Final Project

Good Day Class,

For your final project you still have to do a 2-3 minute historical video but the topic has changed. You can  either choose an African American sports player or Negro League team that you feel has made a positive contribution to African American History. This person should have played the sport before 1980. In the video you will answer the following:
-How is this person/team significant to African American History?
-When did the person/team play? What sport?
-How is this person/team remembered in 2013? Are they still relevant? Why? Why not?
-Why did you choose this person/team? How have they impacted you?
-How has the sport changed since the person/team played?

Please add any facts or stats that you find for the person/team. Also feel free to use music in the background but your voice should be featured reading the narrative of the video. Do not just answer the questions in short, choppy sentences, create a script that flows. Also, use pictures of the team/person throughout the video. You can use windows moviemaker, imovie, final cut pro, or any other movie making software that you may find. In the end the video will be posted to your youtube account and you will share it on your blog. Please start to look for topics and start to research some possible folks to look at.

By Monday October 21st you should have a proposal that outlines the person/team you chose and answering the question of why that person/team is significant to African American history. The proposal will also layout your plan for creating the video (what software you'll use, what sources you will use, etc.) Thereafter you will be tasked with doing research to create a good video. Please do NOTplagiarize! If you get information from a website about the person/team don't use it word for word, that's PLAGIARISM! Below you will find a few possible topics:

-Negro League Baseball Teams including: Atlanta Black Crackers, Baltimore Elite Giants, New York Cubans, St. Louis Stars, Newark Eagles, New York Black Yankees, Kansas City Monarchs

-Black Fives Negro League

-Jack Johnson

-Tommie Smith

-John Carlos

-Althea Gibson

-Arthur Ashe

-Lucy Diggs Slowe

-Wake Robin Golf Club

-Muhammad Ali

-Jessie Owens

-Bob Gibson

-Wilma Rudolph

-Bill Russell

Ida B. Wells Lynching Campaign and the History of Lynching

Good Afternoon Class,
Last week we discussed the objectification of Black women's bodies and this week will look at the objectification of Black men through the issue of lynching. Ida B. Wells was a journalist and activist  who took a bold stance against the lynching of primarily Black men. 

Please read the article "Ida B. Wells Barnett and Her Passion for Justice" at http://people.duke.edu/~ldbaker/classes/AAIH/caaih/ibwells/ibwbkgrd.html (about 3 pages) also view photos of lynchings at http://withoutsanctuary.org/main.html. 


For your blog please post 2 pictures: 1 of Ida B. Wells and 1 picture of an African American being lynched. 

Please answer the following questions on your blog (please use COMPLETE SENTENCES):
1. What are the 2 ways mentioned that Mrs. Ida B. Wells responded to discrimination on the train? Please explain in detail.
2. Why were Wells' three friends lynched? How did the African American community respond?
3. How did Wells continue her anti-lynching crusade in Chicago? 
4. Well's was the first Black woman to do what?

Thereafter choose 6 lynchings on the Without Santuary website and write the following details for each on your blog:
A. The name of the man/woman who was lynched. B. The town and city in which he/she was lynched. C. The date the person was lynched D. The reason given for the lynching. 

 

The Objectification of Black Women's Bodies: A Historical Analysis of "All I Want For My Birthday Is A ----------- also known as the Birthday Song"

Good Afternoon Class,

For Friday I would like for you to view and read about a number of items. Also, start preparing for an in class quiz Monday September September 23, 2013 that will cover everything we've done up until this point. If you took notes when I went over everything Monday please review them. It will be multiple-choice and no more than 20 questions.

Friday we will discuss the objectification of Black women's bodies. What does it mean to objectify?
Objectify: to present or regard as an object. Oftentimes we harmlessly watch videos or listen to songs that objectify women without regard for the historical background of how this all came about. Friday we will discuss these ideas.

Please post the answers to these questions on your blog using the links/videos I'm including. Please use complete sentences in each response. Answer fully for full credit. This post is due FRIDAY BY 9:05AM.

1. What was Russell Simmons reaction to the negative responses to the video? Please summarize Jamilah Lemieux' response. Please summarize Jeff Johnson's response. What have we learned in class about Harriet Tubman that conflicts with the video? (6:51 min video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoPkiN2hwsc

2. Who brought Sarah Bartman to Europe and for what purpose? What happened to Sarah Baartman after her death? What is her nickname and its meaning?  (2 page article)

http://www.southafrica.info/about/history/saartjie.htm#.UjnsVjlgPHg

3. Why was there an uproar about the Minister of Culture of Sweden? What was the purpose of the cake according to the article?  What are two of the comments below the article? What is your overall opinion of the commentary on the article?  (1 page article)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2131365/Racist-cake-causes-outrage-Sweden-Lena-Adelsohn-Liljeroth-triggers-race-row.html 

4. What is one similarity between the 2 Chainz Video and the incident with the Minister of Culture of Sweden? What makes the two situations different? Please see the link below for the 2 Chainz Video. (5 minute video)

http://vimeo.com/48668244

Please view and take notes for possible quiz friday---Black In Latin America (Episode 1) Haiti and The Dominican Republic- The...

FROM TODAY'S DISCUSSION: Check out this short video of Fort Mose, the first free Black community in the U.S.

"What to the Slave is Fourth of July?"

Good Day Class,

I hope all is well. Due to convocation on Wednesday we WILL NOT HAVE CLASS. However, you have an assignment. Please read the speech "What to the Slave is Fourth of July?" by Frederick Douglass and the background information below. Thereafter you should complete the questions below and email them to me by Wednesday, September 11 by the end of the class period (10am). Please use complete sentences and do not post this to your blog. 

The speech can be found at: 

http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july/

Background: (taken from http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/douglass.htm) : 

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895) was the best known and most influential African American leader of the 1800s. He was born a slave in Maryland but managed to escape to the North in 1838.

He traveled to Massachusetts and settled in New Bedford, working as a laborer to support himself. In 1841, he attended a convention of the Massachusetts Antislavery Society and quickly came to the attention of its members, eventually becoming a leading figure in the New England antislavery movement.

In 1845, Douglass published his autobiography, "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: an American Slave." With the revelation that he was an escaped slave, Douglass became fearful of possible re-enslavement and fled to Great Britain and stayed there for two years, giving lectures in support of the antislavery movement in America. With the assistance of English Quakers, Douglass raised enough money to buy his own his freedom and in 1847 he returned to America as a free man.

He settled in Rochester, New York, where he published The North Star, an abolitionist newspaper. He directed the local underground railroad which smuggled escaped slaves into Canada and also worked to end racial segregation in Rochester's public schools.

In 1852, the leading citizens of Rochester asked Douglass to give a speech as part of their Fourth of July celebrations. Douglass accepted their invitation.

In his speech, however, Douglass delivered a scathing attack on the hypocrisy of a nation celebrating freedom and independence with speeches, parades and platitudes, while, within its borders, nearly four million humans were being kept as slaves.

"What to the Slave is Fourth of July?" Classwork/Quiz Assignment 

Name: __________________________________  ID # ________________________

1. Who was Frederick Douglass's audience? What was the name of his newspaper? Why did he flee to Great Britain? 

2. What are his reactions to those who fought for the independence of the colonies?

3. What does Douglass mean when he says: "Americans are remarkably familiar with all facts which make in their own favor."? 

4. What is the difference in what July 4th means for American citizens versus what it meant to the enslaved?

5. What are Douglass's thoughts on the slave trade?

6. How does Douglass feel about the American church?

7. In your opinion do you agree or disagree with Douglass's speech? Is there any truth in what he is saying?

The Black Family and the Willie Lynch Letter

Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States and provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, EXCEPT as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."


Although slavery officially ended with the passing of the 13th amendment in 1865, slavery as a form of punishment for crime can still exist, particularly through the systems of prison and jail. This week we will be comparing the effects of slavery on the Black family by reading "The Willie Lynch Letter" http://betterlesson.com/document/22213/willie-lynch-letter-and-questions  and the effects of the Prison System by reading the Crisis Magazine http://mydigimag.rrd.com//display_article.php?id=795460  
In two paragraphs please answer the following on your blog:

How can the Willie Lynch letter be compared to today? What are the similarities and differences in how African Americans are treated or treat each other?

Do you believe that this letter is fiction or non-fiction? Why?

How did prison change Rubin “Hurricane” Carter’s relationships with his family? According to the article how is his relationship with his family today? 

Also please find pictures of "The Hurricane" and of enslaved Black families to post on this post.