Paper #2

[Cowboy13012]

African American Experience
Adding to the Syllabus Paper
April 25, 2006

Ego Trip’s Big Book of Racism
The African American Experience class explores topics of African American history including slavery, Emancipation, Reconstruction, the woman’s era, the age of jim crow and the new Negro, the civil rights movement, and the post-reform period. The course objections is to introduce interdisciplinary methods; foster knowledge about African American history and culture; understand the concepts of blackness, race and equality; examine representations of Black America; and evaluate notions of individual and group identity within black culture. The book I have chosen is Ego Trip’s Big Book of Racism by Sacha Jenkins, Elliott Wilson, Chairman Jefferson Mao, Gabriel Alvarez, and Brent Rollins. The book covers racism with all race groups. It highlights racism throughout the many years of life. It shows how racism was used through media and well known people. I chosen this book because it does follow the course objections. This book should be added to the syllabus because of the many articles that deal with Black people, racism and the civil rights times.

One reason why the book should be selected is an article on page 29. It is called “Not Okay in OK.” It is about a court case in which a Black shoe-shine man who had attempted to rape a white woman. This occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A crowd of white people came to see the man being lynched. A black crowd came to defend the man. A fight broke out with the two groups. At the end of the fight, one white man was shot dead. As a result of this, the Black side of Tulsa was subjected to a massive bloodbath. The Black business district was torched and hit by small explosives dropped from the air. Many Black homes and schools was destroyed. Thousands have dead. This article shows what we have been reading in many of our text books. This article is important because it started with something that was common being the lynching and it ended with something that I have never heard about. Many people died because one white man was killed. We read of people being lynched but I believe that we did not read something as big as this. I do not recall hearing about racism in Oklahoma. This occur in 1921 in a span of two days. This article will help people see that there was big extremes taken when just one person died. Racism can lead to thousands of people dead. Being that the man was Black, the white mob wanted to kill the man. Blackness is Oklahoma was not accepted at all. Being Black in Oklahoma was dangerous because as the article stated Blacks was killed and buildings were destroyed. If one Black person did something wrong in the white people eyes, then all of the Black people payed the price. The Black people who came to help the Black man from being hanged wanted to be treated as equals. They wanted the man to be treated fairly. They felt that the white people was wrong. The Blacks was wrong for killing that one white man. Dr. King said that violence is not the way. They could have protested instead of getting into a fight. They should have known that the white people are capable of anything and they can get away with it. This article shows what it was like to be Black in Oklahoma.

Another reason that this book should be chosen is the articles on page 30 entitled “Detroit Race City Part 1 and 2 .” In part1, two rumors came about. One rumor was said that a Black man raped and killed a white woman. The other rumor was said that the whites have thrown a Black women and her baby off a bridge. In response, Black mobs looted and destroyed white-owned businesses. Whites then attacked Black people from their cars and movie theaters. The U.S. Army stepped in when the whites got into the Black ghetto. Only nine whites was killed and twenty-five Blacks was killed in which seventeen was killed by white policemen. Nearly seven hundred people was injured. This article show that lies can lead into a big race war between Blacks and whites. This is another example of when people take matters into their own hands. This took place in 1943 in a span of two days. The police killed people when their job is to protect people. Black people was not even safe from the people who was suppose to protect them. The fact that the policemen was white shows that people use their powers to take control of people. This shows that racism can be a power thing also in that the police could not get in trouble because they was simple trying to stop the riots. I feel that examples of Black people fighting back on rumors should be shown in class too because not all Blacks was nonviolent. Part 2 shows also that Black people took matters into their own hands when rumors when around saying that police brutality occur in a raid on a bar where Blacks gambles. Black people protested first but they started to loot and burn white-owned stores. The rioters started to burn down Black and white business and homes. Many people was arrested and a lot of damage was done. This article shows that Black people can get out of control without white people doing anything. Both articles show the concepts of blackness, race and equality with the forming of protest and riots; examine representations of Black America with Black people taking matters into their own hands; and evaluate notions of individual and group identity within black culture when Black people ban together for a common cause.

Another reason is an quote from the book on page 36 to 37. It shows the Ku Klux Klan hating on poor white people. One of the writers wrote a question: “If I should associate with the knights of the Ku Klux Klan, what will be required of me?” The writer found a official Ku Klux Klan website that said “We emphases one requirement for every Klansman of Klanswomen in the knights, and that is that they conduct themselves with Christian character. We want our associates to live their lives as honorable, decent, dignified white people. If you want to act like low-class white trash, then we don’t need you.” They were saying that Christians hate Black people with the line of them be Christians. Most Black people were Christians. I did not know that the Ku Klux Klan was a group of Christians. The fact that they wanted there members to be good people was the opposite of what they stood for. There is also a picture with a bunch of Ku Klux Klan members who are around a burning cross. The picture can raise a lot of ideas on what it means. Some would take it was they hated religion. Others can see it as they is how they praise their God. This piece show that not all white people hated Blacks. Some white people was in the same boat as Black people.

