Slavery

Not everything that has to make a mark on the history of African American people is on the surface a positive thing.  But we know that there some very terrible things that happened to the black population in America that are undeniably a big part of the history of a people.  So any survey of black history could not be complete without a discussion of slavery.

Few peoples of the earth have such a profoundly humiliating event to become such a central part of their heritage and their past.  Yes, other tribes and races have endured slavery including the American Indian and the ancient Hebrews.  Perhaps slavery is even more pivotal to the psychology of the African American culture because it is the central historical event that launched their start as citizens of this country.

It was not a citizenship born in nobility and honor as many others can point to in America.  No to come to America as slaves is to have come to America with little more value to their fellow Americans than common livestock.  And to be sure, the lives of slaves in the first decades of American history were very harsh times.  Slaves were abused and denied anything that we might call today even basic human rights.

It is hard to gain any perspective on such a heinous crime against humanity as slavery except to put in context that this barbaric practice did not originate in America but came to our shores as part of the background of many people including the Dutch, the French and the English.

In some ways slavery was an evolution of the system of indentured servant hood in which an immigrant trades a certain number of years of service to a master in exchange for payment for their travel costs to come to America.  But in the case of Africans who were brought on ships as slaves, there was no desire to come in chains to serve as property until death.

The impossibility of hope in that situation is almost impossible for any of us, black or white, in modern day America to grasp or appreciate.  But the efforts of slaves to free themselves and indeed to eventually do so using the Underground Railroad or other means is a testament to human will and that hope is something that is extremely hard to crush out in the human heart.

Has anything good come out of the legacy of slavery in this country?  Well, a bond that was formed in the hearts of a people was permanently cemented during those horrible years.  The music that the slaves used to keep their spirits alive has been passed to us as a rich legacy of spirituals that we cherish because they were born under inhuman suffering.  

One thing that was a permanent out come of slavery in the African American community was the sense of resolve to never go back to such a time and a fight that was burned deep into the soul of a people to fight no matter how long or how hard to gain the civil rights of full citizens in this country.  This would not have happened so profoundly had the peoples who came here and were identified solely by skin color not have endured slavery together.  Before the various peoples who became slaves were pressed into service, they were from many tribes and many people all across Africa and beyond.  Their nationalities were tribal and they had the normal pride of a people, customs, family relationships and history that any people will have.  That all was ripped away when they were taken into slavery.

But in the void left by those crucial relationships, a new brotherhood of African Americans was born.  And the pride that has risen up in this new nation is strong and has continued to build throughout the decades.  It is built on proud history and proud leadership.  There has been much struggle and more difficulties and everything is not perfect by any measure.  But the African American people can be proud of how far the culture has come and use that pride to press on toward greater accomplishments in the future.

A Troubled Time

From 1955 to 1965 there was a war right in the middle of America.  No, it wasn’t a war like World War II or the Revolutionary War.  It was a war for the heart and soul of this country to determine once and for all if America was really going to be a land of equal opportunity for all.   It is a war that eventually took on the name of “The Civil Rights Movement.”

We must make no mistake, this was not just a shouting match.  Some of the events that we even remember today became quite brutal and deadly.  Those who fought in this war on both sides were deadly serious about the causes they represented and willing to fight and even die to see their cause succeed.  The war waged for years and steady progress was made but not without tremendous sacrifice by the leaders of the movement who were committed to a giving a new meaning to the phrase “set my people free.”

In all of black history, there may be no more significant a time since the Civil War when the rights of African Americans were so deeply fought and won.  The tensions in the country had been building.  When the Supreme Court mandated desegregation in the schools in the historic case Brown versus the Board of Education, the stage was set.  But it was on December 1, 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama to a white man that the movement finally took shape and became a titanic struggle for the rights of African Americans in America.  That first battle brought to the front line one of the most important figures to fight for Civil Rights of that era, the Reverend Martin Luther King.

This tremendous struggle for freedom was never easy and was often marked with violence.  Over the next ten years some of the most important milestone in black history took place including…

• 1957 – President Eisenhower had to send federal troops to Arkansas to secure admission to Central High School by nine black students.
• 1960 – The sit-in at Woolworths lunch counter in Greensboro North Carolina set the stage for nonviolent protest that was used with great success for the rest of the struggle.  Nonviolent protest and civil disobedience became a staple of the civil rights movement because of the influence of Martin Luther King.
• 1963 – The historic March on Washington in which over 200,000 people gathered to hear Dr. Kings famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
• 1964 – President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill that was the most significant event of his presidency and one he believed deeply in, the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
• 1965 – The assignation of Malcolm X and the Watts race rights.
• 1965 – President Johnson takes another bold step to accelerate the civil rights movement implementing Affirmative Action when he issues Executive Order 11246.

