During our viewings the issue regarding conflict in color, light skin and dark skin, did not strike me in any of the two movies. ... In "Within our Gates," the alcoholic character was portrayed a darker skinned man. ... The two major themes of Oscar Micheaux's film "Within Our Gates" are the issues of racism and the class distinction among African Americans at the time. ... "Within Our Gates" not only confronts the race problem but also displays the lifestyle and attitudes of the black middle class. ... After Gridlestone was shot and killed by a white farmer Efram was the one to run aro...

• Word Count: 943
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

You will encounter towns such as "Marion," "Harrisburg," "Benton," and "West Frankfort." Arguably, the most notable town in Southern Illinois is "Carbondale." ... The town received its name due to the abundance of coal in the area. ... Bill Quigley of Loyola University at New Orleans pointed out that our justice system's biggest crime is running an institution based on race. ... In small towns, authorities have a limited number of crimes to address. ...

• Word Count: 785
• Approx Pages: 3

The poem begins with, "Once riding in old Baltimore, / Heart-filled, / head-filled with glee/" It begins to describe someone who is riding into Baltimore for a trip of some sort, happy about his/or her arrival into town. Not long after that incident he/or she sees a boy starring straight at them as they are coming into town. ... The tone changes at this point though the next lines in the poem read, "And so I smiled, / but he poked out His tongue, / and called me, "Nigger". /" This is the change in tone, from excited to be in Baltimore, to being almost slapped in the face by another child fro...

• Word Count: 676
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Her thoughts and comments on the way to town, the hunter she happens upon, and her visit to the medical building all demonstrate that racism is an integral part of this story, and indeed a part of her time. ... On her way to town, Phoenix says while climbing up the tiresome hill that runs through the path, "Seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far."" ... A subtle theme of racism is seen immediately when Phoenix arrives in town from the woods. ... When she enters her forgetful phase inside the office, the nurse tells her, "You mustn't take up our time this way tell us q...

• Word Count: 1034
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

When Joe and Janie arrive in the new "colored town" Joe goes about starting up a town and building a store and all kinds of important matters. The men of the town see Joe as trying to act important and instead of embracing the idea they try to bring him down to their level by saying "My britches is just as long as his is." ... Joe puts Janie on a pedestal and tries to keep her on a higher level than all of the colored folks in the town. Joe doesn't allow Janie to talk and fraternize with the town folks and this gives them the impersonation that she is better than them, which results in an...

• Word Count: 1356
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

As the novel progresses, this innocence and faith is tested by the hatred and prejudice issues of the town that emerge during the main event of the story, the trial of Tom Robinson. ... First of all is the message about how separated the white people are to the coloured people in the town. ... This is demonstrated again as a black woman at the church states to Cal " You ain't got no business bringin" white chillun here - they got their church, we got our"n. ... I believe however that there is evidence of hope that the town of Maycomb will eventually begin to understand issues like t...

• Word Count: 986
• Approx Pages: 4

He continues by saying that the people came to our nations capitol to claim whats rightfully theres. "We have come to our nations capitol to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir." ... He goes on to tell how they as a people will never be satisfied while there is police brutality going on towards black people, and blacks are living in ghettos they cant get out of and residing in towns that post signs "whites only". .....

• Word Count: 604
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Two, there should have been announcements, posters, or flyers posted around town so that the public would know about this art display. ... When we choose to put our thoughts on paper, canvas, or sheet music, it becomes a representation of what we feel; therefore, it becomes black art....

• Word Count: 311
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

She did this to show the public what kind of mockery and injustices some of the stores in town are making of African Americans. ... Donleavy was in the middle of his speech when he started deciding what race got what heroes. " ..what school official in the white-goddom of Little Rock had the right to decide that those two men (Owens and Brown Bomber) must be our heroes?" ... "Blacks, deprived of jobs based on the color of our skin, are now told that we ought to find it demeaning to be hired, based on the color of our skin (Williams; pg.104)." ...

• Word Count: 594
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

It's hard to believe, but this little old lady has such a big influence on our culture. ... The biggest part of our culture is food, and everyone loved being at grandma's house for Sunday's or holidays. ... We had to speak with proper English and no cursing, we also had to have our clothes ironed before we could leave the house, as well as our shirts tucked in. ... We do not know how to live our lives without depending on society. ...

• Word Count: 3405
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: High School

Hostile confrontation was rare between the races or cultures that I knew of around the town of Ft. ... Like how Ruth McBride was taunted or robbed when she would ride her bike through a bad part of town. ... Although we did play certain teams that had racist players, we still never let them bother us when they tried to antagonize our team. ...

