The first known film representations of African Americans were those in minstrel films, with white actors wearing "black face." The video below is about 10 minutes, but very informative, please watch.
Then as the years and decades passed, Hollywood never really tried to tackle racism or bigotry. In the 1960s, Hollywood exposed these problems, but left out the politics, meaning the films did not show sit-ins, marches, etc. associated with the civil rights movement. T
hey were usually set in a different time or set in a northern city where th
e politics would not be involved. One of the main reasons behind this move by Hollywood in the 60s was because the majority of the film audiences were white, middle class individuals and who did not want to spend money on political driven films concerning race.
Then in the late 1960s and 1970s blaxploitation films became increasingly popular with young African Americans and even the teen angst ridden suburban white kids. These films were very cheaply made, mainly featuring the black lead as an outlaw or a pimp. Some of popular films to come out of this time were Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song by Mario Van Peebles and Shaft, where the lead was a private detective.
Critics in the black community, including the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) complained that the blaxploitation films gave unrealistic and negative representations of the black community. But yet the young people involved with the black power movements found them to be highly entertaining and fully enjoyed watching the lead take violence against any and all.
Now we come to the figure of Malcolm X (originally Malcolm Little, removed his last name when he joined the Nation of Islam, Black Muslims). He had a major influence on black militancy, such as Black Power and the Black Panther party. He was an incredibly intelligent man and was a great public speaker.
As the film for this week is Malcolm X directed by Spike Lee, remember the idea behind revisionist films and the idea of masculanity in film. Does this film give an accurate depiction of Malcolm X? Do you find yourself identify Denzel Washington (who plays Malcolm X) as the true and real Malcolm X? How is man supposed to act or be portrayed in this film and also how are relationships with women portrayed?
Assignment
Please find a person who was active during the civil rights movement, whether they were for or against the civil rights movement. Please link to a credible website or journal article. Please give a brief summary of this person and what major contributions they made towards or against the movement. Please do not repeat people and do not use Malcolm X or Martin Luther King, Jr.
Quiz 7
In American Cinema, American Culture, what is counterculture and how was it represented in film? Please use specific examples and send it to Jennifer Armston, jmarmston@gmail.com
Both the assignment and quiz are due by Midnight, Friday October 26th.
20 comments:
Rosa Parks
When one thinks of the civil rights movement they almost automatically think of Rosa Parks. On 12/1/1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Alabama and this would indeed be the spark that blacks needed to end segregation. This started the Montgomery Bus Boycott that was the biggest act of they day to end legal segregation. She was involved in the civil rights movement since 1943 and the murder of Emmitt Till was one of the leading factors to her refusal to give up her seat that day. She had to make a stand and did and it made her one of the most revered black woman in United States history.
Black Panther Article
I chose Huey Newton for this assignment I feel that he was very active during the civil rights era. Huey Newton is the Founder of the "Black Panthers," a self defense Party during the civil right period. He along side others fought very hard for African Americans civil rights and equity across the U.S. The Black Panthers practices militant self-defense of minority communities against the United States government. They held many protest for African Americans rights. 1967 Huey Newton was arrested for killing an Oakland cop. Thats when the "Free Huey" movement begun, and last for a couple of years. The original members of the Black Panthers were either assassinated or places in prison. After Huey Newton was release form prison he gave back to the black communities by starting programs for the poor. His programs gave away free breakfast to children, free medical clinics to the communities, helped the homeless find housing and also gave away free clothing and food to the poor. So to me Huey Newton played a big role in the civil rights movement.
Zach Scray
Jackie Robinson
I am a huge sports fanatic. Thats why I chose Jackie Robinson for my person. Jackie Robinson was the first African American baseball player of the 1947 era. He stopped the baseball color line which was the term for segregation in baseball. He was on the Brooklyn Dodgers and went on to win many titles. Jackie Robinson proved to everyone that whites and blacks could play together on the field and everyone took notice to his accomplishments. After his baseball career he went on to write many articles supporting Martin Luther and Malcolm X. He was a big player in the civil rights movement. The big difference between him and the rest was that he made his difference on the field.
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou was an important figure in the Civil Rights Movement. She was a poet, writer, actress and activist. She stood along side with many other important activists during their fight for civil rights in this country for African Americans. She is a well accomplished woman having published many books, speaking a handful of languages and starting the Civil Rights Movement. Angelou was very good friends with Malcolm X and she helped him begin a civil rights organization. She was a woman who stood out because all throughout her life, she tried to make a statement and tried to gain recognition for African Americans. After Malcolm X was assassinated, she partnered with Martin Luther King Jr. to start the Civil Rights Movement. He made her the Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This was a huge achievement and she became very popular and was recognized by the government and stood as a hero in many peoples' eyes. Today she is widely recognized and her film was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. With all of her fame and achievement, she still speaks out to the public about these issues and has a very active role in politics.
