Is it racist?

[Introverted1293]

I am a proud African American man. I am proud of the African American history. I am proud of what African Americans accomplished during the Civil Rights Movement. And I am proud of what the students did at Central High School in Little Rock.

But I am not somebody who holds resentment towards anybody. I am not somebody who is expecting an apology from anyone, even though someone told me a long time ago we shouldn't have to continue to apologize for what happened in the Civil Rights Movement. I wasn't there, so I wasn't expecting an apology. But that doesn't mean that I'm not proud of its history. And if you weren't there and had nothing to do with it, you shouldn't have had to apologize at all.

I have to do a research project at school. I have to create a superhero, for example, like Wonder Woman, but it doesn't have to be Wonder Woman I'm just using that as an example. And she or he has to have multiple different super powers, and she or he either changes or stops an event in history from 1873 to 2018. And it just has to be one event, like the civil rights movement or World War II. Or it could be 9/11 or anything that happened in history.

I am doing my research project on the Civil Rights Movement. My fear is because I am African-American and race has actually become very controversial. And I am the only African-American in my history class, which I don't think matters but sometimes I am afraid that it does. I do not believe anyone is racist in my class, but I am just afraid of my project that it is going to cause some friction. I don't know.

I guess my question is, do you think it is racist that an African American loves his own history? Do you think it's racist that an African-American loves his own history above all the other historical events?

Be very blunt with me I can take it, even though in the past or just recently I was not very nice to somebody who criticized me. But I think I can handle it now.

 

[Netgear]

Be yourself.

 

[Hidden In Him]

I am a proud African American man. I am proud of the African American history. I am proud of what African Americans accomplished during the Civil Rights Movement. And I am proud of what the students did at Central High School in Little Rock.

But I am not somebody who holds resentment towards anybody. I am not somebody who is expecting an apology from anyone, even though someone told me a long time ago we shouldn't have to continue to apologize for what happened in the Civil Rights Movement. I wasn't there, so I wasn't expecting an apology. But that doesn't mean that I'm not proud of its history. And if you weren't there and had nothing to do with it, you shouldn't have had to apologize at all.

I have to do a research project at school. I have to create a superhero, for example, like Wonder Woman, but it doesn't have to be Wonder Woman I'm just using that as an example. And she or he has to have multiple different super powers, and she or he either changes or stops an event in history from 1873 to 2018. And it just has to be one event, like the civil rights movement or World War II. Or it could be 9/11 or anything that happened in history.

I am doing my research project on the Civil Rights Movement. My fear is because I am African-American and race has actually become very controversial. And I am the only African-American in my history class, which I don't think matters but sometimes I am afraid that it does. I do not believe anyone is racist in my class, but I am just afraid of my project that it is going to cause some friction. I don't know.

I guess my question is, do you think it is racist that an African American loves his own history? Do you think it's racist that an African-American loves his own history above all the other historical events?

Be very blunt with me I can take it, even though in the past or just recently I was not very nice to somebody who criticized me. But I think I can handle it now.

I'm 100% behind it, and the Civil Rights Movement definitely was and is something to be proud of. I'm not fond of the way blacks were treated before the Civil Rights Movement took place, so thank God that changes were brought about somehow.

Now that having been said, speaking as a Caucasian white male I would suggest you fashion your superhero as a kind of MLK Jr. on steroids, LoL, and by that I mean make him someone who not only has the desire but the influential power to unite all Americans. He was a hero to many outside the African American community because his dream included EVERYONE, white, black, Hispanic, you name it.

What rubs many the wrong way is when "the dream" has somehow gotten reduced down to appearing as if it is now only about black empowerment alone. That does come off as racist.

 

[PloverWing]

I guess my question is, do you think it is racist that an African American loves his own history? Do you think it's racist that an African-American loves his own history above all the other historical events?

No, it is absolutely not racist for you to be interested in African-American history. The Civil Rights Movement was a vitally important movement in this country, a long-overdue corrective to centuries of mistreatment of African-Americans. Be proud of it.

