Summary
Multicultural Education in the United States made its debut beginning with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s. Its intent was to become part of the cultural mainstream. The Civil Rights Movement brought to light the apparent concerns of discrimination, intimidation and inequality. During this period, pressure was placed on the Federal Government to examine their roles in the perseverance of inequalities when it came to Multicultural Education (Russell, Robert, The History of Multicultural Education, 2011). It can be compared to “Affirmative Action” where whites were asked to leave behind their own point of view and gain knowledge of the traditions of Multicultural groups (Taylor, Samuel. The Challenge of 'Multiculturalism' In How Americans View the Past and the Future, 2011).
Analysis
W.E.B. DuBois (1868 – 1963), a Civil Rights activist began to confront the popular point of view and stereotypes of African-Americans (Welcome to the Civil Rights Digital Library, 2011). Discouraging images became a part of the accepted society, but were also implanted in the educational and scientific institutions of the United States. The initial founders of ethnic studies set out to discredit bogus theories and propaganda about African-Americans. The civil rights movement challenged the political and cultural authority of white America and confronted educational institutions that discriminated and demoralized African-Americans because of their race. As warriors of this cause, they were adamant about institutional equality, the end of discriminatory practices, and curriculum reform.
The civil rights movement was very successful in demanding the Federal Government to change their outlook on education for African-Americans...
... middle of paper ...
...ralism' In How Americans View the Past and the Future, 2011). Children from pre-school through college now have a better understanding of their non-American, non-white fellow students.
Works Cited
Taylor, Samuel. “The Challenge of 'Multiculturalism' In How Americans View the Past and the Future” The Journal of Historical Review, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 159-165
Russell, Robert. "The History of Multicultural Education | eHow.com." eHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Trusted Advice for the Curious Life | eHow.com( 2011) http://www.ehow.com/about_6293353_history-multicultural-education.html
"Welcome to the Civil Rights Digital Library." Welcome to the Civil Rights Digital Library (2011). http://crdl.usg.edu/export/html/fbi/foia/crdl_fbi_foia_dubois.html?Welcome
"Information about NOW." National Organization for Women (NOW). (2011) http://www.now.org/organization
African-Americans in the 1920’s lived in a period of tension. No longer slaves, they were still not looked upon as equals by whites. However, movements such as the Harlem renaissance, as well as several African-American leaders who rose to power during this period, sought to bring the race to new heights. One of these leaders was W.E.B. DuBois, who believed that education was the solution to the race problem. The beliefs of W.E.B. DuBois, as influenced by his background, had a profound effect on his life work, including the organizations he was involved with and the type of people he attracted. His background strongly influenced the way he attacked the "Negro Problem." His influence continues to affect many people.
Takaki, Ronald T. "14 World War II." A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown, 1993. N. pag. Print.
Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991. Weisbrot, Robert. Freedom Bound: A History Of America’s Civil Rights Movement. New York: Plume, 1991 Wexler, Sanford.
The years between 1954 and 1965 represent the coalition of two movements that forever changed the landscape of American Politics. The Civil rights movement and the black power movement established two separate thrusts for black civil and political equality. Understanding how each movement saw race relations in the United States helps to further explain the goals and how each movement influenced one another. In the following pages I am going to detail the leaders of the Black Power and Civil rights and how under their philosophy grew movements influenced by one another that forever changed the American political environment.
Although the conclusion of the Civil War during the mid-1860s demolished the official practice of slavery, the oppression and exploitation of African Americans has continued. Although the rights and opportunities of African Americans were greatly improved during Reconstruction, cases such a 1896’s Plessy v. Ferguson, which served as the legal basis for segregation, continue to diminish the recognized humanity of African Americans as equal people. Furthermore, the practice of the sharecropping system impoverished unemployed African Americans, recreating slavery. As economic and social conditions worsened, the civil rights movement began to emerge as the oppressed responded to their conditions, searching for equality and protected citizenship.With such goals in mind, associations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which came to the legal defense of African Americans and aided the march for civil rights reforms, emerged. By working against the laws restricting African Americans, the NAACP saw progress with the winning of cases like Brown v. Board of Education, which allowed the integration of public schools after its passing in 1954 and 1955. In the years following the reform instituted by the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, the fervor of the civil rights movement increased; mass nonviolent protests against the unfair treatment of blacks became more frequent. New leaders, such as Martin Luther King, manifested themselves. The civil rights activists thus found themselves searching for the “noble dream” unconsciously conceived by the democratic ideals of the Founding Fathers to be instilled.
These questions, and many more, have long been a part of the agenda for multicultural education but are recently coming more clearly into focus. Most of the work and studies in race relations and teaching in a multicultural environment in the U.S. have put an emphasis on the unique cultural experiences and perspectives of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American groups. These are the groups that have historically been marginalized in various ways by the repeated asserted dominance by American people of European backgrounds. As the populations of the U.S. changes to take in even larger numbers of those groups...
Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1993. Print.
Takaki, R. T. (1993). A different mirror: A history of multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.
The United States has a history of being viewed as a superior culture in which weaker cultures must adapt. However, this attitude has been cause of repression and conflict among the different cultures. As a result, activists have worked for years pushing to empower cultures; thus, encouraging unity rather than cultural divide for the strength of our nation as a whole. According to John Ogbu (1978), every "minority" group has a unique history in the United States that needs to be studied, understood, and validated to more authentically understand, support, and educate them. Education experts have responded to the overall push for this unification by developing an interdisciplinary approach in the development of multicultural education.
Takaki, Ronald. "A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America." 1993. Border Texts: Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1999. 589-596.
A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki provides an insight of America’s multicultural nation. He shares the history of the non-European minorities who have settled and contributed to the growth in America. However, many do not view them as Americans today because they still follow the Master Narrative. This teaching only focuses on the European settlement and their history in America, therefore, causing no acknowledgement to the minorities. Takaki challenges the Master Narrative as an incorrect teaching because it does not reflect America’s full history. America has always been racially and ethnically diverse. Thus, he hopes to move them away from the Master Narrative and learn from his teachings that non-Europeans are Americans despite their
Gollnick, D. M., & Chinn, P. C. (2009). Multicultural education in apluralistic society. Columbus, OH: Prentice Hall.
Ryan, Francis J. "The Perils of Multiculturalism: Schooling for the Group" Educational Horizons 7 Spring 1993:134-8
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.
The perception of multicultural education in the United States has certainly evolved over the preceding decades. As a corollary of the social activism and desegregation movements of the 1960s and 1970s, the emergence of ethnic studies within public education systems came about as a sincere recognition that all students should – and must – learn to participate in a diverse world (Trent, 2012). While all governments expect and sometimes require a minimal level of civil responsibility and participation from their citizens, it is impossible to overstate the importance of freedom of association, religion, speech, and political organization for protecting group difference. However, parallel to various sociopolitical disturbances that have increasingly