 2000 by National Center on Poverty Law. All rights reserved. 34 Clearinghouse Rev. 117.  http://www.povertylaw.org/legalresearch/articles/free/wilen.htm 

Ranney, D. & Wright P. (2000) Race, Class, and the Abuse of State Power: The Case of Public Housing in Chicago Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement 2000 March, Publication#: V172  http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/voorheesctr/racepaper.htm 

Gautreaux and Chicago's Public Housing Crisis:

There is a fascinating history with this cuisine in New York, as it used to be made surreptitiously in SO hotel rooms to meet the needs of the underground laborers from West Africa who craved food from home (Sietsema, 2011).

More evidence of the power of this trend comes from New York African estaurant Week, a bi-annual event that just completed its run, with 17 participating restaurants. The African community in New York has become quite active in promoting its heritage and culture, and this starts with food. The NY African estaurant Week has become the centerpiece of that effort, highlighting the exception standard of African food in New York.

I propose to produce a multimedia package for the New York Times that includes the following: There will be a 1200-word story focusing on the growth of African dining in New York, the variety of options and the characters involved.…

References

New York African Restaurant Week. (2014) website, various pages. Retrieved May 11, 2014 from  http://nyarw.com/ 

Sietsema, R. (2011). Our 10 best West African restaurants in NYC. Village Voice. Retrieved May 11, 2014 from http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/2011/05/our_10_best_wes_1.php

Wainaina, B. (2005). How to write about African food. Voices of Africa. Retrieved May 11, 2014 from  http://voicesofafrica.co.za/how-to-write-about-african-food/

African Restaurants Outline

Ooops! Sorry, please disregard!!

Begin by describing one or more than one of the restaurants in Harlem. Include a bevy of sensory details (this is a piece about food, after all). Discuss the colors, scents, the particular types of food being served to people (meats, vegetables, etc.) Also focus briefly on the customer base, note its diversity, add this to the sensory details where possible (for example the click of the utensils as a Russian company enjoys the ambiance of the restaurant, etcetera). The key is to show, don't tell. You don't want the reader to know what you're talking about in the first few paragraphs.

Delivery of the ho, here, hat, hy, How, etcetera

Explain that the aforementioned details can be seen taking place at any variety of African restaurants in Harlem. Denote the vast influx of such restaurants in the past couple of years, including…

Works Cited

Ebony. "African Restaurant Week Storms New York City." www.ebony.com. 2014. Web.  http://www.ebony.com/life/african-restaurant-week-storms-new-york-city-323#axzz35nkQz6Wn 

Harris, Kysha. "New York African Restaurant Week." New York Amsterdam News. 2014. Web.  http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2014/apr/24/new-york-african-restaurant-week/

In addition to these external factors, Thomson (202) notes two colonial and post-colonial economic policies and developmental strategies that proved to be erroneous in the long-term, having an ultimately damaging effect upon the ability of African countries to make sound, profitable investments. The first of these is that African governments focused excessively upon import substitution, while the second is that too much revenue was invested in the expansion of state institutions. This paradigm emerges from the success of European and other Western economic developments. However, such strategies were far from suitable for the African continent, as it resulted in a lack of investment in Africa's richest resources: agricultural and mineral development.

Maponga and Maxwell (97) mention the concentration of national economies as a further factor that may lead a lack of concomitant growth for countries (and in particular African countries) that are rich in natural resources. In addition to the…

Bibliography

Maponga, Oliver & Maxwell, Philip. Are Abundant Mineral and Energy Resources a Catalyst for African Development? (Issue 6). Minerals and Energy, 2001.

Thomson, Alex. An Introduction to African Politics. London & New York: Routledge, 2004.

LEADING CAUSES OF MOBIDITY:

Some of the diseases which often result in early death in African-Americans, provided that the go untreated or undiagnosed, include hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, dementia (i.e., Alzheimer's disease), diabetes and certain types of cancer, most notably lung cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer and prostate cancer (in men). Exactly why the morbidity rates for these disease are so much higher in African-Americans than in other ethnic/racial groups include a lack of education, lower incomes and the inability to access professional health care providers and clinics ("Health and Health Care," 2009, Internet). At the top of the list, there is hypertension, coronary heart disease (especially arterial blockage), stroke and some major types of cancer. With hypertension, some studies have shown that if a black male lives in poverty, his chances of being stricken with high blood pressure increases, perhaps because of the stress which goes…

REFERENCES

"Health and Health Care of African-American Elders." (2009). Internet. Accessed June 24,

2009 from  http://www.stanford.edu/group/ethnoger/african.html .

Spector, Rachel E. (2008). Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness. New York: Pearson

Prentice-Hall.

African Women Slavery

What was life like for African female slaves?

When most people hear the word slavery they will often associate it with the harsh living conditions and the demoralizing atmosphere they were going through. While this is true, the reality is that many slaves endured even more suffering. For women, this became worse in comparison with men. Part of the reason for this, is because they were considered to be inferior to men.

This is troubling because, it meant that they would be exposed to a wide variety of abuses at the hands of their slave masters and other slaves. To fully understand what took place, we will look at the underlying levels of privation that were occurring. Once this happens, it will offer specific insights about the overall amounts of difficulties that they had to deal with.

The Typical Life for a Slave Woman

In America prior…

Bibliography

"Life of Slave." Think Quest. Last modified 2002. http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215469/life_of_a_slave.htm

Davis, Angela. "Black Woman's Perspective." Women, Race and Class. 1- 15. New York, Random House, 1983.

Hughes, Sarah. "Gender in European Colonization." Women in World History. 100 -- 105. Armonk, ME Sharp, 1997.

Morrison, Kathleen. "African-American Cultural Context." Family Violence, 5 -7. Thousand Oaks, Sage, 2004.

In G. Landsberg, M. Rock, & L. Berg (Eds.), Serving mentally ill offenders and their victims: Challenges and opportunities for social workers and other mental health professionals. New York, NY: Springer.

Carroll K.M. (1997). Enhancing retention in clinical trials of psychosocial treatments: Practical strategies. In L. Onken, J. Blaine, & J. Boren, (Eds.), Beyond the therapeutic alliance: Keeping the drug-dependent individual in treatment. [NIDA Research Monograph Series #165, 4-24]. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Chou C.P., et al. (1998). Interaction effects of client and treatment program characteristics on retention: An exploratory analysis using hierarchical linear models. Substance Use & Misuse, 33(11), 2281-2301.

Goldkamp, J.S., White, M.D., & Robinson, J.B. (2001). Do drug courts work? Getting inside the drug court blackbox. Journal of Drug Issues, 31(1), 27-72.

Snyder, H., Finnegan, ., Stahl, A., & Poole, R. (1999). Easy access to juvenile court statistics: 1988-1997 [data presentation and analysis package]. Pittsburgh,…

The Developmental Pathways Model (2005) Health Services Technology Assessment Text HSTAT Online available at  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hstat5.section.18578 

Deborah Prothrow-Stith, M.D., Deadly Consequences "An Endangered Species -- Young Men of Color Living in Poverty" Chapter 5,-page 64-79 (1991).

African-American Males and the Correlation Between Substance Abuse

African-American males between the ages of 15 and 24 are at relatively higher risk of suicide according to Center for Disease control and prevention. Since 1980s the suicide rate has increased tremendously and many young seemingly successful males are committing suicide following years of suffering from chronic depression. Such cases highlight the importance of recognizing signs of depression young males but since researches and studies do not always reach parents on time, they fail to stay on top of it. This is how Gina Smallwood felt when in 2008 her young son shot himself right before his 20th birthday. (Thomas, 2009) Gina had no idea Kelvin was at the risk of suicide or that there were any statistics that placed African-American youth at greater risk of suicide. Instead she felt that since her son had been an honor student and had a bright future ahead of it; suicide would be…

References

Poussaint, A., & Alexander, A. (2000). Lay my burden down: Unraveling suicide and the mental health crisis among African-Americans. Boston: Beacon

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control.

