Preview

The Importance Of Being The Only African-American Family

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
90 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Importance Of Being The Only African-American Family
Looking back the narrator realized that he never felt any relationship to Jews. In school, each sibling was accustomed to being the only African American child. Furthermore, they were accustomed to teachers bringing down their grades, because of their race. Music arrived around this time in his life. As they grew up, the siblings commenced in breaking rules. This all started, because of Helen. She ran off a couple of years ago, but later arrived with a nursing degree. In addition, Richie was arrested for something he did not commit.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    This book was written by Jacqueline, an African American author. I choose this book because I think it is a great representation of cultural diversity. It is about a rope that became an important item for an African American family. The family used the rope for three generation. The rope moved with the family from South Carolina to New York in the period of The Great Migration. The family used the rope in different ways such as: to jump, to tie things, to dry sweet flowers...etc. It is a good story of hope and joy of a little African American girl during her journey with her family. What I like about this book is that it shows to the young readers the importance of families traditions. It is nice to keep and use old things that remind us of a family member or even a home country. Also, expose the students to other families' traditions.…

    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Chapters 7 and 8 of the book Creating Black Americans: African-American History and its meanings, 1619 to the present by Nell Irvin Painter, the author shows that even after emancipation, African Americans made huge steps in the advancement of their own education and professional lives, even when faced with white supremacy groups that were doing everything in their power to push blacks back into being slaves and a subordinate people. This idea is shown when Painter says, “But black success threatened and sometimes enraged Southerners unwilling to share power with people they considered little more than slaves” (Painter 178). In saying this she shows us that even though African Americans were now “free”, they were still struggling to survive…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The story is told through the eyes of Sonny's older brother, who's name we never disclose. What we do know is the narrators currently a algebra teacher, married with kids, and some of his history that gives us insight to the mans personality. As a young man he lost both parents, first his father the later his mother. After high school he went into the military. While in the service he had a rocky relation ship with his brother, Sonny. With the information presented to us through the story, it shows the narrator had a difficult child hood, but he rose above it and kept on the straight and narrow. He's got family, a career, and some stability which is much more than most have in the ghetto's of Harlem. The narrator serves us an image of himself as an orderly man with a ground perspective of things, he's a realist. Which separates him quite drastically from his brother Sonny.…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    When they were young, their mother believed living in Harlem wasn’t safe and their father thought otherwise. Their mother wanted to move to a better place where her children would be safe. This can be seen when the narrator states, “‘Safe!’ my father grunted, whenever Mama suggested trying to move to a neighborhood which might be safe for children” (Pg. 113). Shortly after their father passed away, their mother feared Sonny would have trouble growing up or would become murdered like their unfamiliar uncle and pleaded to the narrator to always look out for him. The narrator was able to succeed by becoming an algebra teacher and tried to create a better life for Sonny, but ultimately he rebelled and started to use drugs. Present day, the narrator had no choice but to still live in Harlem in a housing project due to not being far from where he taught and for his children. The narrator and his family moved in when it was new, but after a few days it was already rundown. The narrator mentions that living in the housing projects became similar to the houses in which Sonny and he grew up in. After Sonny’s imprisonment, the narrator feared that Sonny living with them in the housing project would cause him to fall back again and rely on drugs. This can be seen when the narrator states, “The moment Sonny and I started into the house I had the feeling that I was simply bringing him back into the danger he had almost died trying to escape” (Pg. 112). The narrator began to look out for Sonny and would worry that at any moment Sonny would use drugs again to escape reality. The narrator wanted to make sure that this time he would complete his promise to their mother and help Sonny into a better…

    • 1340 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The brutal strategy to destroy the Black family structure is still noticeable today as the dual parent families, high crime rates and incarcerations among the Black community’s male youth, rape and teen pregnancy (Hill, 2009) which plays into many researchers argument that Black women are more vulnerable to prostitution and therefore the sex trade. This is not arguing against the vulnerability of other women to forced prostitution, victimization and criminalization but research over the decade shows Black women at a higher risk than their Caucasian counterparts (Carter, 2004; Nelson, 1993; Stevens-Watkins, 2012; Valandra, 2007).…

