Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
African american history essay
Us history essay on race relations
African american history essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: African american history essay
Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. is a man of trust, courage, grace and honor. Although many of these attriobutes I share with Arthur, his high level of moral values and self reliance I aspire to achieve. Arthur was of African American decent and being born on July 10, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia he had to face many racial struggles and hardships. On the contrary, I was born and raised in somerset, New Jersey, in the 1990’s so my racial struggles were close to non-existent. Being of Italian- American decent, if I had lived in the time of Arthur Ashe I still would not have faced racial struggles as greatly as African Americans did in that time.
Arthur was the first born just as I was, except he was the first and only while I on the other hand have three siblings. We were both born into extremely loving and caring families. Arthur was raised by extremely strict parents and was not even allowed to go out after school or hang out with friends as I do occasionally. His father just like my parents set goals for self-reliance, discipline and responsibility. Because of those goals Arthur began to take great pride in his reputation. I also feel as if I’m always being judged. We have both been called “quiet” people but Arthur eventually grows out of that and my parents tell me I’m beginning to do the same. Both of our parents, to our displeasure, force us to do our numerous chores before anything else. The difference lies within the punishment for disobeying our parents wishes. The so called “beatings” that Arthur received in his time were nothing unordinary yet if those beatings were to occur today they would be seen as wrong and inhumane.
Despite the differences we share many similar diversions such as good quality time with our families. Arthur was known to spend countless hours reading and listening to music with his mom. Yet at the age of 6 Arthur had to face one of the most traumatic expierences of his life when he lost his mother, Matti Ashe, to a fatal case of toxemia while in labor. Similar to this experience I lost my grandfather at the age of five. Although I was impacted greatly it was not a loss as great as Arthurs loss of a loving mother. I Can recall the day it happened just as well as Arthur recalled the details of when he last saw his mother.
Valvano, Jim. “Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award Acceptance Speech.” ESPY Awards. ESPN. New York, March 4, 1993. Speech. Online. http://www.jimmyv.org/about-us/remembering-jim/jimmy-v-espy-awards-speech/
A Lincoln Preface written by Carl Sandburg and Arthur Ashe Remembered written by John McPhee, both talked about significant and famous people in their respective careers. Each person wrote about a person who they looked up to and thought were spectacular people. Carl Sandburg wrote about Abraham Lincoln, who was the 16th president of the United States and president during the Civil War. John McPhee wrote about Arthur Ashe the first African American man to achieve greatness in tennis. They both talked about the life of these men and the achievements they accomplished through their life.
The historical information provides a background for the cultural impact. Dealing with loss is a part of the information. It is a hard thing to do, and the Welch children had to do that in their memoir. When dealing with loss, children need a stable environment because they might think what they have done caused the death ("When" 1). Children can be easily swayed, so they might formulate their own theory as to how their loved one died. Consequently, they might think of it to be their own fault; they have no one else to give the blame, so they drop it on themselves. Also, "children need help to cope with their grief when a parent dies" ("When" 1). Kids need someone to talk to about their loss. The person should have an understanding of children. Another part of this information is family. Family is necessary. Not just for the reproduction of mankind, but also for the physiological growth it develops (Lasch-Quinn 1). Being a part of today's family is more about providi...
To begin, I witness these judgments, comparisons and assumptions being made almost every day amongst my family, leaving me astonished with human nature’s judgmental side. As the oldest child in my family, my brother is always expected to be
We are always searching for other people’s approval and acceptance. Being the middle child in my family has always felt like a competition for the attention of our parents. I lived fairly close to my elementary school growing up. I remember that every day on the walk there my mom would give me kind of a pep talk, “don’t talk to strangers” “make sure to eat and drinks lots of water” and before I left, she’d give me a blessing (she’s very religious) and the last thing she would say was “you better get straight A’s”. She used it metaphorically; meaning just the best you can be at everything you do and literally as in getting straight A’s. Being in elementary school, I didn’t get letter grades, but instead a numerical system where fours represented A’s. It was a routine that I’m very grateful I grew up with the competitive mentality, but it caused a rivalry against my brother. The moment I’d get home, I would excitedly tell my mom how my reading skills improved or a “cool” drawing I did in class. Later, my brother would come home bragging how he got an A on his history test or how he joined the soccer team. Seeing how he got more attention that day I’d strive to be superior the next day and even more involved growing up. For a second, I became unhappy being involved in so much school, I had to go to school from 8-3, had tutoring since 3-5, and practice till 7. This took a hard impact on my
One of the major stands that were made during a black athlete’s tenure during his or her sport were their statements on racism. Racism in America was an ongoing situation in the 1900’s that seemed to have no resolve before black athletes took a stand. One prime example can be Jackie Robinson who became the first African-American athlete to play baseball in the modern era. Jackie grew up in one of the most racist towns in Pasadena, California and came from a poor family as his parents were sharecroppers and...