Suicide injury deaths and rates. Retrieved from  http://www.cdc.gov 

Barnes, DH (2006). The Aftermath of Suicide Among African-Americans. Journal of Black Psychology, 32(3), 335-348.

African-American in the Media

The comedy Barbershop, starring Ice Cube juxtaposes the harshness of city life with the resiliency of the people living in the city. The movie with its black cast has an impressive standing in the movie industry for the year 2002. I'm not sure that I agree that this specific film means a breakthrough for African-Americans in the industry. The Black person has after all been part of the industry for a long time, and there are many African-American stars, not featured in this movie, who have made a great success of their movie careers.

The "integration period" for example is determined to be around the years 1949-1969. During this period there is an integration of Black people into the societies depicted in films. Thus the African-American is portrayed in a more positive way. Also, "black" themes and issues of conflict among races and peers are depicted…

Conclusion

Local governance in Africa: the challenges of democratic decentralization provides a great deal of insight into the manner in which individual nations in Africa have coped with a decentralized democratic structure. The purpose of the book was to examine under what conditions decentralization reforms in Africa evolve into effective local governance. The authors consistently explain the political structures of the local governments. In doing so the text illustrates the conditions that lead to successful decentralization efforts. The research presented is lucid and presents readers with a different perspective than other books and scholarly articles on this particular subject. The authors found that factors such as legitimate authority and adequate resources are conditions that are needed to ensure that decentralized democratization can occur.

In addition, the information presented in the text is essential for the continent of Africa, other nations that are undergoing similar changes and the international community as…

Bibliography

Devas N. The Challenges of Decentralization. Retrieved February 10, 2010 from; https://bvc.cgu.gov.br/bitstream/123456789/2037/1/nickdevas-2.pdf

Olowu D, Wunsch JS. 2004. Local governance in Africa: the challenges of democratic decentralization. Lynne Rienner Publishers: Boulder, Colo.

Peck R. African Today (Book Reviews) Olowu, Dele, and James S. Wunsch. 2004. Local Governance in Africa: The Challenges of Democratic Decentralization. 51.3 (2005) 138-140

Olowu D, Wunsch JS. 2004. Local governance in Africa: the challenges of democratic decentralization. Lynne Rienner Publishers: Boulder, Colo.

African-American Religious Movements

The African-American religious experience went through a period of "…extraordinary change" in the years between I and II (Fulop, et al., 1997, p. 314). Several "sects" and "cults" worshiped in storefront churches, moving from "mainline churches" into organizations that had political, fraternal and "benevolent" approaches to spirituality. But as to mainline Black churches, between 1926 and 1936, the Black Baptist movement grew from 3.2 million to 3.8 million and hence by 1936 the Black Baptist congregation had become the largest Christian church affiliated with the African-American community; indeed, 67% of "all Black Church members" were connected to the Black Baptist movement (Fulop, 315). This growth within the Back Baptist faith was partly due to the decrease in Black membership of the African Methodist church, the Churches of Christ and the Churches of the Living God (Fulop, 315).

Nation of Islam: allace D. Fard came to the United…

Works Cited

Fulop, Timothy Earl, and Raboteau, Albert J. (1997). African-American Religion: Interpretive

Essays in History and Culture. Florence, KY: Psychology Press.

Nation of Islam. (2012). National of Islam in America / A Nation of Beauty & Peace. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from  http://www.noi.org/about.shtml .

Public Broadcasting Service. (2006). This Far by Faith. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from  http://www.pbs.org .

African Fossil ecord Contributions

African Fossil ecord

African Fossil ecord Contributions to the 'Out of Africa' Theory

The African fossil record represents the foundation upon which modern archeologists base many of their theories concerning the evolutionary history of modern humans (Klein, 2008). When combined with DNA sequencing, the African fossil record shows that modern humans probably emerged about 200-150 ka (thousand years ago) and expanded into Eurasia as recently as 50 ka. This 'Out of Africa' theory would therefore not exist without the African fossil record.

