ktmeng/mec huggingface dataset:
Topic: racism

Regardless of the present and continued rates of poverty and inequality, it is undeniable to note that African Americans went through different stages of progress that were not as successful or as fast as desired at all times but made the necessary advancement that enabled the country to be led by a black president for the first time in the country’s history. What was essential to the assurance of advancement was persistence and endurance, two characteristics of the African American long struggle for rights as freedom, dignity, respect and equality. The period from 1976 until the present marked the growing representation of African Americans in politics, arts and entertainment and academic disciplines among others. The larger opportunities enabled African Americans to be elected to legislative positions and work in the executive and judicial branch. This does clearly not mean that the situation is ideal in the present. Regardless of the election of the first black president and the increasing influence of this race in the United States, full equality is still a subject of heated debate and controversy. As noted, many African Americans continue to live in poverty and the ruling elite of the US is still predominantly white. While school segregation is officially over, facts point to the dominance of the continuance of the phenomenon in several public white schools where the presentation of white student exceeds 99%. (essay-911.com) However, regardless of these points that affirm the need for more progress despite the positive accomplishments obtained, the fact is that African Americans have endured a long history of oppression, pain and segregation and managed to rise above the many challenges to their current position. While the present situation requires progress advancement has been and will continue to be made while racial tension will continue to decrease. Affirming that the black race is destined for poverty seems therefore to be an implausible and pessimistic outlook on the future and history alike.
Topic: racism

In conclusion, the history of African Americans has thus been long and complex in the United States. It is this experience that led to the formation of the present African American identity with all that that encompasses in terms of culture, art and literature. As mentioned before, blacks were largely denied opportunities for education and personal advancement until after the Civil Rights Movement. The fact that many blacks live still in poverty does however not mean that this movement was unsuccessful or that no advancement has been achieved. Continuous social change needs to be still made since the rates of unemployment among blacks compared to whites is relatively the same as it was in the early 1960s. Employment opportunities are still hard to obtain for black men while neighborhood segregation is still present in many areas in the United States. Research confirms also that blacks continue to be victims in the real estate market. (Friedlander) This all proves that blacks are still socially disadvantaged. However, as has been noted, racial segregation in public has been ended and more African Americans have come to contribute in elective politics signifying the slow but existent rise of this race from the dark impacts of slavery.
Topic: racism

Racism in any walk of life is completely vile and unnecessary. Frustratingly, even in the ‘beautiful game’, football, no effort has been made to prevent racism from happening. Slogans. Paltry fines. Captains reading out impassive pre-prepared statements over the tannoy. Further paltry fines. Meaningless T-shirts. When nothing significant changes, when words fall on deliberately deaf ears, when punishments are forgotten too easily, when the authorities do not make the effort help, eventually there will come a time for direct action.
Topic: racism

The governing body of football, FIFA, has made no effort to reduce the amount of racist incidents occurring. For example, the Serbian FA were only fined ??64,946 because their fans racially abused England’s players, whereas Nicklas Bendtner was fined almost ??20,000 more for displaying a bookmaker’s logo during a celebration. That seems fair; advertising without permission is evidently more serious than racism…according to FIFA. Why is it that in modern society, racism is being treated as just a small issue by FIFA? Why is that every time a racist incident occurs, it is just brushed under the carpet? Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s president claimed racism was not a problem in football and that black players should remember it is ‘just a game’ and ‘shake hands’ with their abusers. Is that a joke? I find it disgusting how they could use such condescending comments, but what also concerns me is that the head of our world organisation has had to make apologies on more than just a few occasions. He almost seems untouchable.
Topic: racism

Furthermore, during the 2010-11 season, there were 43 arrests for racist chanting at football matches in England and Wales, the highest total since 2005-6. The Times newspaper (UK) reports a survey in which 41 per cent of supporters polled claim to have seen or heard racial abuse, particularly racist chanting, in the last two years. A further 27 per cent had done so in the last five years, whilst only 32 per cent believed that racism on the terraces had been ‘practically eliminated’. These statistics reveal the need to overcome complacency and ensure the battle against racism continues through a mix of educational, stewarding and policing measures. All those with a stake in the game ‘ fans, clubs, the governing bodies and police – have a responsibility to ensure that football stadiums and their immediate vicinity are free of racial attacks. Growing awareness of the problems, and measures such as better training of stewards are assisting that process. The rise in police arrests is pitiful and until arrest figures match the reality of the problem, fans and players will lack the confidence to actually report incidents and those affected will continue to stay away.
Topic: racism

