questions for 3/30

First my questions for this week.

1) A theme from some of this week's readings seem to link the Civil Rights Movement with Cold War. Do you feel that the author's are on to something or are they linking seperate movements which might have had a few similar ideals? Were foriegn countries so concerned about our treatment of African Americans and if yes, were there not just as many if not more examples of whites resisting integration?

2) Another idea from the readings dealt with the militarization of the Black Panthers and other African American groups. Yet the authors rarely mention how these actions changed the opinions of non-violent blacks or middle class whites. Also white opinions are absent from almost every article or book we have read on this issue, Cohen talks about how some business owners were coerced into supporting full rights due to economic worries. Other then for this reason, how were these movements able to gain acceptance into public opinions?

Here are some other thoughts I had while reading these articles.

Dudziak

Do you agree with the idea on page 34 that our segregation affected how other countries’ viewed our commitment to democracy? Is it possible to view this idea as one of the contributing factors that allowed for the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board? Were the major European and Asian societies all living in a post-racial world, and if not would the opinions of the minor nations be enough to influence the Court’s decision? In my high school the unit on the Cold War was taught prior to another separate unit on the Civil Rights Movement. Is combining these units possible, did the rest of the world really care about the struggles of inner city and rural African Americans? Does Self fully understand how States currently makes curriculum changes? How has the Cold War changed how we describe our political and economic systems? Has the combination of capitalism and democracy blinded us from fully understanding the events of the Cold War and beyond?

Self

After this reading and the Segure book last week, what do you think about the government’s urban redevelopment plans? We they putting new money into the community to encourage growth or were the construction plans created without thinking of the neighborhood residents? Were these projects built in order to raise the standards and neighborhood quality for the African American residents or to create newer more expensive pockets for whites to move into? Do the highways make the area more accessible or easier for suburban residents to avoid?

While reading the section on the black Panthers, I was left feeling like once again a prime opportunity was wasted. As I read more about the inequalities faced by African Americans in cities across the US, it is understandable why such a movement would begin. Yet as I reflect upon what the outcome of the Panthers was and how they continue to affect our beliefs, they seem to have failed. I agree with their stance that they should take pride in being African and took an initiative to make being black a proud idea. The promotion of public engagement as a means to change through voting, running candidates, and using their buying power to force change all encouraged African Americans to work together as well as forced their white counterparts to recognize black power as a force but politically and economically. However, I cannot explain where the fascination with guns and violence came from. It seems counterproductive to me to be calling for violence or to carry weapons when your group is being segregated against. While there were plenty of acts of violence for African Americans to want to protect themselves against, it seems to me a better example was set forth by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. promoting non-violence. According to him eventually the world would see the images and it would not be the blacks that looked non-human. By not only being seen but also actually promoting guns and violence, it would seem that only public reaction would be negative. When so many people already view you as threatening, carrying guns does not help your image. Today in urban environments there continues to be a fascination with guns and the “hood” lifestyle whether they are white or black. Do you see these ideas as comparable to the struggles of the poor urban African Americans or is it hindering their chances of support? How does public opinions about appropriate clothing, music, speech, and safety change how we view these people?

Tyson

Tyson explains how the populist movement and formation of the Black Panthers lead to a radicalization of the Civil Rights Movement. Throughout his article he often uses examples that include Africans showing force with guns and weapons. Were these events as successful as he gives them credit for? Tyson seems to exclude the work of MLK and others from his article. Was this on purpose or does he simply not believe that these individual’s had as much of an impact on actually gaining rights? Would either of the two movements have been able to survive on their own, or did MLK need the Panthers urban activism as much as they needed his speaking and non-violent protests?

Eschen

In this piece the author talks at length about how the use of prominent African American athletes, musicians, and artists helped the US propaganda achieve great support for the country abroad. While these new art forms helped promote the idea of America as a new, cool, and young place to be across the world did it have any positive effects for Africans living in the US? Were African Americans being given credit for their achievements or was their color ignored while their efforts were described as American. Remember the black rhythm and blues music did not become socially acceptable and mainstream until after white artists covered the songs, the Harlem Globetrotters initially were composed of an all white team, and despite the efforts of African American athletes they were oftentimes barred from competing at the highest levels. Would we still hear of the heroics of Joe Louis and Jesse Owens had their efforts not been used as propaganda against the Germans and Soviets?