 

[Introverted1293]

No, it is absolutely not racist for you to be interested in African-American history. The Civil Rights Movement was a vitally important movement in this country, a long-overdue corrective to centuries of mistreatment of African-Americans. Be proud of it.

Thank you very much.

 

[Introverted1293]

I'm 100% behind it, and the Civil Rights Movement definitely was and is something to be proud of. I'm not fond of the way blacks were treated before the Civil Rights Movement took place, so thank God that changes were brought about somehow.

Now that having been said, speaking as a Caucasian white male I would suggest you fashion your superhero as a kind of MLK Jr. on steroids, LoL, and by that I mean make him someone who not only has the desire but the influential power to unite all Americans. He was a hero to many outside the African American community because his dream included EVERYONE, white, black, Hispanic, you name it.

What rubs many the wrong way is when "the dream" has somehow gotten reduced down to appearing as if it is now only about black empowerment alone. That does come off as racist.

Thank you for reminding me of what the Civil Rights Movement was all about. I didn't realize that I was doing that when I was thinking about my project. When I was thinking about my project it was all about Black empowerment. So yes, I guess I was sort of being racist without realizing that's what I was being. So thank you for reminding me that it wasn't about black empowerment. So I am going to change the direction of my project, so it doesn't end up being all about Black empowerment. Martin Luther King did say that he had a dream that white men and black men and white men could be brothers. I am just paraphrasing I don't know exactly how he worded it. But I just wanted to say thank you for reminding what it's all about.

 

[Introverted1293]

Be yourself.

Thank you

 

[Hidden In Him]

So yes, I guess I was sort of being racist without realizing that's what I was being.

Not necessarily. I was just saying that's the way it comes off, whether intended to or not. I don't think you or most others with similar interests are being racist at all. It's just a matter of perceptions is all. There are always some on both sides who actually are racist, and because of this it helps to reassure people that yours is an all-inclusive cause. This is why MLK Jr. was a brilliant leader.

Martin Luther King did say that he had a dream that white men and black men and white men could be brothers. I am just paraphrasing I don't know exactly how he worded it.

Actually, I think his wording was directed at the future, and how he hoped children of all races would some day be able to grow up together in equality.

But he may have said other things as well. I'd have to go back and listen to his speeches to know for sure.

 

[Introverted1293]

Not necessarily. I was just saying that's the way it comes off, whether intended to or not. I don't think you or most others with similar interests are being racist at all. It's just a matter of perceptions is all. There are always some on both sides who actually are racist, and because of this it helps to reassure people that yours is an all-inclusive cause. This is why MLK Jr. was a brilliant leader.


Actually, I think his wording was directed at the future, and how he hoped children of all races would some day be able to grow up together in equality.

But he may have said other things as well. I'd have to go back and listen to his speeches to know for sure.

Yeah, I would have to listen to it again too. And I'm sure you are right it was about all race, not just whites and blacks. But I would have to listen to it again as well. Thank you very much.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Yeah, I would have to listen to it again too. And I'm sure you are right it was about all race, not just whites and blacks. But I would have to listen to it again as well. Thank you very much.

Listening to it right now. Notice how he starts by stating his cause was rooted in the American Dream. Powerful stuff. It means he was appealing to the very cause of the nation itself since its inception that ALL might be able to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. "Let freedom reign" is yet another appeal to the entire country, not just blacks or whites.

Chuckling while listening to the end of it. One of the greatest speeches in the history of the United States.

 

[Albion]

There is nothing racist there that I can see, but I would also say that the Civil Rights movement strikes me as being iffy or on the fringes of the assignment. That is to say, a movement--any movement--is a broad based experience, whereas the assignment, as you described it, calls for the superhero to change an event.

If you start into assessing the movement, you will find yourself producing something that's vaguely defined with potentially a lot of generalized conclusions. If it were me, I wouldn't do that. So if this is the area you want to focus on, choose something narrow and specific that you can convincingly argue would have produced certain results other than history, as we have it, recorded.

