Civil Rights brings Equality

The Civil Rights Movement took place between the years of 1955-1968. It essentially was there to "break down the barriers of legal segregation in public accommodations, achieve equality and justice for Blacks, and organize Blacks into a self-conscious social force capable of defining, defending and advancing their interests." (9). Doing away with negative feelings toward the Black race was one of the main goals which was accomplished thanks to groups like the NAACP, SNCC, CORE and SCLC. Another focus of the civil rights movement was to restore suffrage in southern states. However this was not just about Blacks civil rights under law, it was also about freedom, respect, dignity and equality that they deserved.

People say it was the gruesome death of Emmett Till, which occurred in Mississippi during 1955, that brought the collective spirit of our nation together and sparked the civil rights movement. Till's brutal murder occurred after he supposedly either whistled or said "bye baby" to a white women (there are different accounts of what actually happened). The murder was done by Bryant (owner of the store) and his half brother a few nights later. The men beat Till, shot him and tied a cotton gin fan to his neck and barbed wire to weigh down his body. They then preceded to throw Till into a nearby river, his body was found swollen and disfigured three days later. Emmett's mother insisted that the world see what kind of cruel things come from the violent acts of racism, she allowed for a public funeral service and an open casket. The trial which the two white men received was extremely unfair, the two men were proven innocent after only about an hour of deliberation. This terrible and tragic event is a dark part of our nations past but it sparked the Civil Rights Movement mainly because of the unfair justice that Till received. Right when I heard the name spoken in class I knew the story of the young boy but I could not remember specific details. However, when we started talking about him all of the details came rushing back into my mind and I vividly remembered the story, how could you not? It's definitely not a story you forget. It is sad to think that events like this are what had to play a part in changing our nations history and our citizens rights. However, events like this do not go unnoticed and will forever be remembered as a stepping stone in our history.

SNCC stands for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. This committee played an essential role to the Civil Rights Movement. This group started in North Carolina in 1960 from student meetings which were led by Ella Baker. It participated in the "major strategies of the Civil Rights Movement- including boycotts, sit-ins, voter registration campaigns, cooperative projects and even political party building." (188). Not only did this group play a part in integration but it also played an integral role in Black power. After the democratic convention in 1964 the group sort of split in two, both groups having differences in their ideas. Stokely Carmicheal believed that Blacks should be free to use violence in self-defense. After these discussions occurred, the mainstream Civil Rights Movement began to distance itself from the SNCC. The SNCC began to expel white staff and volunteers and those whites who had supported them in the past. The SNCC went through changes in leaders but ultimately the overall idea of the group was seen as violence for violence.. by the 1970's the SNCC was no longer seen as an effective organization.

Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were both great men who played a huge role in the Civil Rights Movement and helped get us to where we are today. Malcolm X believed that it was okay to use our rights for self-defense while King believed that the nonviolent acts and way of life should be stressed. Perhaps Malcolm X's life experience helped to shape his philosophy because he had been thrown into the criminal world at a young age which led to his time spent in jail. After going through these struggles I'm sure he thought that being able to defend oneself is necessary for survival in such a tough world.

I believe that the Civil Rights Movement succeeded in what it set out to accomplish. If we look around today there is evidence everywhere. We all have equal rights as citizens and there is no longer segregation. The racism of our nation may still exist in some areas but for the most part it is gone. While this movement took many years, many unfortunate events, many leaders and many situations, it definitely was worth it. There are also many new laws that are necessary to aid in our nations equality. While our nation has a gruesome past and we have gone through a lot, it helped get us where we are today which is for the most part an equal and thriving nation.

I agree with this statement that without others ideas and thoughts, we seem to have one-sided opinions. Not only that, but if we only see one type of lifestyle or only know one way of thinking then we are forcing ourself to be less diverse. I was taught to always look at other ideas and I was thrown into a world where it is hard not to notice diversity. I am thankful for that. I think it is best for people to be put in a place where they are told others thoughts and lifestyles but I think it would be hard to make someone do that if they don't want to. I believe that who I am today is because of what I have experienced and been exposed to thus far in my life.

Privilege.

When I initially thought about what privilege meant to me I thought about all of the things in my life I am lucky to have. For example, life in general. We are so lucky to be alive on this earth and living in this great country, the United States of America. We have endless opportunities and are a very fortunate country. Most of the time we don't even realize the privileges and blessings we have and we tend to take stuff for granted.. after doing this blog and thinking about twenty privileges in not only my life, but the lives of others, it really made me realize how truly lucky I am.....

1. I have an amazing roommate that I love. I'm lucky we get along as well as we do. I have heard some crazy stories and I'm thankful everything worked out between us.

2. My friends!! I am privileged to have all different kinds of best friends, from all different races and backgrounds. I am lucky my friends are there for me whenever I need them.