In any case, whether it is in football, any other sport, or in day to day life, racism is still a serious issue. The fact that many fans are racially abusing players in modern society is worrying. The fight against racism is a long-term struggle that involves raising awareness and education that the discrimination and intimidation of another person because of the colour of their skin is unacceptable on the sports field, or anywhere else. If we don’t raise awareness, and insist to ignore every incident, the situation is just going to worsen. Without awareness and education, our children will think it’s acceptable to be openly racist at football matches, or anywhere else for that matter. Is that what you want?
Topic: racism

This chapter examines the many broad similarities between the two chosen stories, and the presentation of racism in them both. They both point out the hypocrisy and injustice of racism. The symbolic nature of each story is considered and the different contexts in which they were written are kept in mind throughout the essay. Each story is also written about separately in order to pick out its individual qualities. Finally, the fictional techniques of both stories are contrasted and the paper reaches and evaluative summary about the stories.
Topic: racism

” are both stories which protest about racism and expose its tragic human consequences. However, they differ partly because of the context within which each story was written, but also in the way they are written and their overall emotional impact on the reader. Gordimer’s story was written in South Africa under the iniquitous apartheid regime which used the law and the apparatus of the state to impose appalling living conditions on all non-whites in South Africa, while preserving wealth and economic and educational opportunity as the exclusive privilege of South African whites.
Topic: racism

Indeed, the Immorality Act of 1950 is highly relevant to an understanding of Gordimer’s story, since the Act made sexual relations between people of different races an illegal act. By contrast, Walker’s story is set in the United States in the post-civil rights era, but Walker ( as she does in a lot of her short stories from that time, such as “Everyday use”) concerns herself with the plight of older, rural African-Americans who have been unable to take advantage of the freedoms gained by the civil rights movement and who are condemned to a life governed by the legacy of slavery.
Topic: racism

Both stories explore hypocrisy. In Walker’s “The Welcome Table” even the title is ironic because the African-American woman who wanders absent-mindedly into a white church finds no welcome, but embarrassed shock-there is no welcome table for her in God’s house, because white and black people have their own churches. The welcome table itself is an interesting image: it is at once a reference to the table of the Last Supper, symbolized in Christianity by the alter where communion is celebrated and where Christians go to eat brad and drink wine, but it is also in heaven- the bountiful table that the old lady believes awaits her after death. In the white church which she enters and then is ejected from, there is no welcome table, despite the Christian teaching of love and forgiveness for all. As Klinkowitz ( 2001, 146) puts it, “If you are Christian, and a sincere one, do you think Jesus was present in that hypocritical white church? Or is he out there on the road with the old dying lady? In Gordimer’s Country Lovers” the hypocrisy is more personal, despite having the support of the legal system and the apparatus of the apartheid system. As a young boy growing up Paulus simply follow his natural feelings by being attracted to Thebedi. There is a beautiful innocence and a tantalizing sensuousness to the description of his physical desire for her, but as he gets older and becomes more conventional, more socialized he is happy to betray her and ultimately to kill the child they have produced to save himself from prosecution under the Immortality Act. Therefore, his hypocrisy is personal and vindictive and selfish, whereas the hypocrisy in “The Welcome Table” is more generalized and based on centuries of slavery and the oppression of African-Americans in the United States.
Topic: racism

In both stories the economic oppression of blacks is made clear. In South Africa it was a deliberate aim of the apartheid system to deny South African blacks economic advancement; in the United States it is the legacy of slavery. In “The Welcome Table” the members of the white congregation who look at the old black lady interloper do not see a vulnerable old lady; they see “cooks, chauffeurs, maids, mistresses” (Walker, page 75) – all the stereotypical, unimportant jobs that were performed by African-American. The old lady’s poverty is clear from the state of her clothing: “the missing buttons down the front of her mildewed black dress (Walker, 75 ) In “Country lovers” too there is an economic and social divide that separates Paulus from Thebedi. His father is the local land-owner and he gets sent away to school which is the start of their growing apart from each other. Thebedi is condemned to a lifetime of menial jobs and, like all African under apartheid, is denied access to education. The social and economic gulf between the lovers is clear; living conditions in the kraal are a complete contrast to the amenities and luxuries of the farmhouse.
Topic: racism

Both stories also revolve around the idea of fear. In Gordimer there is the horror of miscegenation which leads to the murder of the baby, but there is also Paulus’s fear of prosecution- not just for murder, but for having had sexual relations with Thebedi in the first place. For Paulus’s father the whole incident seems more a matter of social embarrassement. He is quoted at the end of the story by the local press as saying. “I will try and carry on as best I can to hold up my head in the district.” (Gordimer, page 11). In “The Welcome Table there is also an element of social embarrassment – the white church-goers do not know how to deal with the old black lady who has strayed mistakenly into her house, but there is also a more visceral, racist frar of the unknown, the Other: “Many of them [the white congregation] saw jungle orgies in an evil place, while others were reminded of riotous anarchists looting and raping in the streets” ( Walker, page 75). In neither story are the white people capable of seeing a human being like themselves and then feeling the natural human compassion one would extend to another human being.
Topic: racism

