America – “the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave” – is the land where diverse citizens have equally respected rights (Key). This adage was not always considered, though. Before the collaboration from a plethora of African Americans commenced, African Americans had restricted rights. Many people worked together to achieve freedom, and in the process, they helped configure what Florida is today. One African American that stood out from the rest, in particular, was Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs. Jonathan Gibbs had a remarkable life story. "In 1827, Gibbs was born as a freeman" (Paris). This played a role on Gibbs's life. Although Gibbs was never a slave, he still desired equal rights. After his father died in 1831, Gibbs's mother, Maria Gibbs, had to take care of the family. "The widow performed laundry work until she became ill" (Paris). When Maria became sick, Jonathan had to …show more content…
Gibbs decided to enter politics. "Gibbs's support for Harrison Reed as governor eventually positioned him for an appointment as Florida's Secretary of State in 1868" (Williams). Gibbs became Secretary of State and assumed duties such as returning vetoed bills to the legislature, keeping the official records, and evaluating applicants for state office. "When Governor Reed was succeeded by Ossian Hart in 1873, Gibbs was appointed superintendent of public instruction" (Smith). During Gibbs's term, there was a multitudinous of downfalls in Florida's public schools: schools suffered from inadequate funding, a shortage of teachers, and suitable school buildings. Gibbs knew he had to take action. He required reports from county superintendents, attempted to have uniform textbooks for elementary and secondary students, and published a list of recommended textbooks. The improvements Gibbs introduced had a vital impact and enduring legacy on Florida's public
The Emancipation of the once enslaved African American was the first stepping stone to the America that we know of today. Emancipation did not, however automatically equate to equality, as many will read from the awe-inspiring novel Passing Strange written by the talented Martha Sandweiss. The book gives us, at first glance, a seemingly tall tale of love, deception, and social importance that color played into the lives of all Americans post-emancipation. The ambiguity that King, the protagonist, so elegantly played into his daily life is unraveled, allowing a backstage view of the very paradox that was Charles King’s life.
In the excerpt reading from Locking Up Our Own, the author, James Forman Jr., spoke about the issue our society has faced recently with mass incarceration of African-American males. He also talks about his own past experience with the situation through being a public defender. He had previously worked under Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and decided that he wanted to defend low-income individuals who were charged with crimes in Washington, D.C. Forman detailed a few specific cases he had working with young, African-American males and retold his reactions to some of the convictions.
In reading the first few paragraphs in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King Jr shows commitment to all African Americans. He says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. In the one sentence King declared that he would fight racial...
From slavery being legal, to its abolishment and the Civil Rights Movement, to where we are now in today’s integrated society, it would seem only obvious that this country has made big steps in the adoption of African Americans into American society. However, writers W.E.B. Du Bois and James Baldwin who have lived and documented in between this timeline of events bringing different perspectives to the surface. Du Bois first introduced an idea that Baldwin would later expand, but both authors’ works provide insight to the underlying problem: even though the law has made African Americans equal, the people still have not.
In this story it clearly shows us what the courts really mean by freedom, equality, liberty, property and equal protection of the laws. The story traces the legal challenges that affected African Americans freedom. To justify slavery as the “the way things were” still begs to define what lied beneath slave owner’s abilities to look past the wounded eyes and beating hearts of the African Americans that were so brutally possessed.
Racial unrest and violence was prevalent throughout the United States in the early 1900’s. It was hard to go any amount of time without hearing of the lynching of a black citizen, a violent mob against black people, or large riots of killing blacks. In Rosewood, Florida, an incident of high caliber and commotion occurred during these moments of extreme racial segregation. These Rosewood incidents became public knowledge as the entire population of blacks chose to move out of the small city. These black citizens were in fear for their lives as many racially heinous and violent crimes were occurring against the people of their same race. Lynching had become so common that many blacks moved in fear that if they did not, they would end up dead.
After reading The Book of the Unknown Americans, I realized how difficult immigrating to the United States can be. I am an immigrant also, so just reading the story makes me relate to many problems immigrants experience relocating to a different country. Immigrants often face many issues and difficulties, but for some it is all worth it, but for others there comes a point in time where they have to go back to their hometown. Alma and Arturo Rivera came to the United States to better their life, but also so that Maribel could attend a special education school. While Arturo had a job things had gone well for the family, but once Arturo lost the job and passed away the two of them had to go back because they felt that that was the best option for them. Reading this book made me realize how strong an individual has to be to leave their own country and relocate somewhere else not knowing if this will better your life or cause one to suffer.