• Word Count: 794
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Set in a small southern town in the 1960s, Carl Lee Hailie (Samuel L Jackson) awaits trial for murdering the two rednecks who viciously raped his 10-year-old daughter Tanya (Raeven Kelly). A young, idealistic lawyer Jake Brigantz (Matthew McConauhey) takes up Carl Lee's defense, and the case becomes a firestorm of racism and controversy, ripping the town apart. ... But ultimately, it makes us think carefully about how we ourselves treat our fellow man. ...

• Word Count: 759
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

The story is set in Maycomb, Alabama, a small town in the south divided by white and black people who do not trust each other. ... This causes a lot of problems in the town with other white folks proving they are truly racist. ... They both overhear Lula saying to Cal " You ain't got no business bringing white chillun here- they got there church, we got our"n. ...

• Word Count: 640
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Vernon John wanted peace and equality between the races in our nation specially between the blacks and whites. ... He moves into the town his family lives in and end up being one of the pastures of the church. ... Vernon wanted the best for his family and wife so he did all he could in a radical way to show that all people deserve anything and that we are all equal no matter what the color of our skin, and they show all this in the movie. ...

• Word Count: 556
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, there is much tension between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch, one of the most respected men in Maycomb County, Alabama, is one of the few white citizens who believe that race is not important. Justice is defined as the principle of moral rightness. Atticus Fi...

• Word Count: 342
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

" In the same document, the African American citizens of Boston passed a resolution stating, "Resolved, that our feelings urge us to say to our countrymen that we are ready to stand by and defend the Government as the equals of it's White defenders-to do so with "our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor" (Pg. 97) Though their attempts were unsuccessful, they kept trying. ... We can afford to pay these licenses, and will do it before we will be defeated, and then we will have full control of the city's washing at our own prices as the cities have control of o...

• Word Count: 1964
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

Because he is doing this, most people in town are calling him a "nigger" lover. ... Confident that you gentlemen, would go along with them on one assumption, the evil assumption, that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are immoral beings, that all Negroes are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption that of one mind of their caliber. ...

• Word Count: 537
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

African-Americans have a strong work ethic within our families. ... Within our families and community, there are more flexible roles, meaning that our parents do not necessarily have to be there all day everyday for us. Our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and sometimes cousins take on the role of mother and father while our real parents are working, out of town, or if for some reason our biological parents are no longer around. ... We sing, dance, shout, and cry during our service. ... The church is an extended family in our community, and this is seen in the fact that we call members of our c...

• Word Count: 1387
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

This brings him to the day where he gives a speech to leading white community in his town so that he may be recognized. ... As if it weren't obvious enough, Ellison adds in that she also has a tattoo right above the split in her legs to throw the fact that she represents America in our faces. ... His history as an African American and the racism we know in our country are both examples of this story, and the symbolism helps you see that....

• Word Count: 874
• Approx Pages: 3

With the end of the Civil War our nation faced a new way of life. ... The New South was emerging with more jobs; more people were migrating to the towns and cities. The growth seemed to stay in the towns and cities, because urban areas had public school, health care, electricity and telephones and the rural areas did not. ... Our participation in the war changed everything for the United States. It changed our society as a whole, our government changed and so did the economy. ...

• Word Count: 2136
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

The "problem with the color-line" is one of the many things that Du Bois brings to our attention in these essays. ... John is even told flat out by the Judge of the town that blacks are lesser beings than whites. ... John was under the impression, one that he got when he was studying at Princeton, that he could return home and make a difference for the other African Americans in his town. ...

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

The story To Praise Our Bridges, by Fanny Lou Hamer, depicts the life of sharecroppers. ... To Praise Our Bridges reveals how effective the White Power Structure of the South was at keeping blacks from voting. ... Linda Brown was a young black girl who lived in the transitional part of town between school zones. ... He went on to say that the practice of cross-town bussing and "Separate, but equal" caused psychological damage leading black people to feel they were inferior. ...

• Word Count: 1907
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

Yet when I moved to Oklahoma I discovered that many of the small towns around me were segregated. ... Carrie later explained to me that most people think if you are black that you are trouble, just our traits I guess. ...

• Word Count: 671
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Angered, one of the passengers by the name of John King grabbed the wheel and drove to a dark deserted road outside of town. ... No one can explain the basis to this for sure, but either way this is a very important thing that our government needs to control. ...

• Word Count: 709
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

As Joe Louis' fight went on, when he got hit Angelou writes, "it was our people falling. ... In the conclusion of her story, she talks about people making arrangements to stay in the area where the fight was held because African Americans wouldn't be able to safely go across town if Joe Louis won against a white man. ...

• Word Count: 790
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School