For fifty years, Gordimer has been the Geiger counter of apartheid and of the movements of people across South Africa. Her work reflects the psychic vibrations within that country, the road from passivity and blindness, to reseistance and struggle, the forbidden friendships, the censored soul, and the underground networks. She has outlined a free zone where it was possible to try out, in imagination, what life beyond apartheid might look like.
Topic: racism

Walker’s use of the word “centuries” suggests the centuries of oppression and mistreatment endured by African-Americans. Having been ejected from the church, the old lady meets Jesus and talks to him joyously until she dies by the side of the road. How are we to read this ending? On one hand, it is ironic because the Jesus who appears to her is blue-eyed and Aryan and is based on a picture that the old black lady stole from the Bible of her white employers. This image of Jesus is a construction of the dominant white culture as Porter et al point out: “Alice Walker’s short story illustrates the difficulty of rescuing Jesus from a racist, Euro-American ideology.” (2004, page 191), “This white, blue-eyed Jesus accompanies her- but we are never told if her encounter is truly redemptive or not, or if Jesus can be disentangled for the pages of the white slave owner’s Bible.” As readers we are left to formulate our own response to the ending. Has Christianity been used as a told of social control to offer African-Americans a spiritual outlet for their frustrations? Even if that is the case, the old lady does at least die happily, although outcast by the society that has used her and her ancestors.
Topic: racism

Although both stories share very similar concerns, they are written very differently. Gordimer’s story is linger and more detailed; it takes place over many years and we witness a relationship growing and changing; the characters ate named and personalized, and, therefore, when Thebedi breaks down and cries in court we are more likely to feel empathy for her. By the same token, we are more likely to be emotionally engaged in Paulus’s act of betrayal and the murder of his own son. However, at the end of the story Gordimer distances us from the characters by concentrating on the judicial procedure in the court and the reporting of the case by the newspapers. By contrast, Walker writes more succinctly and her action is confined to one day (although the old lady;s corpse is not discovered until the next day). Walker uses no names and this gives her story a timeless, universal feel to it which almost serves to elevate the old lady to the status of Everywoman or, at least, Every African American woman. “The Welcome Table” has elements which remind us of Biblical parables, as Scholl (2008, page 118) points out: “In its many ironic reversals of social roles, expectations and events, this story uses the formal structure if a parable suggests its derivation from the biblical heritage of Walker’s church-going childhood.” Biblical parables are designed to teach. Does Walker’s story have the same function? It would appear to teach us a very simple lesson about the importance of compassion to the downtrodden and oppressed, but it is also clearly critical of the so-called Christian values of the white church from which the old lady is ejected. Christian doctrine suggest that love or one’s neighbor is all important: Jesus in the New Testament has nothing to say about race and formal or informal segregation.
Topic: racism

Around the early 1900s, racism was prominent and wasn’t sugarcoated at all. African Americans had to deal with several obstacles around this period because of the discrimination in certain things they wanted to partake in. These actions effected many African Americans because it forced some of them to look at the world with hatred and it limited many of their opportunities in life. Racism is sad reality in our nation that affects all types of people and it continues to shake and alter lives.
Topic: racism

Not after what they did to me in the sports” (Wilson 1053). Because of the past discrimination Troy faced in his life, Troy also assumed that Cory wouldn’t get a fair shake either because of his skin color. Troy argued that because of his skin color, he was prevented from playing in the Major Leagues. Later in the story, he tells the coach that Cory isn’t allowed to play football and he told the recruiter to leave and to never come back. Troy doesn’t see that by pulling Cory away from achieving his dream at being a football player, he is creating tension and he is subconsciously not allowing Cory to have a better life than him. If Cory had got the opportunity and played football in college, he would have been able to get a college education while playing the sport he loves. Troy doesn’t see that however because Troy is still effected from the denial he got when he was trying to play professional baseball. Although he cares about Cory and he thinks by preventing him from playing football is only for his own good, that decision wasn’t wise because he is basically doing what society did to him which is preventing him from achieving his dreams.
Topic: racism