3. My car broke down and I am privileged to have triple A so that they can come and help me when I need it. I drive an old car and it breaks down fairly often so I'm very lucky to have a service like triple A.

4. I have the privilege to buy clothes. Not just necessity items but items that I find fashionable and I want to have.

5. I have the privilege to own a cellphone. Imagine life without a cell phone.. it would be so hard to survive. This is an item we definitely take for granted but if you think it about it they are so important and helpful in our lives.

6. When I was stressed out about school I was able to call my mom and vent to her. I'm lucky she is always there for me to talk to.

7. I am privileged to get to go to college. Not everyone gets to go to a great university like OU, and I am lucky I got accepted into this University.

8. I am privileged I have lived a healthy life thus far and have had no medical problems.

9. Today while walking outside there was a really pretty sunset, I am fortunate to have the use of my eyes for vision. Not only my eyes but all of my senses. This is something we take for granted fairly often, and you don't realize how lucky you are until you see, hear, taste, smell, touch something that catches your attention.

10. While doing homework earlier I got stuck on a problem. I knew there was a girl on my hall who was in the same class so I went to ask for help, luckily she knew how to do it and explained the problem to me. As much as I dislike living in the dorms there are some benefits of dorm life; helpful floor mates is one of those benefits.

11. I went to the huff to workout today and realized how lucky I am that I have the use of my legs and arms. 

12. Being able to read and write is an extreme privilege. Just imagine life without literacy.. it would be so much more difficult!

13. Being an adoptive child, I realize everyday how lucky I am that I got adopted into such a great and loving family. Every time I talk to a member of my family I am extremely thankful that I have them in my life.

14. Knowing how to drive and having a car is another privilege I have in my life. A lot of people learn how to drive but don't get the luxury of having their own car. I was lucky to get both of these.

15. I am lucky to have a place to live, even if it is the dorms, it's still a bed to sleep in and a roof over my head.

16. I am lucky to have gotten into a great sorority, Alpha Chi Omega. I have met a lot of my good friends through this group and it's a great way to get involved on campus.

17. In my personal opinion, as a nation we are extremely privileged to have President Barack Obama in office. 

18. I am fortunate that both my parents and scholarships can pay for me to come to this university. If it wasn't for those two things I wouldn't be in college right now.

19. I am lucky my parents raised me with the values and beliefs I have. I have grown up always taught to be open minded and I think that has helped me out a lot in life. 

20. I am also lucky to have a computer because without one I wouldn't be able to do a lot of my school work.. for example write this blog! I am lucky I can use my computer whenever I want.

After reading the McIntosh article which deals with privilege I realized there was a totally different way of looking at the the words meaning. After reading the list of 46 things, I realized how there really was a white privilege. This is something I had thought about before but never realized all of the reasons listed. After reading this hopefully it will help us to realize it is indeed there and it can be and needs to be stopped from continuing on in the future.

University of Oklahoma campus.. I am privileged to get to go to this school.

NAACP and the African American experience

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has been very instrumental and detrimental to the African American experience. This, among other organizations, was formed to fight discrimination and oppression (Karenga, 169). This civil rights organization just had it’s 100th anniversary and with that we see just how far our nation has come. It’s mission states “to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.” This statement helps us to understand just what exactly this association does. The NAACP was such a powerful force behind African American’s and their lives because these are the people who were really looking for a change and equality in their lives. The NAACP was a key factor in campaigns against lynching and Jim Crowism, two things that effected the African American community (Karenga, 169). The Oklahoma NAACP contributed to the history of civil rights movement by adding to the fight against desegregation in Oklahoma. Keep in mind Oklahoma experienced some horrible racism having the terrible Tulsa race riots occurring in it’s own state. Oklahoma’s NAACP also had a part in Clara Luper’s sit-in movement which occurred during the 1950’s. These sit-ins soon were successful and Clara and the NAACP were victorious in fighting for black rights. We can thank Clara Luper and the NAACP for the end of segregation in public places throughout Oklahoma.

The legal movement aided in the civil rights movement because the legal movement looked at the fact that women were now able to vote and black men were demanding their rights to vote as well. When looking at women’s suffrage they soon after allowed white women to vote in elections. With white women in a higher position then black males, the African American males challenged the whites to become equal. With their victory came the right for all qualified poll tax payers to vote in the local primary and eventually others were inspired by this and followed suit with other cases.

Some similarities between the NAACP’s relevance to the African American experience and the legal movement would include that now that the NAACP is there to create equality among it’s citizens and that’s exactly what the legal movement did as well. The legal movement made it equal and fair for all poll tax paying citizens to vote. The NAACP also looked into making things fair and equal for African Americans and all citizens and while that is not the exact same as the legal movement it definitely shares some relevance with it.