Thurgood
I chose Thurgood Marshall. Marshall was a huge factor in the civil rights movement due to his approach to end segregation through law. Between 1938 and 1961, he presented more than 30 civil rights cases before the Supreme Court and won 29 of them. His most important case was Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), which ended segregation in public schools. Marshall went on to become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice in American history.
Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers, born July 2, 1925 was a strong advocate for civil rights in Mississippi. He established local chapters of the NAACP and was later appointed Mississippi’s first field secretary for the NAACP after his attempt to desegregate the University of Mississippi in 1954 by applying to their Law School failed. The then recent court ruling in the Brown vs. the Board of Education helped aid his efforts. Boycotts and demonstrations lead by Evers helped admit the first black student to the University of Mississippi in 1962. Evers was assassinated in 1963 by Byron Beckwith, a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
W.E.B. Dubois Article!
Before Rosa Parks refuse to move to the back of the bus, before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, before the bus boycott before the civil rights movement as we know it today, started as early as the twentieth century by one of the original civil rights leaders, W.E.B Dubois. Known as “The father of Pan-Africanism”, was one of the founders of the “Niagara Movement” and the “National Advancement of Colored People” (NAACP) in 1909. The “Niagara Movement” was a civil rights organization aimed at ending racial discrimination and creating equality. When the organization struggled to stay afloat it changed to the NAACP.
Under his leadership the NAACP fought Jim Crow statues, which legalized racial discrimination, fought to get African American officers into World War I, organized national protests, fought law suits that favored racial discrimination, lynching’s, and muck more.
He wrote in many newspapers and was the author of many publications such as “The Star of Ethiopia”, a paper about African American history and civil rights, the “Crisis”, a NAACP publication, and many more.
All in all it’s fair to conclude W.E.B Dubois is one of the farther in the civil rights movement. He started the fight for civil right in the early 1900’s until the end of his death.
Booker T. Washington
I chose Booker T. Washington. While not alive during the civil rights era, I think he helped lay down a foundation for the movement by helping Africa Americans educate themselves. Born into slavery, Washington was later freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. He then went on to educate himself while working menial jobs to pay his way. As a self-made man, he went on to help found the Tuskegee Institute and develop scholarship for young African American men. I believe that his working in educating the African American community help pave the way for the leaders of the civil rights movement
Daisy Bates
Daisy Bates may not be as renowned as Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King, Jr. for her contributions to the Civil Rights movement, but she will always be a symbol of freedom for the city of Little Rock, Arkansas. It was Bates who sent the Little Rock Nine, the first nine African American students to attend a previously all-white school, to Little Rock Central High School. She led her local NAACP chapter, and though sent to court, continued to push the Little Rock Nine and support them, a decision that eventually led to the integration of public schools.
Julian Bond
Julian Bond was a civil rights activists during the civil rights movement. He still is today. He was the Communications Director for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee at his school, Morehouse College of Atlanta. He participated in several sit-ins and protests. He has also written many articles and poems. He also narrated several documentaries including two prize-winning ones. In 1988, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of the NAACP and has served as that since then. He was given the National Freedom Award in 2002.
Nina Simone
Nina Simone, born February 1, 1933, was a jazz musician turned civil rights activist. She did not like her music classified as any certain type of genre, because she was trained as a classical artist but her music tended to drift towards jazz and she was very prolific in her recording, recording over 40 albums over the course of her career.
She was made aware of the racial prejudices that occured during that time through her friends Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, and Lorraine Hansburry. In 1964 after changing record labels her music started to hint at her African-American heritage and in teh same year made her first album in which she openly addresses racial prejudices. It was from here wehn her music started to inculde messages involving racial prejudice.
George Wallace was one of the most prominent figures in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. He was strongly for continued segregation and was the governor of Alabama during the time period. One of the most remembered things about Wallace is how he stood guard at the University of Alabama in Mobile to try and prevent two black students from being admitted. What a striking image that must have been? The governor of a state standing before the National Guard trying to prevent two black students from integrating the university, all for the sake of segregation. He became a hero to many in the segregationist community for his act of defiance. Although like Malcolm X, Wallace’s point of view changed as he grew older. Later in life he backed off of his segregationist ideals and favored the change into integration. Wallace was one the most prominent figures of the 1960s and he will not be forgotten soon.