Troy aspires to be fighter and a survivor in life and from Rose’s perspective that shows through his son Cory. Troy’s true intentions are to show his son that nothing comes easy. The ultimate flaw however is that Troy looks at the world in his perspective. Troy is trying to prevent Cory from going through the same harsh experiences as him but he is unintentional recreating the same obstacles which are preventing Cory from becoming the full potential of himself. Throughout the play, Troy is imposing his will on Cory and he is basically preventing him from exploring the world for himself. This causes Cory to have conflicts with his dad because they don’t agree completely. In the article “Baseball as History and Myth in August Wilson’s Fences” by Susan Koprince, Susan says that “Troy’s front yard is literally turned into a battleground during his confrontations with his younger son Cory” (Koprince 354). With each argument and conflict, Cory slowly characteristics change in the story. In the beginning of the story, he was a cheerful kid hopeful for his future. However because of the denial of pursing football and the constant back and forth between him and Tory, he becomes very bitter just like his father. This isn’t a good thing because once Cory picks up his father characteristics, it forces him to see the world in a single perspective and that’s not his full potential but an intentional effect from Troy’s reactionary decision.
Topic: racism

Like stated before Troy isn’t trying to harm his family at all. Troy went through a lot in his past and he doesn’t want his family to go through that same experience he went through. He felt it was his job to be a father and protect his family from his past mistakes. Troy went to jail for fifth teen years for murder. A man he tried to rob pulled a gun on him so in retaliation he stabbed him. Experiences like this Troy doesn’t want any of his sons to go down that path. Lyons is Troy’s son from a previous relationship. While Troy was in prison, Lyons didn’t have a dad growing up and he didn’t really have guidance in the world. Lyons doesn’t seem particularly bitter about any of this. He just seems to accept things as they come. Lyons passion is becoming a musician. Troy however doesn’t see that as a serious thing. He instead sees that as a dangerous path. Troy says “You living the fast lifeâ€¦wanna be a musicianâ€¦running around in them clubs and thingsâ€¦ (Wilson 1041). Although Troy sounded harsh there, this was probably the most honest and sincere thing he told Lyons. Troy views Lyon’s dream as a risk because he’s not getting any income from this profession. Every time Troy gets paid, Lyon appears asking for a handout. This offends Troy because he never had handouts coming up. From the experiences of growing up in a white society, he believes that African Americans have to work for everything that they want. From the article, Susan writes that “Instead of limitless opportunity, [Troy] has come to know racial discrimination and poverty” (353). He wants Lyons to take on a safer route which is working somewhere with a structure rather than the freelance world of music. He doesn’t want Lyons to get lost in that music world and result into doing the things he used to do that caused him to go to jail.
Topic: racism

Lyons doesn’t see the world like Troy. Lyons isn’t bitter at the world like Troy and he expresses himself through music. Lyons has the same mindset as Cory which is that they can do something special for their lives in this society full of opportunities. Troy believes that Lyons isn’t aware on the harsh treatment African Americans go through and it shows clearly when his son asks him for ten dollars. This conflict shows how Troy distance himself away from Lyons. Troy doesn’t feel comfortable giving out ten dollars because he feels like he’s being taken advantage of. This goes back to the self-created illusions Troy creates because of the past experiences he dealt with especially with whites. Troy basically creates a barrier to Lyons because of this fear. Lyons doesn’t want to take advantage of Troy but he wants a closer relationship with father. This isn’t possible because Troy doesn’t support Lyons’ career and he doesn’t give Lyons the same attention he gives Cory. Sadly, Troy doesn’t see that Lyons wants more attention instead he looks at Lyons as someone who is trying to take his hard-owned money.
Topic: racism

Troy later in the play makes another decision that shifts the tone of play where he commits an affair with Alberta. Troy feels trapped in a marriage where he can’t display his true self. He doesn’t blame Rose but from this scene he looks very unapologetic. He felt like with all the responsibilities of being a father and provider for his family, he needed a way to escape all that. This is his reasoning for committing this fatal decision. Troy’s selfish act shows that he wanted to break a boundary he’s been limited too. He’s been limited from baseball, the status he’s been in at work and his marriage. Rose was crushed hearing that the man she gave her life and identity to committed an affair with another woman. It bothered her when he said he needed an outlet from his priorities. She said “Don’t you think I ever wanted other things? Don’t you think I had dreams and hopes? What about my life” (Wilson 1071)? She committed herself to the marriage and to repay her, he betrays her by having a baby with another woman. Because of this conflict, Troy and Rose’s marriage is severely jeopardized. Rose is still the mother of his children but she doesn’t recognize herself as a wife to Troy. She starts to build her own characteristics and beliefs after this conflict. Rose felt like she wasted her years with Troy so she began to build a life outside of the house she felt trapped in. During the last scene of the play, she tells Cory why the marriage went down the way it did. Rose recognized that she gave up her free will for love. She wanted to have children and be at one with Troy. She accepted that this was her identity. But because of this affair, it woke her up and made her a diverse character because she became independent rather than dependent. Troy’s decisions distanced himself away from his family as he lost his dominance in the household.
Topic: racism

