jadenevine

In today’s society we have seen many changes due to the racial progress that America has made after the Civil Rights movement. With the passing of MLK, it allowed room for America to grow as a whole, and evolve into a place in which racial equality was possible. Looking back and comparing it to today, i see major changes that stemmed from the goals of the Civil Rights Movement. Including the recent election of Barack Obama, America’s first black president the goal of black people being able to achieve and become somewhat of an equal to their white counterparts has become true.  Although in todays society, there are still froms of racial division, but its not as apparent as before during the Civil Rights Movement. With the first black president, comes a new factor which i believe is apart of the goal of the Civil Rights movement, but it doesn’t stop there. Because of Barack we shouldnt feel as if though we are limited to becoming just the first black president, we must also recognize that we can achieve greater goals and do better things using the election of Barack Obama as a base for the “expectations” of the black race.  But given the point that Barack is classified as “the first black president” allows me to believe that there is still some racial divide in society. He shouldn’t be considered a black president, but the president of the united states. We place ourselves in categories, especially while in powerful positions, we try to not seem as if though we are favoring our race, while in all actuality we are trying not to have that perception, yet we end up resisting and neglecting the demands of the race of people in question, which is what is demonstrated by Barack. Yes, i am proud that Barack has become president of the United States, and completed apart of the goal that Martin had for America but there is still more to be done, and more work to be completed in order to truly complete the dream Martin had in mind for us black people.

While in downtown New York, I stopped to pay my respects at the African Burial ground in which my slave ancestors lay. The moment once I stepped off the bus and entered into the somewhat “sanctuary” in  which my ancestors once were, i felt an overwhelming sense of shock. To imagine the hundreds of slaves, “my people” stuffed underneath the ground in somewhat of a makeshift grave was enough to make me speechless. To imagine myself as being one of those hundreds then placed me in a state of fear. Just the thought that a group of hardworking people, who contributed to this country as a whole, the most, being buried in this somewhat degrading manner angered me to the point in which i felt upset even being in that space. Although, the burial ground was not intended to be taken as a bad thing, I interpreted it as one because that burial was not one in which allowed those hundreds of people to be honored in the manner in which they deserved. I feel as if though in order to appease black people, the government spruced up the burial ground in order to make it seem as if though it was some sort of honorable burial, which people would be grateful for; but in all honesty, Who would want to be buried without proper recognition? Without the means of your family being able to later locate you? With your body becoming one of the masses; nobody would.

Mother to Son

by: Langston Hughes

Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor —
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
‘Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now —
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

This poem to me is a symbolism of the struggle in which the Negro Race had to endure throughout their time here in America. From being taken from their native homes in Africa, to the oppressive shallow fields of America, the race of black people have struggled and are still struggling today. The struggles of the black people have been filled with hardship and despair and haunted the progress of the Negro race all together. In this poem, Hughes addresses the points in which the Negro race have faced inequality and social injustices and from those, have risen above to the next step, which will  ultimately lead to the progression of the American Negro. The mother in this poem is telling her son that although there is racial tension and hostility preventing him from acquiring his dreams, he must keep on climbing up the stairs because just as she has done, he can rise above the issues facing him. The mother understands that for the rest of his life, he will keep on climbing because there will always be racial prejudice which will weather the “steps of life,” but with his determination he can rise above it, just as the Negro Race is doing.

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