Several authors such as Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, and Countee Cullen confronted this situation of the incomplete American dream with literature that proposed the irony of its society. ... Even though African Americans were considered free, whites found another barrier to keep them unhappy. ... His poems expressed the impatience of African Americans to become treated equally. ... There was also an African American author by the name of Langston Hughes. ... Cullen was focused on black equality; however, he was most interested in succeeding in the white dominated field of literature. ...

• Word Count: 548
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Since the time of slavery, African American women have endured many hardships. ... The historical and social experiences of African women since slavery resulted in numerous images that defined African American women as deviant. For centuries, African American women have been contrasted with white women. ... A heightened sensitivity to some of the mythic constructs can be useful in interpreting other textual sources, such as diaries, letters, and literature, as well. ... They have assumed a prominent place in the culture of our times both in the United States and abroad, contributing gre...

• Word Count: 1267
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Sweeney had 2 PhD's and that he had them reading black literature. ... In the dinner scene Derek explains that he is reading black literature in English class. ... Derek realized that African Americans were treated unfairly by the legal system after hearing Lamont's story. ... Derek is socialized into believing certain things about African Americans from his father. ... The movie is bitter because I and African American had to see some and hear words that I truly dislike. ...

• Word Count: 1172
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Throughout the history of literature, authors have told their readers of the time periods they have lived in. ... The style of poetry was a greatly made use of during the Harlem Renaissance, which was when the African-American arts were at its peak. ... Despite the racism that prevailed in the 1920s, Langston Hughes used his poetry to encourage himself and his fellow African-Americans to be proud of their race regardless of their problems. ... Langston Hughes spoke of the broad range of African-American experiences in his writings. ...

• Word Count: 359
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

Also it has been banned because many African Americans view this novel as one that contains racial slurs and racism (Zwick 1). ... Ernest Hemingway wrote that "all modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.... ... Another author to approve of this novel is David Bradley, who says "Huckleberry Finn must be taught because it is a specific point of intersection between White American Literature and Black American Literature" (Zwick 1). ... The racist comments in the novel are not offensive to me simply because I am not African American. Because I am not African ...

• Word Count: 1219
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

For example, Toni Morrison, in her critical text Playing in the Dark, has argued that everything that constitutes whiteness as a racial identity--from the national literature of the United States to its Constitution to the daily practices of its citizens--is a response to the absent/objectified presence of the black Other or, in her words, "to a dark, abiding, signing Africanist presence" (5). She goes on to say: Just as the formation of the nation necessitated coded language and purposeful restrictions ... so too did the literature, whose founding characteristics extend into the twentieth...

• Word Count: 301
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

He was the first African awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. ... When the speaker says he is "West-African" it is assumed that he speaks of Nigeria. ... The instant she knows he is African, she pauses to think about what to do. ... Between 1954 and 1968, Martin Luther King raised up to fight for African-American rights. That caused a chain-reaction, an outburst of African-American's who fought for their rights. ...

• Word Count: 705
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Washington had on reconstruction and the role of African Americans in the society, and then he proceeds to attack Washington's position. ... This collection of essays became the backbone of a generation of thought for African Americans in the 20th century. ... (Du Boise, 149) The Judge goes even farther in his belittling of African Americans, and all to a person who until recently had almost been treated as an equal. ... Washington had on the place of African Americans in society and how they should go about getting equal treatment. ... This work became a mold that ...

• Word Count: 1047
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Many offered examples of the abuse and prejudice that African Americans endured. ... In Africa, black women were revered by there beauty, strength and intelligence. ... The images that are portrayed in the media and in some literature have forgotten and hidden the positions of the Queen Mother, Mother Earth, and the Black Madonna. ...

• Word Count: 618
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

"Battle Royal," by Ralph Ellison was a very difficult piece of literature for me to understand since I didn't grow up in the african american society. ... In one way it is symbolic of the African Americans' struggle for equality throughout this nation's history. ... This is symbolic of the African Americans' fight for equality. ... This is representative of the how our nation's white population treated African Americans for many years. ... These activities again represent the African American's struggle for equality. ...