Troy Maxson went through a lot in his life. Troy has a singular perspective on the world. He has a strict demeanor because of how society viewed African Americans back in the 1950s. Troy cares a lot about his family even if he doesn’t show it. Throughout his life, Racism has been a barrier for him. He was once young and he chased his own dreams but because of his skin color, several “ideals” got in his way. Racism caused a lot of Troy’s bitterness towards life. He went to jail and ultimately makes sure he doesn’t fall back there. All of his decisions were very influenced by past experiences from racism. Whether it be denying Cory’s dreams, neglecting Lyons and breaking the barriers of his marriage with Rose. All of these decisions caused tensions around the family and ultimately fenced his family away from him.
Topic: racism

With this introductory intertitle The Birth of a Nation is introduced to the audience, and through these words the film is almost preparing itself for the inevitable controversy which it shall create. As the film progresses it becomes clear that the “dark side of wrong” refers to the opportunist Northern whites and the African American slaves of the South who rebel against their servitude, while the “bright side of virtue” refers to the Southern slave owning aristocracy and the Ku Klux Klan.
Topic: racism

In these lines D. W. Griffith not only tries to defend the content of his film and contextualize it before it even begins, but also asserts his passion for the artistic potential of film. “By placing his film in the context of canonical written works that have held up over the passing of centuries, Griffith egotistically asserts his own film’s worthiness.” (Editors of Sparknotes). Concerning the history of American film, The Birth of a Nation is arguable the most influential as it fundamentally invented the idea of the feature motion picture and is a classic example of the evolving “language” of cinema at the time.
Topic: racism

The Birth of a Nation represented a turning point in both the direction of cinema and Griffith’s own career. Griffith staked his life savings on this project based on a play titled The Clansmen by a Baptist minister from North Carolina named Thomas Dixon. While Griffith could previously have produced a film each week, The Birth of a Nation took fifteen weeks to rehearse and shoot and three months to edit, with fifteen times as many shots as the longest films to create the complex narratives, and cost eleven times more than any conventional film produced thus far (Sparknotes). The world premiere of The Birth of a Nation took place in Time Square’s Liberty Theatre and was a massive publicity event with colossal billboards depicting members of the Klu Klux Klan on horseback which welcomed the audience to the screening. The film was such a success that it was recommended by the President of the time, Woodrow Wilson, and was the first film to be screened in the White House. The Birth of a Nation was screened around the world and was met with confrontation including riots and protests in many cities, and on a few occasions the screenings were prohibited. Such conflict arose due to the fact that its discriminate and propagandistic content contributed to the restoration of a stronger and more modern Ku Klux Klan which had all but died out since 1869, an issue which worsened as the film grew in popularity to the extent that it held the box office record for well over two decades. Particular criticism emanated from the NAACP who organised many of the riots and pickets which took place, and were supported by many prominent liberals such as Jane Addams, and also some Ivy League presidents. Such protesters managed to force two of the most appalling scenes to be cut from the film, and it was evident that The Birth of a Nation had explored a delicate issue without much sensitivity while exposing prejudices to the extreme of blatant racism.
Topic: racism

Although the entire film is discriminate towards African Americans, there are certain scenes which embody the insulting racism for which it is criticised. An example of such a scene is the election sequence depicting the shifting of political and social power during Southern Reconstruction. Here one dimensional characters, typical of melodrama, are characterised into simple good and evil. Throughout this scene the viewer watches as the white people who are trying to vote are aggressively denied from doing so by the black characters. This propagandistic version of history influences the audience to feel resentment towards the African Americans who are pictured denying the rights of white voters. Another particularly prejudiced scene portrays the black representatives lusting over white women, eating chicken, drinking whiskey, and kicking off their shoes in the South Carolina legislature. Supporting this hostility towards African Americans is the valorisation of the Klu Klux Klan who are portrayed as heroes who return social order. This is particularly evident towards the end of the film, especially in the climactic finale, where the Klan races to save the day and through the use of parallel editing the viewer inexplicably finds themselves supporting the Klan and hoping that they make it in time to save the white characters who are in danger from the villainous and violent black rebels. Although this is an example of the racism contained in his work, it is also a testimony to Griffith’s skill as a filmmaker.
Topic: racism