The human fossil record reveals that humans split into three morphologically distinct species approximately 500,000 years ago; Homo sapiens, H. neanderthalensis, and H. erectus, in Africa, Europe, and Asia, respectively (Klein, 2008). The African fossil record contains no evidence that Neanderthals were ever in Africa, therefore it is assumed that modern humans emerged in Africa in the absence of a Neanderthal contribution (Klein, 2011).…

References

Klein, Richard G. (2008). Out of Africa and the evolution of human behavior. Evolutionary Anthropology, 17, 267-281.

Shea, John J. (2011). Refuting a myth about human origins: Homo sapiens emerged once, not as modern-looking people first and as modern-behaving people later. American Scientist, 99, 128-135.

The fact that this figure remains a guess says something important about what orrison was up against in trying to find out the full story of the slave trade. uch of that story has been ignored, left behind, or simply lost.

Through her works she attempted to retell the stories of grief associated with slavery and terror, her characters living their lives with greater understanding of its value than almost any other set of characters in fiction today.

Within the genre of the autobiography there is a different tenor of thought the words and deeds are that of the author and the message is clearly self, devolvement. Angelou in the Heart of a Woman demonstrates the ideals of her time, as a civil rights organizer and protestor. She clearly spells out the strife that exists between whites, and blacks and the dangerous dance they are doing during what most would…

Maya Angelou, the Heart of a Woman, (New York, Bantam Books, 1981) 97.

Maya Angelou, the Heart of a Woman, (New York, Bantam Books, 1981) 191.

Alice Walker in love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women (New York Harcourt Press, 1973) 47-59.

African-American Fixation and Modern Superiority in Sports

Sports are significant in many ways to any individual of the society and their values can notarize any political ideology. Sports have often been considered as a missionary tool of liberation, as anti-hegemonic. Fascists, communists, liberal marketers and filibusters have always revered sports. Even political group of dissidents has also vituperated sports, paradoxically. Sports have marked itself as the most powerful form of human expression during all of man's time. Sadly, sports fail to serve the United States ideology in any ways people decided to define democratic values during this, the American Century, when we became the most powerful purveyors of sports in all history (Gerald Early, Performance And Reality Race, Sports and the Modern orld).

Race does not comprise of a system consisting of the privileged or discredited abilities. It is rather an entirety of clashing rumination of what it means to…

Works Cited

Gerald E. 17 Aug. 1998. Performance And Reality Race, Sports and the Modern World.

The Nation, Sports: A View From Left To Right.

The African-American Sports Fixation. Available on the address http://istsocrates.berkeley.edu/~africam/sportsfix.pdf. Accessed on 14 Mar. 2003.

Black Children Still Victimized By Savage Inequalities. Available on the address  http://www.blackcommentator.com/13_education.html . Accessed on 14 Mar. 2003.

If someone returns a questionnaire with identifying personal information, then it will not be used in the study and will be destroyed. The questionnaires will also be constructed so that there will be no questions that could potentially violate the participants privacy in any way. For instance, there will be no questions asked about the particulars of the child's suicide, where the mother works, what particular community she's from and what church she is a member of, etc. Questions such as these could deter the target audience from responding because of fear that their privacy could be jeopardized.

The introductory letter sent with the questionnaire plays an important role in weeding out any ethical issues that may arise. The letter will clearly define the survey and discuss why the prospective participants were chosen. They will know that none of their personal information was used in order to send them the…

African-Americans and Western Expansion

Prior to the 1960s and 1970s, very little was written about black participation in Western expansion from the colonial period to the 19th Century, much less about black and Native American cooperation against slavery. This history was not so much forbidden or censored as never written at all, or simply ignored when it was written. In reality, blacks participated in all facets of Western expansion, from the fur trade and cattle ranching to mining and agriculture. There were black cowboys and black participants in the Indian Wars -- on both sides, in fact. Indeed, the argument over slavery in the Western territories was one of the key factors in breaking up the Union in the 1850s and leading to the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. In the past thirty years, much of the previously unwritten and unrecorded history of the Americas since 1492 has been…

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Foner, Eric. Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War. Oxford University Press, 1970, 1995.

Foner, Philip S. History of Black Americans. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1983.

Katz, William Loren. The Black West: A Documentary and Pictorial History of the African-American Role in the Westward Experience of the United States. NY: Random House, Inc., 2005.