[Cowboy13012]

Another reason that the book should be chosen is the section called “Race Land” on pages 46 to 59. It shows racism in all of the fifty states. One example in “Race Land” is the Nevada section. It is number 33 on the list of racism in the states. It talks about is a famous hotel that was open to Black entertainers. The Black entertainers could not stay in the hotels in which they performed in. This was in 1955 that the Moulin Rogue was open. The hotel did good. It was shut down by the collusive activity of white-owned hotel/casinos. This shows that Black people got a help when Blacks tried to have the same thing as the whites did. The closing for it due to white people shows that white people even stopped Black people from making a living.

Another example would be the Illinois section. Here is something called a “NOT-SO-FUN FACT.” It said that Illinois is where the sixth president Abraham Lincoln came from. It also says that “Lincoln acted more like a great racist when he supported Illinois’ ‘Black Law,’ which was passed in 1853. It called to ‘effectually prohibit free persons of color from immigrating to and settling in [the] state.’” I did not know did occurred. I thought Lincoln was a good guy because he free the enslaved ones. I know that he wanted to keep his slaves and let the north have their slaves. This shows that Lincoln did not like Black people at all. It is important for people to see that he also supported some racist laws. In 1969, the Black Panther leader Fred Hampton was killed by the police in a raid. Years later, it was found out that Hampton’s bodyguard was a FBI informant who gave a floor plan that was used in the raid. This is a great example of evaluating notions of individual and group identity within black culture. A Black man turned on his fellow Black man. Hampton trusted his bodyguard with his life. If the bodyguard got him killed, who can Black people trust. Black would start to doubt each other. They would be cautious of each other. One of their many movement leaders was dead. Luckily, Blacks did gain everything they wanted in terms of being equal. This would show people that there was much corruption within the Black culture. Some wanted to get things down their own way. Some do not want to be equal with the whites. In 1979 in Chicago, a DJ of a white rock station told fans to bring Black music to burn at the White Sox-Detroit Tigers baseball game. The fans did what they would told to do. This showed that Black music was not fully accepted by everyone. Blacks might have gotten some white people to be on their side of be equal, but it did not fully help. Equality could not be achieved though the arts.

Another section is the Alabama section. Its “NOT-SO FUN FACT” is that the state did not repeal its ban on mixed marriages until November 2000. This shows that even after the civil rights movement some people still did not want Black people to be equal. It is important that people know that it was just six years ago that Alabama allow Black people to marry white people. In 1956, singer Nat King sung to an all white audience. When he almost finished his song, he was attacked by white segregationist. This shows that Black performers was not safe in racism states like Alabama. The white people fought for what they think was right. They attacked the singer because they wanted him not to perform to white people. He should be performing to Black people only. I never read a text book that talked about this. This show me a whole new light on how bad white people wanted segregation

Another reason that this book should be chosen is the use of the word “nigger” in music. Pages 102 and 103 show rock song by white people who employed the word “nigger” in their songs. One song was called “Rednecks” by Randy Newman. It came out in 1974. The lyrics said “We’re rednecks, rednecks/And we don’t know our ass from a hole in the ground/We’re rednecks, we’re rednecks/and we’re keeping the niggers down.” This showed how white people was mocked. Most white people believed that they was keeping the Blacks down and they was right for doing so. Randy Newman was a white man. I do not know if he believed that white was number one or he was mocking white culture. These lyrics would cause a huge discussion of itself. People can talk about Newman’s beliefs. People can also talk about what the song meant in its time. Thing such as how did white and Black people take it and what would it mean in today’s world to the same groups.
My final reason is a poster that appears on 91. The poster says stop supporting Black people by buying their music. It says “if you don’t want to serve negroes in your place in your place of business, then do not have negro records on your juke box or listen to nergo records.” This showed that they did not want Blacks to earn money off Whites. This move would also keep Black people out of white businesses because their music was not there form them to enjoy. It goes on to say “The screaming, idiotic words and savage music of these records are undermining the morals of our white youth in America.” This is saying that it is poisoning the kid’s mind. It is hurting the kids. It would make them want to do crazy thing like the Black people. It finally says “Call the advertisers of the radio station that play this type of music and complain to them!” This is saying lets not only stop our children and ourselves but lets get raid of it completely by telling radio stations not to play the records. This would hurt the Black artist badly because people would not hear the singles and would want to buy the album. This poster came from New Orleans. New Orleans is a place where a lot of Black people live. If they was denied their own music, they would not be able to connect with each other and find themselves. This would have got raid of Black culture in New Orleans and it would not be as populated with Black people as it is today. It is important for people to know that white people really tried to stop Black from coming up and supporting each other.

I feel that this book is excellent for class use because it not only have the documents I have talk about. It also has many other examples of interdisciplinary methods; African American history and culture; the concepts of blackness, race and equality; representations of Black America; and notions of individual and group identity within black culture. This book covers this all. It is a great book to add to the syllabus.

THE GRADE ON THIS PAPER WAS A “B”.

[Cowboy13012]

What you guys think?

[Cowboy13012]

Do you guys think this paper is good??

What grade would you give it, and what are the good and bad points.