The symbols used by Griffith are also an important aspect of how racism is communicated through this film and the use of clothing or costumes is an essential example of this. While the majority of the white characters are dressed in civilised clothes, suitable of the hierarchy, their black equivalents are represented in ragged and primitive clothes. For example, when the renegades rampage the Cameron home, one man is wearing just a torn scrap of shirt, exposing his body. This use of clothing makes the African Americans seem like savages, and when the newly elected black representatives take their shoes off and place their bare feet upon the desk it asserts that this savagery exists through all members of the black community. The use of animals in the film communicates the personalities of the races as the pure and kind qualities of white people are visible for example when Elsie and Ben caress a dove or when Flora plays with a squirrel. In comparison to this we see the viciousness or barbaric qualities of the blacks expressed when they are pictured treating animals with cruelty such as when Silas Lynch grabs a dog by the throat and throws it aside. The effective uses of symbols such as these contribute to the negative representation of African Americans, and contribute to the reason so many people have been offended by the content of The Birth of a Nation.
Topic: racism

Because of the interpretation of history which can be viewed in The Birth of a Nation, the idea of the film as a historical epic is another issue which places it in a position of controversy. Similar to the Dunning School of historiography, the film asserts that the Ku Klux Klan restored order to the post-war South, or as Steven Mintz summarises: “Reconstruction was a disaster, blacks could never be integrated into white society as equals, and the violent action of the Klu Klux Klan were justified to re-establish honest government”. As a result of the historical re-enactments, such as the inclusion of battle scenes and cited sources, the film acts like a historical text which raises many problems due to its biased approach. Dangerously, it appears authentic and almost of documentary quality as it seems to reconstruct an important period in history, not only including the civil war but including the events building up to and following it. This realistic appearance proved problematic as it made it easier for the audience to fall under the influence of the narrative and ideologies put forward by Griffith. For example, President Woodrow Wilson reportedly said of the film: “It’s like writing history with lightning. And my only regret is that it is all terrible true”. One obvious opposition to the advertised authenticity of the film is evident however through the black characters being played by white actors in blackface which makes it clear that even on the surface it does not present the viewer with an accurate account of history. This idea is supported by the fact that many historians such as W. E. B. Du Bois disputed the interpretation when it was released and most historians today agree with them, arguing that African Americans were loyal and contributed during the Civil War years and Reconstruction. The film’s depictions of mass paramilitary actions by the Klan are also unsupported as there are no records of historical events equivalent to those portrayed by Griffith. Although The Birth of a Nation can be considered a historical epic, its twisting of history highlights the dangerous capabilities of filmmakers who can weave harmful ideologies into their work. By basing its narrative on historical events and through the genuine appearance of the film, viewers are more likely to believe and adopt the views communicated through The Birth of a Nation as the world of the film and the events it depicts become much more plausible and convincing. This film, viewed as an authentic account of history, would have us believe that in the past the fair white slave owners were wronged by the Northerners who freed the obedient and loyal slaves and allowed them to become the wicked masters. Needless to say this is an example of a historical epic which must be examined with caution as its authenticity and historical accuracy are both highly questionable.
Topic: racism

Although anti-black opinions were not uncommon during the silent era, it is important to note that they were mostly used for comic effect to highlight a gentler image of the loyal black servitude. Griffith’s film differs however as in it a depiction is found of African Americans as lesser, more primitive and aggressive beings. This racism becomes increasingly problematic when compared to the oppositely stereotyped white characters in the film who appear as superiors to the black characters; aristocratic and pure. The weaving of such morals through the fabricated historical narrative, along with Griffith’s expert filmmaking techniques, make the dangerous ideologies which exist in the film more believable, and thus place it as propagandistic material. The film is still used today in the recruitment of Klu Klux Klan members and has been voted into both the “Top 100 American Films” by the American Film Institute in 1998 and into the National Film Registry in 1993. It is the popularity of The Birth of a Nation that has triggered much of the controversy surrounding it as it is hard to evaluate a piece that is simultaneously a monumental stepping stone in the context of cinema, and so damaging to the perception of African Americans.
Topic: racism

The Aboriginal people had their culture stripped away, without any consent but by force. They were forced to “adapt“ their lifestyle to the “normal,“ and children put into schools to learn how to behave like the Canadians. The Aboriginal residential schools implemented by the Canadian Government were a cause attempting to destroy their culture (Ravelli & Webber, 2010, p.132). The Canadian Government wanted to get rid of all aboriginal culture with no trace of their lifestyle. There was a massive social problem due to the separation of the races.
Topic: racism