Katz, William Loren. Black Indians: A Hidden Heritage. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1986.

2.

In keeping with the theme of individuality highlighted above, each of the main characters in the assigned readings struggle to define his or her identity in terms of the dichotomies in the society they observe. Each point-of-view differs according to the person's stage of life and background, and each person seeks to establish an identity by means of the cultural and social tools they have at their disposal. At times these tools comprise family members, friends, or teachers, and at others they are something much more focused and personal, such as the intellect or determination.

Sylvia, the main character of "The Lesson," establishes her identity in terms of the financial contrast between her own social construct and those who can spend $1,000 on a toy. For her, the concept of financial security provides a platform for constructing an identity. Her determination to contend with the rich for a place…

Self-esteem and self-efficacy are issues that are of primary importance. These are affected by a number of environmental factors, including immediate family, but also the environment in which a person moves, as well as the wider social environment.

Contextualism

Contextualism was promoted in 1942 by S.C. Pepper, and was previously known as "pragmatism." This term was often used in the work of Charles S. Peirce, William James, Henri

ergson, John Dewey, and George Herbert Mead (Morris, 1997). In psychological development, contextualism suggests the influence of a broad number of categories, beginning with the immediate family, and broadening to the peer group, society, and global environment. ehavior is therefore to be seen in the context not only of immediate family and peer influence, but also in the context of broader society.

According to Morris (1997), Pepper's use of the term "contextualism" first occurred during 1932, where he referred to John Dewey's…

Bibliography

Blunden, Andy. (2001, February). "The Vygotsky School." Spirit, Money and Modernity Seminar. http://home.mira.net/~andy/seminars/chat.htm

Blunden, Andy (1997). "Vygotsky and the Dialectical Method."

Domitrovich, Celene E. (2001, April). "Parenting practices and child social adjustment: Multiple pathways of influence" In Merrill-Palmer Quarterly. Wayne State University Press

Erikson, E.H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.

African Voodoo

Voodoo, also named Vodun, is an ancient polytheistic religion originating in West Africa. Voodoo spread from West Africa to the New World through the slaves. Today it practiced by an estimated 30 million people in Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Haiti, Benin, Jamaica, and other places throughout the world. Voodoo is often thought of as a "primitive form of magic and belief in ghost" (igaud, 7) however, Voodoo is more complicated than that. It consists of a complex system of beliefs which developed from many ancient world religions and cults. Due to the complexity and origin of Voodoo, there is no central authority to define orthodox beliefs or practices. Each Spiritual House acts independently and therefore a wide variety of theory and practice exists among those who practice Voodoo.

One of the basic beliefs of the Voodooist is that there is one primary creator, named Nana Buluku, who created everything.…

References

Burnett, John. "Voodoo and West Africa's Spiritual Life." NPR (2004): n. pag. Web. 29 Nov 2010 .

Espie, E, and J.F. Ade Ajayi. A Thousand Years of West African History: a handbook for teachers and students. 1st. Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1969. Print.

Llc, Books (Editor). Vodou: West African Vodun. 1st. Books LLC, 2010. Print.

Rigaud, Milo. Secrets of Voodoo. 2nd. City Lights Publishers, 1985. 7-12. Print.

African Wars

The period after the Second World War saw the decolonization of Africa and the establishment of many new nations. But these new states often degenerated into conflict with their neighbors, internal uprisings and revolutions, as well as ethnic and religious clashes. The conflicts in Africa often mirrored global tensions as the Cold War reached its peak and both the Soviet Union and the United States vied for African allies and supporters. For example, Angola was the site of civil war in which both the U.S. And the U.S.S.. played an active part. The combination of problems which surfaced as a result of decolonization along with the geopolitical situation of the Cold War led to a number of situations in which ethnic and tribal rivalries, political ideology, and economic forces created conflicts throughout Africa.

As Africa was colonized in the 18th and 19th centuries the Europeans imposed upon the…

Reference List

Black, Jeremy. (2005). War Since 1945. London: Reaktion Books.