This short list is just a few of the highlights of this troubled time in which the rights of all citizens of American, black and white and of all colors were being redefined both on the streets, in the courts and in the different branches of government.  In the years to come there would be great steps forward.  One by one, every area of American life would see breakthroughs by African Americans in the areas of sports, entertainment, education and politics.  There were many proud moments and there were moments of tremendous shame and heinous acts committed by both white and black people.  But through all that struggle, the society continued to grow and adapt to the will of the people as has always been the tradition in American culture.

The struggle is far from over.  Discrimination and hate speech continue to be a problem to this day.  And while it is easy to reflect on those days of struggle with regret, we can also look at them with pride.  We can be proud of the great leaders who demonstrated tremendous courage and wisdom to lead this nation to a better way of life.  And we can be proud of America because it is here where such a struggle can result in equality and freedom for all citizens, not just a few.

Martin Luther King: I have a Dream

In the historical backdrop of any incredible individuals, once in a while there is a solitary minute that so wholes up that battle and difficulties the hearts of the general population of the time that this minute gets to be one that is both notable and legendary. In the long history the African American in this nation, one such particular minute was the conveyance of what has come to be alluded to as the "I have a fantasy" discourse amid the notable March on Washington in August of 1963. 

There are numerous things about this discourse are poetic to the point that the content of the discourse has gotten to be one of the immense noteworthy writings of the country's history and also of dark history. That is the reason for all intents and purposes any school youngster can present the most mixing words from the discourse which are… 

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.  It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.  I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”  I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

What is most striking about this content in the event that you read the whole content is the trust. What's more, it's a great custom for each family to peruse this discourse, maybe on Martin Luther's King's birthday which is presently a national occasion. Dr. Ruler called upon his kin to turn upward and look with trust toward tomorrow. Yet, more than that, he approached all individuals to cooperate toward a common trust, a trust of satisfying the American dream that he talks about with such energy in his words. 

The setting for the discourse was on the progressions of the Lincoln remembrance, inside of perspective of the Congress, the reflecting pool and the White House on the National Mall in the middle Washington D.C. Dr. Lord called it sacred ground mirroring his profound reference and regard for the symbols of this nation and his profound affection for nation which too comes through in the discourse. 

Yet, it is a discourse of battle since he discussed the way that dark individuals in America were still not living in a straightforwardly free and equivalent status with every single other national. Dr King did not free touch with the truth of the extreme lives African Americans were living in the United States. That is the reason this discourse is so splendidly created thus flawlessly conveyed. It joins the brutal reality and intention by dark pioneers and the African American populace to improve the world for themselves and their kids with a trust and a positive thinking this was a nation that would not endure the abuse and segregation that has held dark individuals down following the time when servitude. 

It is a discourse that issued an invitation to take action in the time period of "Now" which was a suggestion to take action that numerous in the places of force in our nation took regard. They took activity promptly to get the procedure of recharging and repair of a softened social framework climbing the correct bearing. One of the results of this discourse was the notable Civil Rights Act of 1964 which changed the fabric of the nation everlastingly in the lawful confinements it put on separation in each part of American life. 

In the event that it had not been for the "I have a fantasy" discourse, the March on Washington on that hot and sticky August day may have quite recently been another in the numerous dissents and occasions of the social equality period. Rather it turned into a famous crossroads in American and dark history that changed Dr. Ruler into a national saint for high contrast individuals alike and invigorated a development and a country to take matters into their own particular hands and improve thing for all individuals.

Rosa Parks

In any awesome development which impacts incredible change in a country or an individuals, there is something many refer to as a watershed minute. A watershed minute is that one mark occasion that set off the attack of incredible and notable change. In American history, that watershed minute may be the Boston Tea Party. In any case, with regards to dark history, especially when we consider the focal part that the social liberties development has played in dark history in this nation, there is truly only one watershed minute that for all intents and purposes anyone who comprehends dark history will indicate. 

That occasion occurred on December 1, 1955 on a basic city transport when a dark lady by the name of Rosa Parks got on that transport. At the point when the transport got to be swarmed, the transport driver requested Ms. Parks to surrender her seat to a white man similar to the social request of things around then. In any case, Rosa Parks was not inspired by seeing that social request of things proceed. She declined to surrender that seat. 