As displayed in the video, the young girl that had her period out publicly was put to shame by the nuns and the other children, this caused her to be bullied and discriminated because of natural cause (Geraldine & Marcuse, 1993). The video also prescribes the punishment received when the rules were broken, as the elder man describes his pain and the punishments received, he explains that these children were being separated entirely from the religion and culture, causing these children to view of their own nation as an abomination (Geraldine & Marcuse, 1993). This problems cause a lot of discrimination, causing many social problems with in the community, the children did not have rights, and could not speak for themselves. This massive social issue with in the Aboriginals was created by the ongoing of the residential schools.
Topic: racism

Canadian Government might not have been too smart by creating the residential schools as they did not calculate the outcome, these residential schools brought up great vengeance to the Aboriginals they wanted their culture back, in doing so it created a racist confrontation later on. This was a huge relation with the conflict theory. The Aboriginals found a method to bring back their culture by using the method the Canadian`s did, they developed their own Aboriginal schools (Geraldine & Marcuse, 1993).
Topic: racism

These schools would teach the total opposite of what the residential schools taught, these schools were teaching their young children their native language, and bits of their culture, or at least what was left of it (Ravelli & Webber, 2010, p309). The difference between the Aboriginal schools and the residential schools were the rules and methods of punishment. The Aboriginals taught in a normal manner, with respect, but in the residential schools it was like prison everything was eventually forced upon. The residential schools also made the Aboriginals to grow this hate for the Canadian Government causing this huge racist dilemma between the two parties. No good really came out of residential schooling, just a very bad racist confrontation in the long run.
Topic: racism

The Canadian Government stripped all the rights of the Aboriginal people, they got their culture massacred, dealt with force and abusive power, they practically tried to destroy the Aboriginal culture. The Canadian Government put a lot of effort in this project, they tried to change the Aboriginal people in every way, they wanted those people to behave and change their lifestyle to the “modern“ Canadian lifestyle. The Canadian Government have attempted to destroy the Aboriginal culture by bringing up residential schooling to begin the process of elimination.
Topic: racism

The Government did not want anything that was Aboriginal culture related left, they wanted to get rid of every bit of their culture. The residential schools cause major discrimination cause a massive social problem within the Aboriginal people. These residential schools also raised a huge racist confrontation to the Aboriginals, it separated them from the rest of the society. These schools really have destroyed most of their culture, and was a very cruel method in doing so. The Aboriginals deserved to be heard and have their own rights and freedom.
Topic: racism

August Wilson’s Fences The immigration of Africans to America as slaves has had a great effect to many things including literature. Despite their experiences in this foreign land, they brought with them a different culture that had not been experienced in the American society. The stories and experiences of African-Americans have seen authors write books and plays being staged with large audiences. This is due to the different but almost similar stories that these people have to tell regarding their journey to America and how difficult it was for them to fit in the society they found.
Topic: racism

In 1983, the American playwright August Wilson released a play titled Fences. The play has a setting of the 1950s and it explores the evolving African –American experience with race relations as one of the many themes depicted in this play. The play revolves around a 53-year-old man named Troy who is an African-America. He is struggling to provide for his family and although he is a baseball player his color is a barrier for him being able to join professional baseball thus receiving little money to support his family.
Topic: racism

However, emotional disconnect with the society they lived in and failure to secure a job so as to earn a living was greatly contributing to them ending up being involved in these social crimes. In the play, Troy is shown as a baseball player a game he had learnt and played while in prison. He had ended up in prison for an accidental murder he had committed during a robbery. From this act it is evident that due to his failure of securing a job, Troy had ended up involving himself in robbery so as to earn himself a living but this time it turned out ugly and he ended up in prison.
Topic: racism

Further, discrimination is seen at work place where some jobs could not be done by an African-American but instead they were reserved for the whites. This is seen when Troy manages to secure a job with a garbage collecting firm and he is heard asking Mr. Rand; who he refers to as the boss, why black men were not allowed to drive garbage trucks. This shows that indeed there was race discrimination at work place where African-Americans could not be bestowed with some responsibilities. The act of being denied an opportunity to drive a garbage truck can be seen as a sarcastic event.
Topic: racism

It can be viewed in the way that even if garbage collection was being seen as dirty work that could only be done by those who were seen as less fortunate in the society, the fact that driving a garbage truck was seen as “literary driving a vehicle”, an African-American would not be allowed to drive the truck since they were restricted to do so during that time (Tamura). In addition, the play shows Rose who is Troy’s wife with whom they have a son named Cory, however, Troy has a son Lyon from a previous marriage but he does not leave with him.
Topic: racism