Clayton, Anthony. (1999). Frontiersmen: Warfare in Africa since 1950. London: UCL

Press.

Wood, J.R.T.. (2011). "Countering the Chimurenga." In Counterinsurgency in Modern

African-American MOTHES AND THEI DAUGHTES

Ethical Issues in Gumdrop Northern

The Executive Officer, ABC Company

Ethical Issues in Gumdrop Northern

It has come to my attention that the actions and functions of the Gumdrop Northern are not up to standards. The company besides afflicting the American citizens, particularly the military, has lacked a sense of corporate social responsibility to both their employees, customers and the natural environment. Notably, the business world faces the notion of corporate social responsibility in all aspects of business undertakings (Bitektine, 2011). In a wide assortment of issues, corporations get motivation of to behaving in a socially responsible manner. In the contemporary world, corporate businesses focuses on the interest of the society through taking responsibility for the effect of their actions on employees, shareholders, communities and customers in all facets of their operations (Bitektine, 2011).

Nevertheless, this is contrary to what Gumdrop Northern is doing to…

References

Bitektine, A, 2011, "Toward a theory of social judgments of organizations: The case of legitimacy, reputation, and status," Academy of Management Review, 36: 151 -- 179.

Crouch, C. 2006," Modelling the firm in its market and organizational environment: Methodologies for studying corporate social responsibility. Organization Studies, 27:1533 -- 1551.

Pike, J. (2010). Mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicle program. Global Security. Retrieved from  http://www.globalsecurity.org 

Sleeer, J.(2012). Business ethics and stakeholder management: Developing a structured approach for small business owner-managers. New York: GRIN Verlag

As with water methods of visually perceiving patterns, divination serves as a literal mirror for the cosmos. The visual cues of divination such as cowry shells or the patterns made by mice sometimes serves as a pictorial language spoken between nonhuman and human participants. That language is not one used in human communications, even though it may inform human social order and modes of cognition.

The language of divination represents communication between human and super-human forces. A diviner acts much like a translator would, communicating the perceived patterns of cosmic order to an individual or to the community. Divination is integral to all traditional African religions as well as to the religions of most other cultures. The function of divination is artistic, epistemological, and expressive. Divination also creates, maintains, and interprets social and spiritual order.

orks Cited

Bourgeois, Arthur P. "Insight and Artistry in African Divination - Book Review." African…

Works Cited

Bourgeois, Arthur P. "Insight and Artistry in African Divination - Book Review." African Arts. Summer 2002. Retrieved April 13, 2009 from  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0438/is_2_35/ai_94010411/?tag=content;col1 

"Exploring Africa." African Studies Center. Retrieved April 14, 2009 from http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/m14/activity2.php

Peek, Phillip M. African Divination Systems. Indiana University Press, 1991.

Pemberton, John III. "Divination in Sub-Saharan Africa." Art and Oracle: African Art and Rituals of Divination. 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2009 from  http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/oracle/essayPemberton.html

S. news magazines between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 1998. They concluded that the images of the poor in these news magazines "do not capture the reality of poverty, but instead provide a stereotypical and inaccurate picture of poverty that results in a misconception of beliefs about the poor, antipathy toward blacks and lack of support for welfare programs.

Similarly, Dixon and Linz (2000) researched the content of a random sample of local TV news programming in Los Angeles and Orange counties to determine representations of blacks, Latinos, and whites as lawbreakers and law defenders. "Intergroup" comparisons of perpetrators found that blacks and Latinos are significantly more apt than whites to be shown as lawbreakers. "Interrole" comparisons, lawbreakers vs. law defenders, similarly found that blacks and Latinos are more likely to be shown as lawbreakers than as defenders, whereas whites are significantly more apt to be portrayed as defenders…

References Cited.

Chavous, T.M., Green, L., Harris, a, Lumas, H., and Rivas, D. (2004). Racial Stereotypes and Gender in Context: African-Americans at Predominantly Black and Predominantly White Sex Roles. A Journal of Research. 51(1-2), 1.