Reconstruction was a time in America that represented great possibility to realize the ideals of freedom, equality and justice for all but it also was a time of disappointment  and betrayed it’s own ideas (Karenga, 163). Basically reconstruction looked at the transformation of the South, the abolishment of slavery, and establishing the rights of all freed slaves. Most say it was not a success and when looking at the history one has to agree. The blacks were forced into semi-enslaved status because the federal government failed to give Blacks land and equipment, the white terrorist societies like the KKK rose to power, the supreme court’s eroding constitutional and legislative gains for Blacks through rulings favorable to the South all were reasons that reconstruction in the South did not succeed.

Currently, the NAACP is still advocating civil rights for citizens and their communities. They are also conducting voter mobilization. They still continue their role as legal advocate for civil rights issues along with focusing on some other issues such as educational development for our youth. With more then 500,000 members the association is still going strong and advocating citizens and their rights. 

After listening to our two guest speakers I have realized just how much more important African and African American history and it’s studies are. I learned new things and about new people I had never heard of, and just how big of a difference those people had made in other’s lives. Learning about people like Clara Luper and what a big difference she made just being from Oklahoma, and Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher was amazing and really makes you think how much just one person can do to change our lives. The speakers we had in class were very informative and I found them to be really interesting. 

India Arie

Music is one of my all time favorite things so I figure I could use one of my free blogs to talk about one of my favorite musical artists. While I love almost every kind of music, there are certain artists I favor more then others. One of my favorite singers is India.Arie. As I began to write this blog I googled her because while I know most lyrics to her songs, I didn't know much about her as a person. It is interesting to learn that her mother was a former singer who was signed to Motown as a teenager and opened for Stevie Wonder and Al Green, and her father was an ABA and NBA basketball player, Ralph Simpson. She comes from a pretty talented family, huh?? I guess it makes sense considering she's won two grammys along with many other awards.

India.Arie has had 3 studio albums, including Acoustic Soul, Voyage to India, and Testimony Volume 1: life and relationship. Her fourth album just came out on Tuesday and is called Testimony Volume 2: love and politics. I have only heard one song from this album but I really liked it. I find her lyrics to be inspiring and uplifting. They are the kind of lyrics that really make you think. You feel good when you listen to her music and it makes you want to listen to more. India.Arie is an example of a female artist who proves that you don't have to lose your integrity to have a successful career.

My favorite songs by India.Arie are Brown Skin and Beautiful Flower. Both of these songs have really good lyrics and the beat to brown skin is SO good! The message beautiful flower gives is that of power, especially to all women....

"Cause you're beautiful like a flower, more valuable than a diamond, you are powerful like a fire, you can heal the world with your mind and there is nothing in the world that you cannot do, when you believe in you (who are beautiful), yeah you (who are brilliant), yeah you (who are powerful), yeah you (who are resilient)"

...If you haven't heard a song by India.Arie I suggest you go youtube her and give her a chance.. you wont be disappointed! Also, the grammys are coming up on Sunday and she is nominated for "Best R&B Duo/Group" for the song Words ft. Anthony David. I have my fingers crossed that they will be taking home that award

Booker T. Washington high school, the pride of the great southwest!!

"You're a symbol of light for many a youth, by pointing the way to life's best. You stand as a beacon in Tulsa by teaching the ideals of truth. You inspire us with all that is worthy and gird us for life's greatest test. Oh God help us ever grow stalwart in body in soul and in mind, that the light of dear Booker T. high school may grow brighter and always shine!"

Booker T. Washington high school brought me four of the best years of my life! I am so thankful I got to go to such a good school with such fun and interesting people. I am so proud to say I'm a hornet and from the lyrics of one of our band chants, "I'm so glad I WENT to Booker T!!" 

One reason I loved Booker T. so much was because of the diversity we had. To ensure greater ethnic, economic, and intellectual diversity, students who live in historically minority and economically depressed neighborhoods were offered admission consideration. I met so many different kinds of people at school; we had people with blue hair, people who wore fairy wings every day, people who didn't wear shoes, and the list goes on. I met so many different kinds of people and I think if I had gone to any other high school I probably wouldn't have gotten that same opportunity.

The dub, as we liked to call it, was ranked 65th in Newsweek magazine's list of the top 100 public high schools in America in 2008. Booker T. is a historically African American school and was the first school in Tulsa to be desegregated. It has both AP (advanced placement) and IB (international baccalaureate) programs and has the most amazing band and drumline known as the High Steppin T-Connection marching band. The funky d's (the drumline) is something everyone can enjoy and look forward to. We have championship football, basketball, swim, soccer and cross country teams. Not to mention we also have quite a few notable alumni, including supermodel Amber Valletta, and football players R.W. McQuarters and Felix Jones. It's also cool to think about all of the other future notable alumni we will be able to add to the list. I know just from my class of 2008, I can think of so many people that will go far and do great things. Even after reading all of this information and understanding how great of a school Booker T. was, you still don't get a feel for the spirit and pride of the school unless you were a hornet. Especially after writing this blog, it made me realize how much I truly loved my school.