Gabriel is Troy’s younger brother who has notable psychological damage after he suffered head injuries when he was serving as a soldier. This new development of Gabriela having served as a soldier brings contrast of sentiments of race discrimination and at the same time it can be viewed as one way in which discrimination of people of the color was being cemented. First as a contrast, this play shows how certain jobs were being reserved for whites. Soldiers were people who not only deserved respect from the society but also received a good pay.
Topic: racism

Therefore, Gabriel’s employment as a soldier, contrasts the theme of discrimination where some jobs such as a being a soldier were being reserved for those the society thought they owed respect to. However, it can be viewed differently in the sense that owing to the tasks, experiences and challenges that faced soldiers in the battle fields, African-American men were seen as the right people for the job. This follows, the understanding that most of those who served in the army died in war or if one was luck to survive they would come home having sustained severe injuries like in the case of Gabriel.
Topic: racism

This can be seen as a form of discrimination where those who were less regarded in the society were being recruited as soldiers since the society would be seen not to worry even if it lost them (Tamura). The play unfolds on a payday when Troy and his friend Bono are drinking and chatting. His son Lyon comes to him asking to be lent 10 dollars promising to refund the money soon since his girlfriend had secured a job. Troy gives him a hard time but after persuasion from his wife Rose, he finally lends his son the money.
Topic: racism

From this scenario, one can see that the family is really struggling to survive owing to Lyon’s inability to raise even 10 dollars thus leading him to borrowing from his father. This shows that African-Americans were struggling a lot so as to survive in a society where living standards were high and a society where job opportunities were rare given the much rooted racial discrimination (Wilson). Further, as the play continues, Cory tells his parents of an opportunity for a college football scholarship. Troy vehemently condemns his son’s thought of applying it and they argue.
Topic: racism

Troy does not want his son to play basket ball since he does not him to experience the racial discrimination he went through during the time he was playing baseball. The man does not back down his argument and following his experience with racial discrimination he is not ready to watch his son go through the same. As a result, Troy even approaches Cory’s coach and tells him that his son will no longer be playing football. Upon discovery of his father’s lies, Cory confronts him and they end up in a fight that causes Cory to be thrown out of the house by his father.
Topic: racism

This scenario shows the effect that racial discrimination had to Troy’s life. Following him denying his son the opportunity to play college football with an excuse of racial discrimination, one can see that indeed Troy had gone through tough time due to racial discrimination and he was protecting his son. Despite his time of playing baseball and that of his son playing football being different, Troy could hardly believe that racial discrimination could have melted away, thus, the unmoved stand exhibited by him(Wiggins & Miller).
Topic: racism

Consequently, after Cory is kicked out of the house, they no longer get along with his dad. This can be seen during the final act when Troy dies and Cory refuses to attend the funeral due to the long-standing resentment. However, after his mother’s persuasion, Cory attends the funeral to pay respect to the man who had tirelessly struggled to provide for them even if he was hard headed. The rivalry between son and father can be traced back to have been caused by racial discrimination. This is due to the fact that if Troy had not suffered through discrimination, he could not have denied his son to take the college
Topic: racism

football scholarship and as a result they could not have argued to the extent of later not setting eyes on one another. One can see the indirect effect that racial discrimination had to people’s lives (Wiggins & Miller). Further, during Troy’s burial, Cory had just come from the military training. This can be analyzed as a positive step towards fighting racial discrimination. This follows the fact that during his father’s youth days, certain jobs opportunities such as joining the military were mostly given to the whites.
Topic: racism

Therefore seeing Cory coming out of the military training it is evident that with time, racial discrimination had come to reduce thus allowing African-Americans be able to get job opportunities which earlier being people of color they could not easily get. In addition, throughout the play, Troy is shown as a man who had a different cultural influence or different socialization. First, this can be seen through his son Lyon who was from an earlier marriage. Further, in the play, Rose discovers that his husband has been having an affair with a lady called Alberta and he had made her pregnant.
Topic: racism

However, Alberta dies during childbirth and Rose accepts to adopt her daughter Raynell whose father Troy dies when she is seven years old. Being an African-American, the act of having more than one wife is not out of the norms owing to African culture with him. However, finding himself in a society where polygamy is viewed as a thing past by time, Troy could not marry Rose while still having the first wife and he could not bring Alberta as another wife thus he ended up having an affair with her other than coming to the light (Sofola)..
Topic: racism

In the African culture, to which Troy can still find some association, most communities allow polygamous marriages as this is seen as wealth as the man will have many children from these wives. Traditionally, in the African culture having more than one wife was seen as a public sign that a man had more resources that would allow him to marry as many women as he pleased. However, the culture was against adultery and a man would not be allowed to bear children outside marriage unless he would later end up marrying the lady (Sofola)..