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African american traditions and culture
African american traditions and culture
African american traditions and culture
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Through James McBride's lifetime, growing up he has always wondered why he and his mother didn't look alike at all since he was black and she was white, questioning the fact if she was even his real mother. As a young boy, James is often curious about the unspoken life that his mother once had, a secret perhaps, a unheard of life never talked about or perhaps a forgotten past. Since his mother never talked about her childhood and other basic information about where she grew up and what life was like, James grew up such a curious child because of the fact he and his mother were completely different skin colors and when he asks his mom if god was black or white, she says “God is the color of water, water doesn't have a color” ( 51). In James …show more content…
With recent collaboration about black people and the popular civil right activists, the black power movement had helped James figure out much more information about himself especially because he was black, “ Most white folks I knew seemed to have a great fear of blacks” (31). The reason why most white people were afraid of black people in the 60’s is because there was the upcoming black power movement which led many people to think there would be a rise in tensions among black people and white people meaning there can be an increase in violence. But being black and having a white mother led James to quickly realize what other people thought about him and his family, “I could see it in the faces of the white people who stared at me and Mommy and my siblings when we rode the subway, sometimes laughing at us, pointing, muttering things like, Look at her with those little niggers” (31). At the time it was considered wrong and disturbing for black people and white people to have relationships together or even be around each other without receiving racist remarks. Its significant how James as a young boy, is able to piece together clues to figure out who he is, with and without his …show more content…
It's not until he’s writing a story about his mother’s life as a grown man, where Ruth decides to talk about it with James instead of pushing it away, “There was no turning back after my mother died. I stayed on the black side because that was the only place I could stay” (232). Ruth tells James how she stayed on the black side yet no matter what the occasion was she faced forms of racisms for being white in a black neighborhood but for also having a black boyfriend. Once again at the time it was pretty much forbidden for blacks and whites to be together because of segregation, “You weren't accepted to be with a black man and that was that. They'd say forget it” (232). Ruth didn't care, but society did and later on she would marry another black man who would marry her and end up being James father along with his siblings. Its interesting how after a long period of time, Ruth decides to tell James once and for all her
Questioning looks, dirty gazes, and the snide babbles were all too accustomed to Ruth McBride, when she walked down the street with her tow of children. James McBribe, one of the dozen children from her two elopements, was often ashamed as well as scared. They had to prolong the worse racial monikers. His mother, who was white, maintained unattended, “Whenever she stepped out of the house with us she went into a somewhat mental zone where her attention span went no farther than the five kids trailing her,” McBride subsequently wrote “My mom had absolutely no interest in a world that seemed incredulously agitated by our presence. The remarks and stares that we heard as we walked about the world went right over our head.” Her indomitable spirit and her son’s recollections became the basis of “The Color of Water”. In the work there is a great presence of God and the fortitude he unconditionally sends, especially to Ruth. Although Ruth’s clout frequently surpassed her circadian problems, she would more regularly rely on God for her vigor.
Unknown, to James at this point he did not realize that he was having a problem with a psychological theory called behaviorism. Now this theory is one that is saying human behavior is developed through learning experiences which in this case would apply to James. His behavior as an adult was reflected by the way he was treated as a kid by his father and mother because they fought all the time. They never truly paid any attention to him, which in terms taught him how to stay out of their way and learn how to steal and burglarize places without getting caught. Therefore, within the psychological theory of behaviorism Behaviorists saw crime as something that is a learned response to life’s situations such as James situation which led him to a life of crime because of his parents. Although, he was never truly mistreated, he did not receive his father attention due to the fact of the way his father was treated as a child growing up an abusive household. Therefore, he did not want to place his son in the same situation. There is also the fact that James could be suffering from the psychodynamic theory which says that a person’s personality can be controlled by their unconscious mental process and that is grounded in them in early childhood. These entire things such as the id, ego, and superego
In this time, the black community in America was beginning to find their voice and stand up for what they believed in and who they truly were. The problem with James is that he didn’t know who he truly was. He didn’t understand how he could be two different things while all of his siblings identified as one. They instilled a sense of resentment toward whites in him that confused him beyond belief. This confusion left him believing that his mixed race was a curse and something that he would have to carry on his back for the rest of his life. He believed it to be a burden, as he felt that he didn’t truly belong anywhere because of it. "I thought it would be easier if we were just one color, black or white. My siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that mommy were black. Now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds." - James McBride. In his memoir, on of James' main realization about his life is that in the transition from adolescence to adulthood, he learned that being mixed race wasn’t so much a curse as a blessing.
The transition of being a black man in a time just after slavery was a hard one. A black man had to prove himself at the same time had to come to terms with the fact that he would never amount to much in a white dominated country. Some young black men did actually make it but it was a long and bitter road. Most young men fell into the same trappings as the narrator’s brother. Times were hard and most young boys growing up in Harlem were swept off their feet by the onslaught of change. For American blacks in the middle of the twentieth century, racism is another of the dark forces of destruction and meaninglessness which must be endured. Beauty, joy, triumph, security, suffering, and sorrow are all creations of community, especially of family and family-like groups. They are temporary havens from the world''s trouble, and they are also the meanings of human life.