Clawson, R.T., (2000) Poverty as we know it; Media portrayals of the poor. Public Opinion Quarterly 64(1) 53-65

Dixon, T., and Linz, D.(2000) Overrepresentation and Under representation of African-Americans and Latinos as Lawbreakers on Television. Journal of Communication. 50 (2), 131

Fogel, R.W. (1989).Without Consent or Contract: The Rise and Fall of American Slavery New York W.W. Norton.

Some might argue that the movies and television depicting African-American and white adolescent girls reinforces stereotypes and can only negatively affect body image. This argument is supported by the fact that the vast majority of media and film sexualizes young women, African-American or white (Baker 13-15). It is true that women are held to a higher ideal because of advertising and media. However, the difference in the advertising of African-American and white women is the submissive sexiness of white women opposed to the independent sexiness of African-American women (Baker 13-15). It is true that both back and white girls feel compelled to emulate sexiness. However, African-American girls are also given an ideal that includes the tools for self-acceptance. That is, the independence and assertiveness found in the advertising depicting African-American women helps girls to feel confident and self-assured.

Close family relationships may be another factor in positive body image in…

Works Cited

Baker, Christina N. "Images of Women's Sexuality in Advertisements: A Content analysis of African-American- and White-Oriented Women's and Men's Magazines." Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 52.1-2 (2005): 13-15.

Girls' Body Images Depend on Moms." Family Practice News 36.2 (2006): 51.

Hylmo, Annika. "Girls on Film: An Examination of Gendered Vocational Socialization Messages Found in Montion Pictures Targeting Teenage Girls." Western Journal of Communication 70.3 (2006): 167-85.

Rosenthal, Doreen a., Anthony M.A. Smith, and Richard de Visser. "Personal and Social Factors Influencing Age at First Sexual Intercourse." Archives of Sexual Behavior 28.4 (1999): 319.

African-American women can access ownership in the U.S. oil and gas sector.

Sub-questions:

To what extent has the oil and gas sector provided ownership opportunities for African-American women?

What factors or challenges hinder African-American women from accessing ownership in the U.S. oil and gas sector?

What measures can be put in place to increase access to ownership among African-American women in the U.S. oil and gas sector?

Interviewing

Answers to the above questions can be obtained through interviewing. Indeed, interviewing is one of the most common methods of collecting qualitative data. In spite of involving a great deal of time, effort, resources, and planning, interviews enable a closer interaction between the researcher and the subject(s), thereby facilitating a deeper inquiry of the subject matter (Bryman, 2008).

There are three major types of interviews from which the researcher may choose: structured interview, unstructured interview, and semi-structured interview (Robson, 2016). A structured…

By nationalism they meant not only the cultivation of love for their land and nation but also the development of an identity -- A sense of who Africans were and what they stood for which would be based on nothing that white people had been teaching but on something that would be exclusive to Africa and African consciousness.

The new sense of self would then reflect in all the actions of African people including their writings. It was believed that oppressors so dominate the minds and souls of the conquered people, that the latter start believing in their inferiority and try to please their oppressor by producing work that would be more universal in its subject. However that had to change if Africans wanted to believe in themselves. They would need to address their own people, their own problems and their own cultures and write for their own audiences which…

Therefore, the beliefs of ancient writers cannot be taken as evidence in the same way as the finding of archaeological evidence can. If Egyptians or Phoenicians had permanently colonized Greece, it is likely that someone would have found the remnants of Egyptian or Phoenician buildings, as well as Egyptian writing, tombs, and other physical evidence of their colonization activities. One would expect that if there was an Egyptian influence in the origins of Greek civilization, the Greeks may have built in the Egyptian style, instead of creating a completely unique style of architecture. There has been no evidence discovered that would indicate a large scale, permanent Egyptian or Phoenician colonization.

Martin Bernal does a very good job of analyzing the sociological forces that influenced the creation of the "Aryan" model, however, the fact that the Aryan model has been misused is not evidence that disputes the idea that Greek civilization…

Works Cited

Berlinerblau, Jacques. Heresy in the University: The Black Athena Controversy

and the Responsibilities of American Intellectuals. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers

UP, 1999. Print.

Bernal, Martin and David Chioni Moore. Black Athena Writes Back: