2/5/18

1. James Baldwin
-he was an American novelist and essayist
-when he was younger he was made fun of because of his race
-he wrote his first novel in 1953 which had conflicts between his dad and religion
-he wrote another book about a boy who struggles with racism
-he centered his novels around racism because that’s what he went through in his whole life

2. Black Authors in Paris

-about 200 million plus African Americans started migrating to France because there wasn’t as
much racial segregation as America had, for opportunity, and to achieve their goals
-high concentration of authors lived in Montmartre.

3. Richard Wright
-he was sent to an orphanage because his mother wasn’t able to give him a good life
-he was mentally & physically harassed because of his race
-first book “Uncle Tom’s Children” which consists of 6 stories about racial discrimination
-his writing inspired James Baldwin, Frantz Fanon, John Williams
-he wrote about his life experiences

4. Freedom Marches
-on December 7, 1964 Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech about civil rights in London
-”Bloody Sunday”-on March 7, 1965 people marched because of the resistance for African
Americans to vote. When people marched in protest the police stopped them by using tear gas &
people were shot

5. Freedom Riders
-group of white people and African Americans
-Morgan v Virginia ruled against segregation
-extreme violence during protest
-next ride in 1961 sponsored by core
-student nonviolent coordinating committee was created because of the outcome of freedom
riders

6. Martin Luther King Jr.

-participation in the Civil Rights Movement
-In August 1963 he staged March on Washington
-Important speeches: “The Other America” and “I Have a Dream”
-he wanted to fix problems for all African Americans

7. March on Washington
-If the march didn’t work their plan b was for all black people to march out of the south
-purpose was to demonstrate freedom
-the event occured on August 28, 1963
-250,000 people attended the event
-day ended with benediction, which is formal invocation of blessedness
-MLK & other organizers met with Kennedy and VP Johnson to discuss bicameral legislature
because of March on Washington

8. Sonia Sanchez
-started writing because she felt lonely
-created the “Broadside Quartet”
-taught at Downtown Community School in New York in 1965
-In 1960’s she met Malcolm X, and he changed her viewpoints
-wrote “BaddDDD People” to emphasize lack of education and identity
-in 1977 she was the first presidential fellow at Temple University
-won Robert Frost medal in 2001

9. Toni Morrison
-changed her name to Anthony when she was 12 after converting to Catholicism
-her family influenced her with a sense of heritage and tradition
-she was an honors student and went to Howard University and Cornell University
-she was a professor at Howard then later an editor for Random House
-she writes fictional stories based off of real life events
-she has written 38 books
-won the Nobel Peace Prize

10. Zora Neale Hurston

-born January 7, 1891
-grew up in an all-black township
-attended Howard University where she developed a passion for writing
-worked with Langston Hughes
-works focused on southern traditional values and the pursuit of happiness
-her works never focused on her political views

11. Malcolm X
-father was killed by a white supremacist & his mom was to an asylum, so he was sent to foster
care
-was sent to prison because of crime and robbery
-dropped out of school in 8th grade
-spent a lot of time in the prison library while in prison
-he meets Elijah Muhammad and he mentors him that blacks are more powerful than the whites.
-Malcolm disagreed with Martin Luther King Jr’s views on integration
-later realized the Nation of Islam was a scam.
-he later changed his views and thought whites and blacks could be integration (supported racial
equality)

12. Black Panther Party

-party of self-defense (created in 1966)
-developed marxist POV in which liberation oppressed
-developed the two programs “Breakfast for School Children” and “Militant Patrolling Group”
-FBI wanted to neutralize the Black Panther Party
-the leader of the Black Panther Party was arrested and charged with killing a police officer
13. Howard University
-after the Civil War slaves were freed and General Howard founded Howard University on
March 2, 1867.
-the founders of Howard University took part of making Freedmen's Bureau, used to provide aid
to former slaves but shut down because there was not enough funding.
-traditions at Howard University included social activism, community service, and a vital
campus life

14. Eric Garner

-a man who sold no tax cigarettes and was arrested for it 2 times
-Daniel Pantaleo killed Garner and the charges were dropped
-Garner was walking down a street when cops detained him and suffocated him (this occured on
July 17, 2014)
-police choked him and Garner said he can’t breathe 11 times before he became unconscious
-Garner died from a heart attack caused by a lack of air
-this one of the many events that started Black Lives Matter

15. Renisha McBride

-McBride got into a car accident because she was under the influence of drugs at 1:30am
-at 4:30am McBride starts banging on Theodore Wafer's door and he shot her on the front porch
-Wafer didn't plan to kill McBride (2nd degree murder)
-his car had been paintballed a few weeks prior so he carried a loaded shotgun around with him
-judge ruled saying it was not a racial issue

16. John Crawford

-On August 5, 2014 Crawford picked up a toy BB gun and walked around Walmart with it in his
hand.
-police yelled to drop the weapon but Crawford didn’t hear because he was talking on the phone.
-he dropped to the ground and started crawling, to police thought he was trying to escape
-he was shot by police officers but they weren’t indicted
-Ohio made a new law “open carry” states due to this event

17. Tamir Rice

-was a 12 year old boy in Cleveland who was shot on November 22, 2014
-black people are 3 times as likely to be killed by police than white people
-the police who shot Rice was fired
-Rice was trading toy guns with a friend & police thought it was a real gun.