In Black Boy blacks were treated as less than humans. The whites wanted to be superior in every way and they forced the blacks to follow their rules. In one of the jobs that he had, Wright witnesses how awful his boss treated a customer because she did not pay. “They got out and half dragged and half kicked the woman into the store…later the woman stumbled out, bleeding, crying, holding her stomach her clothing torn.” (Wright, 179) Whites treating blacks like this was normal. When the woman was being mistreated there were whites around, but they did not even look at them because they did not care. There was also a policeman who arrested the woman after she was assaulted Wright was mistreated in many ways because he was black and did not know how to give in to the rules. Because of the way society treated him, Wright became angry and with that anger grew a motivation to become better. He wanted to change the destiny that the whites had set for all blacks. In Separate Pasts McLaurin grew up in the South with blacks around him since he was a child. While there was still segregation in his city, blacks and whites still lived together better than with Wright. McLaurin recalls how he spent so much time with blacks and to him it was normal. “From the fall I entered the seventh grade until I left for college…every working day I talked and
Although the main character in the book was white, the author, Sue Kidd, does a great job of depicting the African American culture during the time. Whether it was Rosaleen getting beat up in jail, or Zach dreaming of being a lawyer, this book showed you what it was like being a minority during a time when rights where still being fought for. One of the smaller conflicts in the story was a man verses man conflict, when Lily and Zach started to like each other. Though they knew that a colored man, and a white girl could never be together, they both were attracted to each other. Were they not from different cultures, people would have been fine with them dating, but because Zach was black, it couldn?t work out.
James McBride's memoir, The Color of Water, demonstrates a man's search for identity and a sense of self that derives from his multiracial family. His white mother, Ruth's abusive childhood as a Jew led her to search for acceptance in the African American community, where she made her large family from the two men she marries. James defines his identity by truth of his mother's pain and exceptionality, through the family she creates and the life she leaves behind. As a boy, James questions his unique family and color through his confusion of issues of race. Later in his life, as an adolescent, his racial perplexity results in James hiding from his emotions, relying only on the anger he felt against the world. It is only when James uncovers the past of his mother does he begin to understand the complexity with himself and form his own identity.
At the beginning, James doesn't allow others to sense any form of his weaknesses. He preferably let the world see him that he is tough and can take care of himself. The character of James makes me realize that we all have stories to tell about even if it is the war between you and your demons that you had encountered, may encounter or will encounter. I don't want others to see my weaknesses to make his/her own judgment about who I am. But somehow that opinions made you think about who are you in their perspective or point of
Through the novel Birdie Lee challenges herself to confront her own awareness of self, to understand her families blackness through the gaze of whiteness. Birdies physical appearance is known as a straight hair and pale child, which gave her an identity that is more closely to the whiteness within her family. Whenever she is in the presence of both her father and Cole, she often felt that she disappeared and becomes invisible. Cole existence “was the proof that his blackness hadn’t been completely blanched” (Senna 1998, p.56).
It also deals with the emotions that this black boy faces because he has been treated unfairly by the white people. Major Characters: Jefferson, black boy who is accused of a crime and sentenced to death; Grant Wiggons, teacher sent to help Jefferson. After he went and obtained a college degree, Grant Wiggins went back to live with his grandmother. Being that he is a very educated person, Grant was elected by his grandmother to try and get Jefferson to realize that he was a man and not an animal like the white people had led him to believe. Throughout the entire novel, Grant is battling this idea in his head because he doesn’t feel that even he knows what it is to be a man.
James Baldwin lived during an extremely tumultuous time where hatred ruled the country. Race riots, beatings, and injustice flooded the cities that he, as well as most African Americans, was forced to live with every day. Many people, out of fright, suppressed their opposition to the blatant inequalities of the nation. However, some people refused to let themselves be put down solely because of their skin color and so they publicly announced their opposition. One such person was James Baldwin, who voiced his opinion through writing short stories about his experiences growing up as a black man. In order to convey to the reader the unbearable nature of this troubled era, he traces his feelings of hatred for his father and his hatred towards society, which transform as he evaluates his experiences.
...of calm and joy comes over him as he says, “I left for New York happy in the knowledge that my grandmother had not suffered and died for nothing.” (229) James’s realization of his mother’s past gave James his future. It was no longer a question of whether or not he was white or black, but rather it was about living a life his grandmother gave him.
By living through several racist and microaggressive situations in his life, he learned to assimilate and be quiet. This is shown when Nath is being bullied at the pool at the YMCA. The other children refuse to play with Nath and taunt him because he is Chinese, and James doesn’t do anything. James wondered “could he make the children get back in the pool? Saying anything would draw attention to the trick” (pg. 90). Even though he was the adult in the situation and he could have stood up for his son, he decided to do nothing. This shows how scared James is to stand out or draw attention to the fact that he and his children are Chinese. James has always tried to fit in, and marrying a blonde white woman made him feel more ‘normal’. However, he was still aware that he was “too different” (pg. 242). He gets angry at Marilyn for always trying to stand out, and tells her: “You think it’s such a good thing, standing out. But look at you” (pg. 242). Here it is evident that James just wants to conform and assimilate so his life will be as easy as possible. Marilyn’s life has been full of turmoil and her issues with fitting in even affected James’ life. The way James sees it, had she chosen to fit in both of their lives would have been much easier. Time after time James wishes that he was white or that Marilyn had married a white man just because their lives would be easier. James has learned that conforming and assimilation are
He decided one day the only way he would go anywhere in life was if he were to attend Reardan, an all-white school. Here, Junior was forced to find out who he really was. Junior experienced more struggles and tragedies than any white student at this school. He had to fight through the isolation he first experienced to build up the courage to play in a basketball championship. I believe that every event Junior wrote about throughout the novel had an important purpose, and even more importantly, could be related to sociology.
James was an authoritarian parent. He was controlling, in-charge and no one questioned him. He would play the role of the doting father. When his children made mistakes, he made a point to criticize them. He often compared them to other kids that he felt were “more perfect.” When his often unspoken expectations were not met he would yell and scream striking fear into his entire family. “He’s not a warm, fuzzy kind of guy, and he’s not going to inspire feelings of intimacy. But when his system works, he can boast about one thing: His recruits tend to obey” (Dewar).