What I will do,what I won't do,and about a thousand why's

Reconstruction, The Emancipation Proclamation, Amendments 13-15, and The Civil Rights Movement were in the vain of ensuring that “all men were created equal” was a way of life in America.

Why do so many underprivileged black students so unmotivated when it comes to education?
This is no stereotype or bigoted conjecture,it's sadly a reality.
Through my experiences throughout my schooling, I made friends from all sorts of backgrounds, but most throughout high school came from poverty-level situations. I felt the hopelessness that some of them had to face daily. It's called “the trap” for a reason.

Not all of my friends let the “trap” get them down, one even went to Harvard, on a nearly full scholarship. Sadly, many gave up on school during or after high school. Many are still struggling “just to get by”.
This cycle is the truth for far too many people in this country.

Why is black on black crime the leading cause of death in black males from poor areas?
Why is intelligence so looked down upon in the ghetto?
Why are so many turning to crime and violence,completing the cycle in succession?
What is the cost of ideology,and how do we fix this?

hooks attempts to “be the voice” for black men in America. It's not that they can't speak for themselves, but many don't. There is such an emphasis on maintaining the image of the strong black male.
Or in the words of Saul Williams

“Now here's a little message for you
All you balla playas got some insecurities too
That you could cover up, bling it up
Cash in and ching ching it up
Hope no one will bring it up
Lock it down and string it up
Or you can share your essence with us
'Cause everything about you couldn't be rugged and ruff
And even though you tote a glock and you're hot on the streets
If you dare to share your heart, we'll nod our heads to its beat”

For the purposes of my research into this the “progression” from reconstruction to present society will not be discussed within the blog,but within the packets.

This is a decision I have made after a lot of intense thought on the matter. In the short time that I have really been “diving into” the issues, many truths have come to the forefront. I find the most guiding one at this juncture, is that this topic is bigger than any one idea,event,or “expert” opinion.

The “nice black man”,thug, hustler, CEO, mail-man down the street, are cut from the same cloth and brought into conditioning just like anyone else in this world.

However, as Shawn Taylor and bell hooks explain much better than I can, that there is a “self-hate” pushed on black men that is environmentally enforced.

The stigmas,stereotypes, and other forms of misinformation that were propagated regarded black men as brutes,who could not feel a full scope of emotions. That they were prone to rage and lust,not profound thought or feeling. This was in part a way to show the white slave owner as a “keeper” of this “beast”. That the black man was the burden of the white to control, for the greater good. Even as things have progressed and things have gotten “better”,there is still undeniable “cracks” that must be attended to.

This is not a matter of opinion. Taylor posed a question in his lecture that I can't shake from my mind.

“Why is it that black men will involve each other in each others [fights,or violence against another], but not loan each other 5 dollars?”

He proposes that is because they have been conditioned to see themselves as nothing but “big,black tools”. And you know,as of this juncture...I'd have to agree,that conditioning did this,but I feel it's deeper than even he has really touched on.

Additional references

Saul Williams. Fader Label, 2004.


FORA.tv - Shawn Taylor: Misadventures in Race & Masculinity." FORA.tv - Videos on the People, Issues, and Ideas Changing the Planet. 28 Sept. 2010 .

Intro to Section II w/ video

Due to time constraints, the "synopsis" of social events through People's History  will have to be cut short. This is to allow adequate time for the second section of my work this semester.

The second section's focus will be Black America, mainly the history,stereotypes,and social commentary. I am "kicking it off" with bell hooks' We real cool.


The book provides a concerned commentary on the image of black people,namely men,in American society and culture. Racism is racism,even if it's subtle.
Or rather,appears subtle.

So to begin,I bring you one of my favorite youtube videos,which I feel sums up modern racism in America.(NSFW Language)

The Production of Production

From the late 1870's through the beginning of the 1900's was a rich era of production in American History. Well, not so much the production,as the production of production.
The system of Taylor-ism,which was essentially to reduce production into lines and in turn make factory workers more interchangeable,was on the rise. This reduced wages, worked people to the bone,and yet most of them still had nothing to show for it.

As cliché as it may seem now in 2010, The Jungle by Uptown Sinclair really is the best depiction of the inter-workings of Taylor-ism and the people how become cogs within it. Despite it being historical fiction,the accounts of the filth and horror are based on the real meat packing district.

Also gaining some fans was the socialist movement. Writers like Jack London,Du Bois and others probed people to ask “Why they were working themselves ragged for nothing?”

And thus the almost incestuous rivalry of socialism vs. capitalism really picked up the pace.

The socialists stated WWI as an imperialist war.This was not too outlandish to say, between the boundary disputes and spheres of influence in Alsace Lorraine, Africa,The Middle East,and Balkans:something was going to happen. Socialism mainly attacked the rift between classes capitalism caused. This war certainly was not going to help this rift either.

As Du Bois so eloquently puts in The African Roots of War
“It is no longer simply the merchant prince,or aristocratic monopoly,or even the employing class,that is exploiting the world: it is the nation, a new democratic nation composed of united labor and capital.”

As technology develops,so do burgeoning businesses.
Steam and Electricity replaced human labor.
Iron replaced wood.
Steel replaced Iron.
And the industrial world drove on.

With over 14 million immigrants from 1900-1920, there were many to take on the task of this development. They made the copper wire, mined the coal,ect, yet they had very little to live off of. And things were about to get a bit grimmer still.

Slavery,Civil War,and Prejudice

Zinn examines slavery very critically in People's History. Slavery was a very profitable and complicated issue in American History. Slavery was not only a large scale profit machine,but an open crime against humanity. The fear of insurrection was present,but not as palpable as you may think. Being born into bondage,put in a box

The fear of the free and enslaved black of America joining with the lower class toward some cause became very apparent during the civil war.

In traditional elementary schooling and onwards, the civil war is examined,explained,and put onto tests. One of the main reasons cited is generally slavery. This was a factor,however there were so many other things tying into it.

1. 
   
   The fires brewing against slavery from the fugitive slave act of 1850 to the 1857 decision of Dred Scott-property not person.
2. 
   
   The economic parallels developing from the businesses of the North and South
3. 
   
   The debates spawning from the 3/5ths decision and other legal precedents which upset the oder of population to government representation.
4. 
   
   The North favored free land,labor,market and the intuition of a national bank.
5. 
   
   The South opposed these ideas because of the economic leverage the North would gain from them.

Civil war ensued,and many lost their lives. The brutality was unprecedentedly massive and is still staggering. There were many high and low points for both sides,but a pivotal turn in the war came in 1865.

1865 senate signed the emancipation proclamation which motivated even more black enlistment in the army. In affect more riots,conspiracy,and revolts occurred in the South soon after the news had hit the papers.

To counter as well as raise more recruits in generally Davis signed the “Negro Soldier Law”. The law would allow “Negroes” to enter the army. In exchange for service,the soldier would be granted freedom after the war if given the consent by his government and owner. This,not surprisingly did very little to help the south.

1866 brought a bout the Klu Klx Klan and other hate-based organizations. Lynchings,raids,rape,and murder became very prominent from the late 1860s through the early 18070s.

Flash ahead:

100 years after the emancipation proclamation Zinn was a teacher in a Negro school called Spelman College. A college on the verge of common white suburbia,surrounded but barbed wire-curved not to keep people out,but to keep them in.

He details many experiences dealing with racism and ignorance within that area in You Can't Be Neutral... even directed at him for being a white man in the south. But I think what is most poignant a bout this section of the book is a reflection about the process of revolution. 

Zinn ventures that “[revolution] is not a completed event,but an ongoing process.” Considering that 100 years after the emancipation proclamation there were still lynchings, and 54 years after that racism is still lingering its ugly head.

Note to Self: Read

Black Reconstruction in America

The Negro

Color and Democracy: Colonies and Peace 

 Among other works of W.E.B. Du Bois  

The [Poor White]Women's Movement

It's strange to think how drastically different one aspect of your government profile would affect the rest of your life in the early days of America. For example, the difference between a white man and a black man,a poor white man and a rich one, etc. But nothing was more drastic then the difference between a rich white woman and the rest of the world.

Being rich in colonial days was not only apparent by your speech,but literally almost every faucet of your life. Everything on you,or that even touched your skin was completely different(or at least priced drastically differently) to the garb of the “common”folk. Status was ever apparent. And if you had status,you did not work. And if you did “work”(merchants/bankers/factory runners) it certainly wasn't back-breaking. That in mind, what's your wife to do?
Nothing,and that's what most of them did. And for them I am sure it was just fine,so why vote?

The women's movement was put into motion mostly by poor white women who were sick of working to come home to clean and be scolded. Not only be scolded,but denied the right to divorce,entrance into college,own property,and to your own wages. It was a fantastically complicated psychological trap. However, the bottom line remained the same: cook,clean,and live within your little box.

So,the poor white women rose up and by the late 1840s the famous Seneca Falls meetings were in full swing. These and the Ohio Women's Rights Convention that really bolstered the movement.
It was at Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851 that Sojourner Truth gave her fateful “Ain't I a woman?” speech. What I love about it,is it's simplicity. It's so openly “Hello,black women exist too,and get nothing but dirt in the face to show for it.”

Sometimes it really can be a battle trying to phrase things gently,tactfully,and avoid alienating anyone. However,other times you need to shout at the top of your lungs to give volume to your voice in concert with all voices silenced.


"Ain't I a Woman? Sojourner Truth, 1851." Women's History - Comprehensive Women's History Research Guide. Web. 07 Sept. 2010. .

The Color-line,Class Consciousness,and Rebellion

The color lines were very clear in colonial America. If you were not white, you had little,to no rights no matter what part of the country you were in.

Even the poor white colonists of the era,like the third of the population that were farmers, felt that they too were being abused by the system. Anyone who did not own property could not vote. This included: sailors,apprentices,servants,women,black,journeymen,etc.
The general consensus the lower class as well as anyone who could not vote,was that they were all working toward the gain of another.

This class conscious fear, was due mainly to the events of Bacon's Rebellion.
It was another bloody fiasco carried out because of the resentment against the rich,and hatred of the Indians.

Bacon's Rebellion was lead by,and for farmers. Granted relations between farmers and Indians had only worsened due to the changes in Indian policy, this rebellion was a bit zealous. It was supposed to embody the ideas behind Bacon's “Declaration of the People”[July 1676]. But rather it only served to further divided people against the Indians.

Off topic: On Zinn

Let's steer away from the main content of the book a bit and look at context.
Zinn expresses a need for “full-disclosure” in education,specifically in History.
I think it's kind of a funny thing to consider, because of the context of the book.
Throughout Chapters one and two of P.H. , Zinn puts loads of emphasis on de-heroism for Columbus and the brutalities of the era. He briefly touches on the policies behind atrocity.

I like Zinn's ideas,but I feel his tone is too brash. I think it's a lot easier to digest after reading the intro to You Can't Be Neutral On..... Zinn takes time in this book to delve further into not only his life,but the motivations that drove his ideas,and manner teaching. Although he and I would disagree on many things surrounding these events,I am sure we would agree on the main focus on this history in general
“Remember the victims”.