It is common knowledge that the American Civil War provided freedom and certain civil rights, including to right to vote, to the African-American population of the nineteenth-century. What is not generally known, and only very rarely acknowledged, is that after freeing the slaves held in the Southeastern portion of the U.S., the federal government abandoned these same African-Americans at the end of the Reconstruction period.2
Right now we are reading the book “Home of the Brave” by Katherine Applegate. In the book a boy named Kek moves to America from Sudan. He has lost his brother and his father and doesn't even know where his mother is so he goes to live with his aunt and older cousin in Minnesota.Right now we are reading the book “Home of the Brave” by Katherine Applegate. In the book a boy named Kek moves to America from Sudan. He has lost his brother and his father and doesn't even know where his mother is so he goes to live with his aunt and older cousin in Minnesota. Right now we are reading the book “Home of the Brave” by Katherine Applegate. In the book a boy named Kek moves to America from Sudan. He has lost his brother and his father and doesn't even know where his mother is so he goes to live with his aunt and older cousin in Minnesota. Right now we are reading the book “Home of the Brave” by Katherine Applegate. In the book a boy named Kek moves to America from Sudan. He has lost his brother and his father and doesn't even know where his mother is so he goes to live with his aunt and older co...
The poem chosen for this project was American Soldier Rise by Gregory Boyer. When I began contemplating a poem for a reflection paper I immediately decided to choose one based on personal experiences within my own life. I then had to make a choice between a poem about public safety or military service as I have been involved in both career paths for more 25 years. I questioned whether to use American Soldier Rise after my first reading. As I went back and re-read the poem I realized it began to speak to me in a profound manner. The poem also confirmed one of my fears that we have become so focused on the horrors of war we forget from where our soldiers come.
From our founding fathers until the time of Lincoln, we have retained black slaves. “With liberty and justice for all” seemingly deceived these slaves, whereas any white man was proclaimed free. Some citizens, predominantly those who owned slaves, had the idea that African Americans weren’t even considered human because they are “colored”. It wasn’t until Martin Luther King Jr. had his “I have a dream speech that really set forth the realization that everyone should be truly equal. He recognized that the seemingly perfect ‘Declaration of Independence’ had flaws in reference to blacks. Unfortunately, the inequality and police brutality that Martin Luther King Jr. sought out to eliminate continued past his time and still exists today. In the image below, drawn by Samuel Joyner, an allusion and alogism is used in order to reveal the
Nearly three centuries ago, black men and women from Africa were brought to America and put into slavery. They were treated more cruelly in the United States than in any other country that had practiced slavery. African Americans didn’t gain their freedom until after the Civil War, nearly one-hundred years later. Even though African Americans were freed and the constitution was amended to guarantee racial equality, they were still not treated the same as whites and were thought of as second class citizens. One man had the right idea on how to change America, Martin Luther King Jr. had the best philosophy for advancing civil rights, he preached nonviolence to express the need for change in America and he united both African Americans and whites together to fight for economic and social equality.
Freedom, is a universal privilege, a privelege that the modern day American takes for granted. When looking at freedom through the eyes of others it can be seen through many perspectives. During the mid to late 1800’s the blacks making up a large portion of the population felt as if their freedom was non-existent. Freedom for one is not necessarily freedom for all. To introduce this unjust behavior with which blacks are mistreated and set apart from the rest of the nation it is stated from Frederick Douglas’s speech that, “The sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me” (Douglas 1). This passage summarizes how the life of a negro is dangerous and unhealthy as slavery has taken a toll on them compared
Diversity, we define this term today as one of our nation’s most dynamic characteristics in American history. The United States thrives through the means of diversity. However, diversity has not always been a positive component in America; in fact, it took many years for our nation to become accustomed to this broad variety of mixed cultures and social groups. One of the leading groups that were most commonly affected by this, were African American citizens, who were victimized because of their color and race. It wasn’t easy being an African American, back then they had to fight in order to achieve where they are today, from slavery and discrimination, there was a very slim chance of hope for freedom or even citizenship. This longing for hope began to shift around the 1950’s during the Civil Rights Movement, where discrimination still took place yet, it is the time when African Americans started to defend their rights and honor to become freemen like every other citizen of the United States. African Americans were beginning to gain recognition after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, which declared all people born natural in the United States and included the slaves that were previously declared free. However, this didn’t prevent the people from disputing against the constitutional law, especially the people in the South who continued to retaliate against African Americans and the idea of integration in white schools. Integration in white schools played a major role in the battle for Civil Rights in the South, upon the coming of independence for all African American people in the United States after a series of tribulations and loss of hope.
Massive protests against racial segregation and discrimination broke out in the southern United States that came to national attention during the middle of the 1950’s. This movement started in centuries-long attempts by African slaves to resist slavery. After the Civil War American slaves were given basic civil rights. However, even though these rights were guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment they were not federally enforced. The struggle these African-Americans faced to have their rights ...