Strom Thurmond
Just to be different from the rest of the class, Strom Thurmond was a voice of opposition during the civil rights era. His most notable effort was the longest filibuster in Senate history -lasting 24 hours and 18 minutes- against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
He was born in South Carolina with a heritage of racism and support for segregation, thus making himself a natural enemy to the civil rights movement. He was also known for originating the 1956 Southern Manifesto protesting the 1954 supreme court ruling ending segregation.
Thurmond also supported failed presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and president Richard Nixon in their bids for the White House, only continuing his stance on the wrong side of history.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAcarmichael.htm
I chose Stokely Carmichael, who is known for advertising the term "black power." He traveled through the deep south while working on the Freedom Summer project and became the chairman of the SNCC. After being arrested and released from jail for the 27th time, Carmichael made his famous "black power" speech which called for black people in this country to unite and build a sense of community. However, because Carmichael felt that black people needed to reject the ideals of American Society, many organizations such as the NAACP and SCLC rejected his idead and accused him of black racism. He talked about the same issues as Martin Luther King, but called for blacks to take more of a radical stance.
Nikki Giovanni
The Black Arts Movement (BAM) was a major step in African-American rights. The Black Arts Movement began in the mid 1960’s around the time Malcolm X was assassinated. During this time many famous poets like Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez and Nikki Giovanni surfaced to inform the world of the tribulations of the black man. The movement was better known as the advance in “Social Engagement”. This advance made it possible to move past the protest and petition and help to move forward to achieve the unthinkable, “Black Power”. Larry Neal, the author of The Black Arts Movement stated that “Black Arts is the aesthetic and spiritual sister of the Black Power concept”. The Black Arts movement inspired black writers to break free from the suppression that held them down for the years leading up to that point. Umbra magazine was the first post-civil was Black literacy group that expressed their radical views and speaking out against all others. It helped to give America a better view of black men and to carry across the picture that even though we are not exactly the same, we are all equal. This was the view Nikki Giovanni wanted to portray, so she began to express her view in various magazines.
Nikki Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on June 7, 1943, but later moved to a town in Cincinnati, Ohio. She attended Fisk University, a historically black university, where she was influenced to become involved with writing and politics concerning race. This brought her attention to the Black Arts Movement and the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. She also became more involved with black civil rights when she began editing a student literary journal. Giovanni felt that change was needed in order to have growth in society. Over these times Giovanni began to surface as a poet of the Black Arts Movement. While some of Nikki Giovanni’s poems depicted the daily struggles of African men and women, others looked back into her life and the things she endured.
Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Johnson was the president following Kennedy's assassination. He made several contributions in favor of the civil rights movement. The largest of these was the Civil Rights Act which outlawed segregation, and the Voting Rights Act which ended voting discrimination. He also public ally denounced acts of racial violence. These contributions helped to solidify the changes occurring in American society toward social equality. At this time there was much violence occurring with the Vietnam War, and racial conflict. There was a deep despair within the country over John F. Kennedy's assassination. It was Lyndon Johnson's hope that by passing these laws he could bring the country together.
~Matthew Neal
Cesar Chavez
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Ch%C3%A1vez
Cesar Chavez is a Mexican-American who became one of America's greatest leaders for civil rights. He owned few posessions and lived a simple life, but he strived to unite Mexican Americans to take the rights that belonged to them. President Clinton gave him the "Medal of Freedom" in 1994, which is in honor that he left the world better than he found it. Chavez had a fiery belief that farm workers, if they worked hard enough ccould be whoever they want to be. Cesar Chavez did a lot to secure farm workers just wages, increased health care, and established safer working conditions for mexican americans.
Kenney
One of many things that John F Kennedy is famous for is his strong stance for civil rights. JFK was a big backer of civil rights and during his presidency he noticed a lack of the movement. JFK stood for equality because he himself being an Irish-Catholic caught a lot of criticism and he believed that if he could get past the hatred the blacks could too. John’s brother Robert was also a believer in civil rights as said the biggest problem of this nation is civil rights. Robert also assisted Martin Luther King by sending National Guard to secure an area that MLK was located to prevent any violence. The Kennedy family helped greatly to have equality between whites and blacks.
Frederick Douglas
Frederick Douglas was born into slavery. He was raised by his grandmother and never met his birthparents. He was taught how to read and write by his owners and soon after began to teach others the same. He eventually escaped from slavery and went to boston where he started giving speeches to minority groups. He became very famouse for his speeches and others didnt believe he was once a slave. President Licoln was a fan of his speeches and had him give one in the white house. Licoln was very influenced by Fredericks speeches.
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