    • 213 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Slavery, the practice of being possessed by someone as a labor force or for his personal needs, was a ubiquitous workforce in nearly every part of the world. Slaves served as the propelling engine behind the Southern labor force for a long time. These African-Americans first arrived in ships from Africa and progressively started setting in the South, were they worked and served as a labor powerhouse. These slaves were used predominately for plantations, were treated as animals and worked under extremely harsh conditions with no pay. Historians have argued for a long time on whether slavery destroyed the black family. Despite the fact that Eugene D. Genovese states that slaves created there own system of family and values, Wilma A. Dunaway clearly proves that due to the harsh living conditions, the inevitable separation between families and the absolute lack of freedom of slaves, destroyed the black family.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    I will discuss the Civil Rights Movement because I feel that it was a very important time period in American history. The movement started our nation on the progression of freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, equality regardless of race, gender or religion etc.…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Culture diversity is defined as: the cultural variety and cultural differences that exist in the world, a society, or an institution according to dictionary.com. I decided to research the African American culture because their culture interested me most.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Majority of African American’s had many struggles, and obstacles that they faced. Political issues impacted their lives when Congress passed the thirteenth amendment, this affected many African Americans lives. Since numerous people were equal, social issues were impacted when children went to school while the adults had gone to work and earn money to pay bills, such as their houses. This affected economic issue because the government would earn money. Various lives were impacted during the Reconstruction of 1865-1877, including blacks and whites. During the Reconstruction of 1865-1877, African Americans lives were impacted by political, social and economic issues.…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Post Reconstruction was supposed to be a time of change for the world, especially for African Americans. Although post Reconstruction was believed to eliminate segregation and racial discrimination, many people noticed that there was actually little to no change that occurred. Luckily, slavery was part of the past and many great leaders including Abraham Lincoln had set out to change America in terms of equality. Unfortunately, post Reconstruction proved that nothing had changed for African Americans who remained struggling with racial issues that ultimately restricted their freedom.…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In today's society, African Americans are treated lower than Americans by many police and individuals for no apparent reason. Jack Robinson says, ‘“I can not stand and sing the anthem. I can not salute the flag. I know that I am a black man in a white world”’. As a citizen of the United States, African Americans should be treated accordingly, following a monumental act, known as, the Gettysburg Address. If someone feels they aren’t as equal as another human being, they will most likely end up speaking up and if they can’t, someone with a higher authority will. Many famous athletes have demonstrated their opinions on this topic over the years, similar to what Jack Robinson’s. In addition, Kaepernick strongly agrees saying, ‘“...But i can't…

    • 225 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    African American Family

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages

    What benefits does looking at a family provide for storytelling through films? When looking at a family there tends to be a lot of characters: the nuclear family, the extended family, and the close family friends who are not even blood related. Why would a filmmaker ever choose to work with such a large number of characters and people? The stories that can be told from a family tend to be universal such as, love, marriage, heartbreak, hardship and so on. These stories can only exist within a family do to one thing—generations. Family can have upwards of three generations or maybe even more. These generations have all experience different events in life which shapes their beliefs and morals. Filmmaker Mira Nair uses the family as the locus within…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Additionally, a huge contributor of White Supremacy is mainstream media such a television shows, movies, and news channels. Growing up in the 21st century, media broadcastings and publications were being developed at an extremely rapid rate. Everywhere I would go, I would always be exposed to newspapers, magazines, articles, and television shows that discussed trending topics, political affairs, and seemingly important topics and stories. As time continued to progress, media and media access became “essential” to human survival, and today, it is almost impossible to walk down the street or around the corner without seeing someone using a cellphone or a laptop. In fact, in today’s society, even children are being exposed to technology and social…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    African American Identity

    • 2208 Words
    • 9 Pages

    It was a hot August day as sweat beat down on Thomas Jefferson Brown. He had been working in the field 2 hours before the hot sun had made its presence known. He looked back over the drying field, hoping that this crop would provide for his family better than last years crop had. Thomas watched his oldest son, Nathan, who worked down one row of the field while staring intently at the cotton plants as he picked the cotton. Nathan was a very inquisitive young man who had just yesterday asked his father what it was like being a slave for Mr. Walter Johnson. When his father had told him that in a lot of ways life was so much easier than now, Nathan had given him a look that allowed Thomas to know that his son could not understand. How could he understand? Nathan had not grown up a slave and seen that while it was extremely difficult, there was a feeling of stability to life then. Yes, Thomas Jefferson Brown had endured the beatings and yes he had watched as his Mother and eventually his sisters had been sexually assaulted, but how do you tell a young man such as Nathan that such was the way of life; it was to be expected, along with the comfort of knowing where your next meal was going to come from. Since Tomas had been freed after the great war, He s and his family had endured much more than that; having watched the lynching of two of his brothers and numerous friends. They were the lucky ones though, Thomas thought, while looking up at the fiery ball of heat known as the sun. They did not have to endure other hardships; their suffering was over. Yes it was hard for Nathan to know that life was indeed easier as a slave than a freed man, and maybe, just maybe, things would change during Nathan's lifetime. Thomas Jefferson Brown wiped his brow once more and continued on picking the cotton…Even though the civil war ended in 1865, African Americans still faced an uphill battle to obtain rights that were afforded other Americans. This was in…

    • 2208 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “My culture is my identity and personality. It gives me spiritual, intellectual and emotional distinction from others, and I am proud of it”. African-American culture, also known as black culture, in the United States it refers to the cultural contributions of African Americans to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American culture. The African American, and also my own culture are made up of a lot of things. In common with some and very different from others. My culture involves my school, my family tradition, food, music, clothing, and shoes.…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays