Read and study James Baldwin’s chapter, “We Can Change the Country.” Choose three points he makes and discuss how you see each reflected in society/government today. Some potential questions to think about:
What has changed in government?
Is there something that hasn’t changed but is presented/seen differently?
What do you think he’d see in our time and comment on?
There are other things you could discuss, as well.
Consider what you are reading and think critically about each of the three points.
Evaluation criteria:
1. This is your reflection on the readings (and videos/audios) of the current week.
2. They must show insightful critical thinking about what you read (or listened to or experienced). Avoid mere summarizing.
3. Although you do need an outside source, this is not a formal research assignment. It’s just you, the texts, and some good old critical thinking. Avoid using Google for anything other than the one source. Read the assigned works and form your own opinion about what you read rather than using someone else’s. That’s just lazy.
4. You are not expected to have a “correct” answer – just one that shows you really read it and thought about it.
5. Approximately 500-600 words in length (not including works cited and header).
6. You are required to use direct examples (quotes) from the assigned material to support your response.
7. Use organized paragraph structure. Just because it’s one prompt doesn’t mean it should be one long paragraph.
8. MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and work cited are required.
Remember that these reading responses make up one half of your grade.
Take time with them
**Submissions that don’t meet the minimum requirements will not receive a passing grade.
Contex: Down Below
“African Americans have resisted historic and ongoing oppression, in all forms, especially the racial terrorism of lynching, racial pogroms, and police killings since our arrival upon these shores. These efforts have been to advocate for a dignified self-determined life in a just democratic society in the United States and beyond the United States political jurisdiction. The 1950s and 1970s in the United States was defined by actions such as sit-ins, boycotts, walk outs, strikes by Black people and white allies in the fight for justice against discrimination in all sectors of society from employment to education to housing.
Black people have had to consistently push the United States to live up to its ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice for all. Systematic oppression has sought to negate much of the dreams of our griots, like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, and our freedom fighters, like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Septima Clark, and Fannie Lou Hamer fought to realize. Black people have sought ways to nurture and protect Black lives, and for autonomy of their physical and intellectual bodies through armed resistance, voluntary emigration, nonviolence, education, literature, sports, media, and legislation/politics. Black led institutions and affiliations have lobbied, litigated, legislated, protested, and achieved success.”
https://asalh.org/black-history-themes/
Black Resistance is the theme of the 2023 Black History month. However, we know that Black history should to be confined to a single month, so we continue to discuss that theme throughout the year. In this week, you will look at a few pieces of literature that have that theme at its core. What can we learn about resistance in the past? How can it help a contemporary resistance movement?
Show data table for This chart displays the number of completed topics versus the total number of topics within module Week 2 – Black Revolution, Black Resistance..
List of Topics and Sub-Modules for Week 2 – Black Revolution, Black Resistance
-
Frederick Douglass Fourth of July Speech (1852)PDF document
-
Malcolm X Not Just an American Problem (1965)Word Document
-
This essay is a part of a larger work. When you open the link, scroll to the table of contents then choose this title from the list. It will automatically jump to that essay.