The blast of shock and social change that was discharged by that one straightforward demonstration of common insubordination is the watershed minute that anybody influenced by the social equality development focuses to at the most critical occasion in cutting edge dark history. Rosa Parks was captured for not surrendering her seat that day and the trial for that demonstration of common noncompliance conveyed to the national spotlight another essential pioneer in the social liberties development by the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

This one occasion started to raise and accumulate vitality operating at a profit group. It was an energizing and to some degree alarming time as the dark group was empowered and started to arrange around these two bold pioneers and the outcome was the most intense social equality challenges in the historical backdrop of the development happened which came to be known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. 

There are numerous reasons why such a basic occasion has had such an intense impact on an individuals, for example, it did on the dark group of the fifties. Unmistakably the dissatisfaction and social occasion force of a development was at that point working operating at a profit group. A circumstance like this can best be depicted as a tinderbox that is simply sitting tight for a sparkle for it to blast into flame. At the point when that straightforward dark lady at long last concluded that she was no more going to live in subjugation to the white man and she put her foot down and said NO, that was the flash that set the social equality development in movement. 

Rosa Parks was not a prepared instigator or a gifted controller of gatherings. Since she was only a resident and a straightforward lady with basic every day needs, that itself was a capable explanation this was the ideal opportunity for the group to make a move and impact change. She was not in any case hoping to begin a country changing social liberties development when she declined to surrender her transport seat. As she said later in a meeting in regards to the occasion… 

"I would have to know for once and for all what rights I had as a human being and a citizen of Montgomery, Alabama.”  And then in her autobiography, My Story she elaborated that…  “People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true.  I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day.  I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then.  I was forty-two.  No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

Rosa Parks won the privilege to be dealt with as an individual for herself and for her kin crosswise over America and even far and wide with her straightforward demonstration of common insubordination. She is a motivation to every one of us that we excessively should request the privilege of straightforward human respect for all individuals who are subjects of this awesome area. Furthermore, the tale of Rosa Park's resistance demonstrates that on the off chance that we request that, it will be won.

The Black Power

In the historical backdrop of African Americans in this nation, there have been some gigantic developments and pictures that appear to catch the state of mind of the nation and the dark group around then. Furthermore, this one expression "dark force" is no ifs ands or buts a standout amongst the most basic and exquisite explanations of pride and solidarity operating at a profit group. Yet, it was additionally an expression that came to speak to the more rough and frightful side of the battle for balance operating at a profit group. Also, that makes it a disputable expression then and now. 

Likely the best picture of dark force is the solid hand of a dark man, gripped in a dark glove and brought up noticeable all around in insubordination and pride. Never has that salute been utilized so consummately as it was at the 1968 Olympics when Tommy Smith and John Carlos raised the dark force clench hand complete with dark glove as they got their decorations for their exhibitions at those Olympic Games. 

The expression "dark force" was not authored in a walk or mob as may be suggested. It was really made by Robert Williams, the leader of the NAACP in the mid sixties. Be that as it may, it truly began turning into a "road term" when it was embraced by Makasa Dada and Stokely Carmichael, organizers of The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee which was the antecedent to the well known Black Panther Party. 

Tragically the dark force development got to be described by radical components that went much more distant than looking for the objectives of Martin Luther King and whatever is left of the social liberties development's authority. These radical components looked for dark partition and social change by fierce means. Thus in a period when there was huge turmoil in the nation due to the brutality in Vietnam and in the city of America as a result of that social strife, The Black Panthers and other periphery bunches sewed trepidation and disdain in light of prejudice which on occasion made it more hard to accomplish dependable change. 

In any case, there regards be seen even in a percentage of the darker components of dark history and the administration who hoped to locate the most ideal route forward for African Americans. Some of the time it is essential for the radical components to make themselves known so sensible individuals from a group can know as far as possible and discover bargain. This was a worth to the dark force development since it charged the exchange, but with savagery and made the significance of sensible Americans to meet up to look for tranquil change all the more essential. 

Yet, there is another great that originated from the dark force development. Those pictures of the raised clench hand were pictures of a pride and an ability to go to bat for the privileges of dark Americans. They roused an era of youngsters to end up all the more politically dynamic, to stand up in their own particular world and put forth that expression made acclaimed by James Brown "Say it Loud. I'm Black and I'm Proud." That pride is an imperative thing and for youngsters to discover. They need to discover it in their groups and in their saints. So if dark youth took pride and fearlessness to confront their own particular circumstances from the striking position of pioneers who, yet drastically, said boisterous that dark America was presently going to be a power to be figured with, the resultant invitation to take action to the dark group delivered numerous more constructive outcomes than negative ones. The periphery voice speaks what is in individuals' souls and by getting that outrage and dissatisfaction out, it turned out to be a piece of the development. That vitality could be caught and utilized for good rather than abhorrence. What's more, the final result was a development that was empowered for change and to improve life for all of dark America. What's more, that was what everyone needed.