• Word Count: 1491
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

White wrote a very important piece of literature in the 70's he argues that traditional psychology uses an Anglo middle-class frame of reference, which is true. ... They are developing a psychology that has its roots in the African worldview which is opposite to the European worldview. ... All of these psychologists go on to show their view of psychology and apply/trace them back to African culture. "Her thrust is to define and implement as a critical framework for understanding and achieving maximum mental health a theory of psychology rooted in and reflective of African culture."(Pg ...

• Word Count: 1274
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Pecola and her family are representative of the larger African-American community, and their name, "Breedlove," is ironic because they live in a society that does not "breed love." ... Soaphead Church represents, as his name suggests, the role of the church in African-American life. ... Morrison also uses metaphors to describe the conditions under which African-Americans in general and Pecola in particular are forced to live. ... Morrison unpacks the metaphor throughout the book, and, through Claudia, finally explains it and broadens its scope to all African-Americans on the last page. ... The...

• Word Count: 1112
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Although somewhat unappreciated by the general public, this work is held to be a classic work of literature despite its taboo themes and figurative language for its time period. ... It demonstrates how maintaining a stable character and possessing a strong passion for literature can help conquer racism and internal trauma. ... The community's involvement in forming the young girls' identity is significant because it "contributes to a discursive trifecta that shows the importance of communal affirmation in maintaining the African American community" (Ero). ...

• Word Count: 673
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Lessons in a Dream In Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man," a sequence of memorable proceedings develops into a story about humiliation. The gathering in the ballroom was the start of a race against time, himself, and the darkness that white men wanted to keep his kind in. He pretends he is invisible ...

• Word Count: 499
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Her African-American heritage has greatly influenced her writing, leading her to be one of the most widely read poets of today. ... One famous African-American writer that she was friends with and who also had an impact on her writing was James Baldwin. ... After meeting with James Baldwin, " her poetry had moved beyond the had-line stance taken by many African Americans. ... One of her most prized books was a mix of literature and politics called Those Who Ride the Night Winds. ... Yet she grows discouraged when African-American students do not take full advantage of the opportunities they h...

• Word Count: 1670
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Dick is an African-American who possesses many qualities of the white American. ... The most prevalent attitude toward African- Americans is that they are inferior to the whites. ... Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense Eighth Edition. ...

• Word Count: 983
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Prison Literature in America. ... The difference in numbers over two decades reveals the corrosive effect of our incarceration epidemic on the health of the African American community. ... In a country less than 13 percent blacks, one half of the prison population is African American. ... The funding of Higher Education and corrections and its impact on African American men makes perfectly clearly the society's investment priority's producer commensurate results. ... Mississippi made it a crime for African Americans to be unemployed or drunk, or to have run away, neglected chil...

• Word Count: 3043
• Approx Pages: 12

" That information shows that African Americans as well as Latino's are automatically considered a threat or criminal when looked at by the dominant race and law enforcement. ... From birth I was exposed to literature, art and other cultural activities. ...

• Word Count: 1150
• Approx Pages: 5

Morrison's novel illustrates the disastrous affects racism had on African-Americans during the late nineteen hundreds. ... More important though, The Bluest Eye, goes beyond its value as a work of literature. ...

• Word Count: 1667
• Approx Pages: 7

Ernest James Gaines is one of the most important African American authors of this century. (Benet's 365) He succeeds as a writer as well as a college English Professor at University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1983. Gaines was born on January 15, 1933 in Oscar Louisiana. He had a hard childhood whi...

• Word Count: 1754
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Morrison's novel illustrates the disastrous affects racism had on African-Americans during the late nineteen hundreds. ... More important though, The Bluest Eye, goes beyond its value as a work of literature. ...

• Word Count: 1667
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School