When someone said the word "tiger”, fifteen years ago, one would think of the extremely dangerous animal. However, since 1998, the word has brought on a new meaning, one of dedication, heart, and desire. The word now brings to mind the golfing phenomenon of Tiger Woods. Being one of America's top icons not only for his accomplishments, but also for one of the most salacious celebrity scandals of all time. Leading the PGA in career victories among active players, Woods live a secret life beyond the golf course, and his publicly known family.. In a similar fashion to Macbeth’s tragic flaw of ambition—lying, cheating, selfishness and sexual desire—all emphasizes the indifference Tiger has a man, rather than being a devoted husband & father, he went to pursue his own ambitions in sex.
Bodo, P. (1996). Arthur Ashe. In USA's Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History (Vol. 1, pp. 154-155). Boston: Macmillan.
“Bereavement is not a one-dimensional experience. It’s not the same for everyone and there do not appear to be...
Johnson, Ashe began to play in competitions. In 1958, Arthur Ashe became the first African-American to participate in the Maryland boys’ championships. He would travel across the country to compete in various competitions throughout his summers. However, Ashe was restricted to playing other local black children around Richmond during the school year. This setback did not stop him from winning several junior tennis tournaments across the nation. As a result, Ashe earned a full scholarship to UCLA which had one the top college tennis programs at the time. In 1965, he won the individual NCAA championship and led UCLA to win the team NCAA tennis championship. Arthur Ashe also became the first African-American player on the U.S Davis Cup team. During his professional years, he travelled the world competing in various tennis competitions. In 1970, Ashe won the Australian open; he earned one of his three grand slam singles titles. After years of being denied a visa to South Africa, Ashe was finally granted one which enabled to participate in the South African open. Although Ashe lost the in the singles finals, he went on to win the doubles title with Tom Okker. Despite all his previous accomplishments, 1975 proved to be the highlight year of Arthur Ashe’s career. He defeated Jimmy Connors to earn the Wimbledon singles title and became the only African-American man to win the grasscourt tournament. Ashe’s success led to him being ranked #1 in the world in men’s
Arthur Ashe was a highly ranked tennis player in the 1960s and 70s and the very first African-American tennis player to win a grand slam tournament. Not only was Ashe a hero and leader in sport, but also a vital figure in solving humanitarian issues and social justice for his fellow people in what was a completely segregated South America .
The life of Edgar Allan Poe was one often colored by tragedy. These tragedies were a strong source of influence for his writings and likely contributed to his focus on the bleaker aspects of life. Born in 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts, Poe’s life with his biological family was short lived. His father, David Poe, left the family only two years after his birth, and shortly after in December 1811, his mother Elizabeth Poe died from illness leaving him an orphan (Quinn 47). The death of a parent at such a young age is something that would undeniably have a profound impact on anyone’s psyche. In the case of Poe, the death of his mother and later the serious illness, and subsequent death of his wife, Virginia, could be seen as one of the strongest motivations for his focus on death and obsession over loss (Quinn 496). This unfortunate childhood was compounded by the difficult relationship Poe had with his foster parents, John and Fanny Allan (Dhahir). Poe’s ...
I, of course, knew my mother as a mother. As I have reached adulthood and become a mother myself, I have also known her as a friend. My mom shared much of herself with me, and I saw sides of my mother as she struggled with her cancer that I had never seen before, especially her strong belief in positive thinking and the importance of quality of life. I was privileged to know so many facets of my mother, but certainly I did not know all. There were parts of her life that I didn’t see, relationships that I didn’t know about. Last night, at the wake, so many stories were told to me about my mom’s strength, courage, humor, kindness, her quietness, her loyalty as a friend. It was so special to hear of these things that my mom said and did, to know some of these other parts of her life. I hope that her friends and family will continue to share these stories with me and with each other so we can continue to know and remember my mom.
Whitaker, Matthew C.. African American icons of sport: triumph, courage, and excellence. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2008.
The first African American to play Major League baseball once said, “a life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives”; this was, of course, Jackie Robinson. Similar to Muhammad Ali, he faced problems head on a...