Term Paper on "African-americans"

Term Paper 4 pages (1229 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

African-Americans." Specifically, it will discuss the central key concepts of the chapter, and how the textbook defines the concepts, along with a critical evaluation of the chapter. The key concepts of this chapter are how African-Americans suffered under slavery and continue to suffer today as second-class citizens, and that African-Americans, if they want to survive and thrive in American culture must "adapt to the values and ways of that overwhelmingly white world" (Author 159). Most African-Americans did not come to America by choice, and this is one of the most important points the author makes, as it indicates the many forces that pull African-Americans in two very different directions as they attempt to fit into a society that only wanted to own them in the first place. The textbook defines the concept of slavery as "cheap agricultural labor" that eventually helped make many rich men richer, including some of the leaders of the country like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. My definition of slavery is quite close to this, and it includes holding people in bondage against their will, by force, and with violence. The lives of the slaves show that slavery was cruel and inhumane, and the more Americans learn about it, the more they can understand what the relatives of many black Americans endured when they first were imported into our country against their will.

The reading was quite interesting for a number of reasons. First, it emphasized the point that most African-Americans came to this country against their will. This is an obvious conclusion, but one that many writers and scholars do not acknowledge. It also indicated just how juxtaposed our system is, and how black Americans still suffer in many ways, even though many laws have been passed that are supposed to make all Americans "equal." It also debunks some of the continued myths that slaves were quite happy with their lot and lives in the South. The chapter shows how blacks suffered, and how whites continued to oppress them even after the end of slavery after the Civil War. One very interesting insight into slave lives was how they struggled to keep their families together. The stories of families being sold away from each other are very common in slave history, and many researchers felt these "broken" families have continued in the black sociology today. However, this chapter indicates that slave families were close, and members worked hard to keep the families together and "persist over generations" (Author 161). Today, African-Americans celebrate their own black culture that developed as a reaction to slavery and their removal from Africa, but to fit into white society, they have also developed a white culture, and so the author maintains they are really "bicultural," which is difficult for anyone to master and keep up. The author also maintains this is why blacks have become "active resisters," and why they still have issues with white society. Their valuable culture is not recognized in most white society, and so, they must literally live two lives if they are to be successful in a society dominated by white ideals and ideas.

It was also quite interesting to contrast the white views of African-Americans and other immigrants, and to see the similarities between many of these comparisons. It is clear the majority of white Americans did not welcome any immigrants to our shores, no matter who they were, and they tended to lump them all into quite general characteristics as "apelike," uneducated, immoral, and even smelly. Sadly, many of these stereotypes still live on today, and it is hard to see why. These stereotypes based on ignorance and fear often have little to do with… READ MORE

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