Black History Importance Essay

Upon graduating high school, I thought I knew everything there was to Black History. We were captured from Africa, forced into slavery for hundreds of years all around the world, became free with repercussions such as discrimination and segregation, and now today we are “officially free”. The Black history I knew, was scattered and filled with holes, which caused me to question my sense of worth. Why were African-Americans the most oppressed people in the world?

African American history plays an important role in American history not only because the Civil Rights Movement, but because of the strength and courage of African-Americans struggled to live a good life in America. This paper highlights the many contributions of African Americans that have influenced the culture, enriched the society with their achievements, and shaped the history of the United States.

African American Studies is a very complex subject. To confuse African American studies with black history is a common occurrence. African American studies is much deeper and more profound than just Black history alone. There are many unanswered and unasked questions among the Black American culture which causes confusion and misunderstanding in modern day society. In unit one there were many themes, concepts, and significant issues in the discipline of Africana studies. Both W.E.B Du Bois and Vivian V. Gordan touched on many concerns.

The aspect of African-American Studies is key to the lives of African-Americans and those involved with the welfare of the race. African-American Studies is the systematic and critical study of the multidimensional aspects of Black thought and practice in their current and historical unfolding (Karenga, 21). African-American Studies exposes students to the experiences of African-American people and others of African descent. It allows the promotion and sharing of the African-American culture. However, the concept of African-American Studies, like many other studies that focus on a specific group, gender, and/or creed, poses problems. Therefore, African-American Studies must overcome the obstacles in order to

Throughout history, African Americans have encountered an overwhelming amount of obstacles for justice and equality. You can see instances of these obstacles especially during the 1800’s where there were various forms of segregation and racism such as the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan terrorism, Jim- Crow laws, voting restrictions. These negative forces asserted by societal racism were present both pre and post slavery. Although blacks were often seen as being a core foundation for the creation of society and what it is today, they never were given credit for their work although forced. This was due to the various laws and social morals that were sustained for over 100 years throughout the United States. However, what the world didn’t

During my early years of school, I remember being taught white accomplishments and wondering if blacks and other people of color had made any significant contributions to today's world. I noticed that television consist of all white people. Throughout my research paper I hope to cover certain aspects of African American heritage. Aspects such as blacks making up the largest minority group in the United States, although Mexican-Americans are rapidly changing that. The contributions blacks have provided to our country are immeasurable. Unfortunately though rather than recognizing these contributions, white America would rather focus on oppressing and degrading these people. As a consequence American

Slavery began in the late 16th century to early 18th century. Africans were brought to American colonies by white masters to come and work on their plantations in the South. They were treated harshly with no payments for all their hard work. In addition, they lived under harsh living conditions, and this led to their resistance against these harsh conditions. The racism towards the African Americans who were slaves was at its extreme as they did not have any rights; no civil nor political rights.

Why are the following events so important to America’s history? The events that include Brown V. Board of education, Emmet Till, Little Rock Nine, Freedom Summer, Chicago in the 1950’s, were all very important events to occur before a movement that was not necessarily alive, yet. These events were all important because of how they would start the momentum of the Civil Rights movement that would give African Americans the simple rights that any white man has. These events shared things in common such as the simple fact that they all involved African Americans pressing for rights that they deserved. All of these events whether they be positive or negative would be beneficial to the Civil Rights movement.

African Americans have endured many trials and tribulations over the centuries. Our people have suffered from war, violence, and anguish simply because of the color of our skin. Our history has been so blatantly missing from textbooks and the K-12th grade educational atmosphere. Our educational system continues to neglect the history of our African American ancestors and fail to provide them with the educational resources to inform them of our past and allow them to learn about the true origins of our culture. We have made many significant contributions to the world but those have also been highly ignored as well.

Dr. Carter Woodson, a pioneer in African American history and the “Father of Black History”, founded Black History Month in 1936. Woodson was the son of slaves and worked in coalmines and quarries as a child. He went to black schools and taught himself English fundamentals and arithmetic by the time he was 19. After finishing high school after only two

My idea of slavery is, that it is one of the blackest, the wickedest things everywhere in the world. When you tell them the truth, they whip you to make you lie. I have taken more lashes for this, than for any other thing, because I would not lie.One day I set the table, and forgot to put on the carving-fork - the knife was there. I went to the table to put it on a plate. My master said, - "Where is the fork?" I told him "I forgot it." He says, - "You d - d black b - , I'll forget you!" - at the same time hitting me on the head with the carving knife. The blood spurted out - you can see. (Here the woman removed her turban and showed a circular cicatrices denuded of hair, about an inch in diameter, on the top of her head.) My mistress took me into the kitchen and put on camphor, but she could not stop the bleeding. A doctor was sent for. He came but asked no questions. I was frequently punished with raw hides - was hit with tongs and poker and anything. I used when I went out, to look up at the sky, and say, "Blessed Lord, oh, do take me out of this!" It seemed to me I could not bear another lick. I can't forget it. I sometimes dream that I am pursued, and when I wake, I am scared almost to death.{Benjamin Drew was a Boston abolitionist who

Today in the United States of America, there are many different people from many different ethnic backgrounds. The Black Lives Matters movement is stirring up racial separation, rather than promoting reasonable solutions. Their dishonest anti-police views are causing police everywhere to second guess themselves.

Despite the large amount of stereotypes and disdain held for black people, being African American is something that I have become extremely proud of. My deep seeded pride stems from the accomplishments of my ancestors and the immense amount of responsibility placed on my shoulders as a black person. As a people, African Americans have endured and persevered through a large part of history where they have been mistreated and exploited by others countries. Therefore, when I look back at the lives of my ancestors, I am humbled, as I see the enormous amount of perseverance and fortitude needed to get through through the times they lived through. Moreover, I am astonished when I look at their accomplishments such as the White House, the Washington

All histories are an important subject to teach in every academic levels; however, African American history is a vital part of the United States. America would not be the country she is today without the accomplishments of the slaves and founding African American scholars. Slavery brought about incredible trials and established perseverance with the African American population that future generations need to know about and learn from. History teaches us our errors and our successes; furthermore, it helps us determine our future directions. Throughout history there were countless African American leaders, Godly examples and heroes. It is the duty of all generations to teach about these men and women. There is a wealth of knowledge that all people, in all walks of life, and at all ages needs to learn. No matter what race a child is today, they need to know and understand what their ancestors went through, how they lived, more importantly what they did to not only survive but to thrive (Holt & Brown, 2000).

The black freedom struggle has not yet come to an end – there are still prejudiced and racist radicals that try to negotiate white supremacy and dominance in order to prevent the blacks from their long wait for equality. Consequently, the movement has progressed very sluggishly in the past few centuries. Nevertheless, the campaign for equal rights has led to the triumph over slavery and has led to the accrual of suffrage rights. However, this is still not enough, not after centuries of enslavement, lynching, segregation, and discrimination. Oftentimes, there is still no justice in court houses, especially when black people are accused and convicted, even for the simplest of crimes – as compared to the white and powerful who are charged for heinous misconducts and get away scratch free. Hence, throughout the period of the Blacks’ long fight for freedom and equality, several Black intellectuals have come front with ideas that could administer better treatment for their people. A good strategy to encourage the black populace to fight for their freedom and their rights is by inverting popular ideas so that there is a clear distinction between the reasonable and unreasonable notions of equality and justice. Thus, it was not uncommon for these literati to undermine dominant discourses in order to bolster their own analyses. Among the discussed black intellectuals who inverted prevailing dissertations, three that stood out the most are Frederick Douglass, Anna Julia Cooper, and