 

[Introverted1293]

Listening to it right now. Notice how he starts by stating his cause was rooted in the American Dream. Powerful stuff. It means he was appealing to the very cause of the nation itself since its inception that ALL might be able to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. "Let freedom reign" is yet another appeal to the entire country, not just blacks or whites.

Chuckling while listening to the end of it. One of the greatest speeches in the history of the United States.

It is powerful.

 

[Introverted1293]

There is nothing racist there that I can see, but I would also say that the Civil Rights movement strikes me as being iffy or on the fringes of the assignment. That is to say, a movement--any movement--is a broad based experience, whereas the assignment, as you described it, calls for the superhero to change an event.

If you start into assessing the movement, you will find yourself producing something that's vaguely defined with potentially a lot of generalized conclusions. If it were me, I wouldn't do that. So if this is the area you want to focus on, choose something narrow and specific that you can convincingly argue would have produced certain results other than history, as we have it, recorded.

That is very interesting. I never thought of it that way.

 

[Dave-W]

One of the greatest speeches in the history of the United States.

Agreed. MLK was the best US orator in the entire 20th century.

 

[Willie T]

A suggestion: Find something in history that at least one Black person and one White person worked on together, and accomplished as a team. That is an approach probably very few students have ever attempted... or even considered happening.

 

[Phil 1:21]

I guess my question is, do you think it is racist that an African American loves his own history? Do you think it's racist that an African-American loves his own history above all the other historical events?

Is it racist for you to have a particular like for one segment of history? Of course not. But do remember -- and I have no doubt you already know this -- there were heros of all races in the civil rights movement. The Freedom Riders was an excellent example of this.

 

[PloverWing]

And she or he has to have multiple different super powers, and she or he either changes or stops an event in history from 1873 to 2018. And it just has to be one event, like the civil rights movement or World War II. Or it could be 9/11 or anything that happened in history.

I've been thinking about the assignment. What one event in 1873-2018 might have helped African-Americans gain civil rights more quickly and easily? My thought experiments so far have been:

1) What if Plessy v Ferguson (1896) had been decided the other way, so that "separate but equal" facilities were illegal by the start of the 20th century?

2) George Wallace eventually changed his mind on segregation. What if this change of heart had come in the 1960s instead of the 1970s? What if, when he stood in the doorway at the University of Alabama, instead of blocking black students from entering, he had welcomed them and said "This is a new day for Alabama. The time for segregation is over. From now on, Alabama is going to be at the forefront of civil rights reform."

Admittedly, these are both changing actions by white people, and maybe that's not where you want to go with the assignment. But I'm having trouble thinking of actions by African-Americans during the period that I'd want to change.

 

[Introverted1293]

I've been thinking about the assignment. What one event in 1873-2018 might have helped African-Americans gain civil rights more quickly and easily? My thought experiments so far have been:

1) What if Plessy v Ferguson (1896) had been decided the other way, so that "separate but equal" facilities were illegal by the start of the 20th century?

2) George Wallace eventually changed his mind on segregation. What if this change of heart had come in the 1960s instead of the 1970s? What if, when he stood in the doorway at the University of Alabama, instead of blocking black students from entering, he had welcomed them and said "This is a new day for Alabama. The time for segregation is over. From now on, Alabama is going to be at the forefront of civil rights reform."

Admittedly, these are both changing actions by white people, and maybe that's not where you want to go with the assignment. But I'm having trouble thinking of actions by African-Americans during the period that I'd want to change.

You know that is actually something to think about. I actually like that. Thank you very much.

 

[Introverted1293]

Is it racist for you to have a particular like for one segment of history? Of course not. But do remember -- and I have no doubt you already know this -- there were heros of all races in the civil rights movement. The Freedom Riders was an excellent example of this.

True

And I will always remember that. I did know that but it's good to be reminded of that. Thank you

 

[Introverted1293]

A suggestion: Find something in history that at least one Black person and one White person worked on together, and accomplished as a team. That is an approach probably very few students have ever attempted... or even considered happening.

Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to do on the assignment is acknowledging the fact that blacks and whites worked together