The awful imagery of the “Redemption” period still “drifts like a toxic oil slick” through contemporary culture
By Henry Louis Gates junior.skin will the old snake come forth?” The abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass posed this question in 1865, a month after America’s civil war ended. Slavery was dead. Hopes soared—and were soon dashed. As another great African-American intellectual, W.E.B. Du Bois, put it: “The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.”The post-war history of civil rights in America was dismal.
The cultural and scientific assault on African-Americans was relentless. They were seen by many whites as subhuman, consigned to inferiority by pseudo-science. Theirs was a “childlike” race . In white literature, blacks were nostalgic for slavery and its supposed protections. A story of 1893 featured a character known as “little Mammy” who “grieved, as she crept down the street, that she had never mounted the auctioneer’s block.
Well-to-do black people fought back. But so ingrained were the dehumanising stereotypes, all those Mammies and Uncle Toms, that the only solution seemed to be separating themselves from the impoverished masses. Enter the “New Negro”, a term adopted by the black elite of the late 19th century. Whereas the “Old Negro” was “degraded” or “degenerate”, Mr Gates summarises, the New Negro was sober, classy and sophisticated.
Österreich Neuesten Nachrichten, Österreich Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Sri Lanka’s long, tragic history of violenceSri Lanka’s civil war was fought largely along national and ethnic, not religious, lines.
Weiterlesen »
25 Stunning Furniture Before And Afters You've Gotta See To BelieveAnd what you need to recreate them!
Weiterlesen »
Supreme Court to rule whether civil rights law bans discrimination against LGBTQ employeesJUST IN: US Supreme Court says it will decide whether existing civil rights laws ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, a question that has divided the nation's lower courts. - PeteWilliamsNBC
Weiterlesen »
Iowa 4-H accused of systemic racism; Trump admin shuts down civil rights initiatives, source saysA new lawsuit, records and witnesses allege systemic discrimination. State officials deny those claims, but say 4-H needs to diversify membership.
Weiterlesen »
Trump administration prepares rule that civil rights groups worry may deny care to transgender patientsU.S. “has returned to its longstanding position” that sex discrimination does not include gender identity, court filing says.
Weiterlesen »
Perspective | Why far-right populists are at war with historyTo normalize their own dangerous politics, they must first neutralize the dangerous politics of the past.
Weiterlesen »
France wants to speed up Notre Dame reconstruction workFrance's government has presented a bill aimed at speeding up the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral and providing transparency on how huge amounts of donation money for the restoration will be spent
Weiterlesen »
France wants to speed up Notre Dame reconstruction workPARIS (AP) — France's government has presented a bill aimed at speeding up the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral and providing transparency on how huge amounts of donation money for the restoration will be spent.
Weiterlesen »
From Reconstruction To WWII, How The U.S. Census Has Been Used For Both Good And BadThroughout U.S. history, the census has been used for both good and bad. During Reconstruction, it helped enfranchise voters –– but during World War II, it helped facilitate the internment of Japanese Americans. (via WBUR)
Weiterlesen »
College: Finding The Right Major To Get The Right Career For YouToo many people pay too much money for a college education, studying the wrong things for their future. How to find your path in the educational thicket.
Weiterlesen »
A tragic Holy Week culminates in an Easter Sunday horrorThe church teaches forgiveness, and so it will, but not before horror and anguish have spent their way through all those involved.
Weiterlesen »