FNED 502 Social Issues in Education

June 5^th, 2018

Race, Racism and White Supremacy in Education  

                                 I Am Not Your Negro: A documentary video narrated by James Baldwin and Raoul Peck

The documentary film I Am Not Your Negro exposed the terrible experiences that Millions of African Americans faced during the times of Civil Rights Movement in the United States of America (1954 – 1968). Throughout this film prejudice is clearly visible all around the nation. Bias and injustice towards “Black Men” was evident everywhere. The story of “The Negro in America, is the Story of America and it is not a pretty story” James Baldwin words are deep and sad, it is well known that only the people in power are the only ones who will living from having a good and just life. Unfortunately the people who say they care for us, are precisely the ones who fail to protect us all the time. The film makes a remarkable depiction of how African Americans were marginalized and kept separate from the white population simply because they were seen as a plague (just like the Native American Population as seen by the European that conquered the US). Different laws were written and adopted in favor of “whites only”.  Laws like Jim Crow laws were established in the South beginning in the late 19th century.  T

he law mandated that Blacks couldn’t use the same public facilities as whites, live in many of the same towns or go to the same schools. Interracial marriage was illegal, and most blacks couldn’t vote because they were unable to pass voter literacy tests.  Even though this law was not adopted in the Northern States, millions of African American man, Woman and Children experienced discrimination at their jobs or when they tried to buy a house or get an education. To make matters worse, laws were passed in some states, where voting rights for blacks was limited or prohibited.



Black Civil Rights in the USA is a 5-minute video which documents exploitation of Blacks in the United States of America during the middle of the 20th century. https://youtu.be/mcXNRqlgXGo.

The documentary I Am Not Your Negro showed the devastation that social inequality produced in tour nation. Millions of African Americans men and women lost their lives as they publicly protested as they only wanted justice, peace and equality for all men. The Government and Whites did not want equality for all men simply because white people could not recognize and would not accept, a former slave of theirs to be one step closer or being at the same social level as they were. It is unfortunate to see how in 2018, 50 years after President Lyndon Johnson singed the Civil Rights Act in on July 2, 1964, Equality still elusive for millions of American Citizens. African American men have made many economic and educational gains, but still fall short.

 

For many generations, African Americans and other minority groups have had many unfortunate and deadly encounters with police, and other agencies which continues to confront minority groups simply because they are seen as a powerful Plague which MUST be erased, eliminated from the face of the planet. All African Americans wanted is freedom, but freedom and success still seems to be a distant dream for many African American as well as other Minority groups in the US. Power will still be a big obstacle for many of them. Mr. Baldwin himself stated on the Film that he had to move to France in order to achieve his goals and become a successful citizen in The US.  

This documentary was an astonishing and challenging sharp examination of race in the United State. Confronting how the country's history repeats and how Baldwin insisted we must remember, relentlessly question, remain conscientious and resist.

Mr. James Baldwin lived a difficult and amazing life. I love to see how he managed to crawl out of poverty and out from under the burden of a segregated America to achieve a place as one of the heroes of its betterment. Unfortunately, not every African American is able to confront injustice and be victorious! People like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, tried to be the change maker in America, but were confronted by evil power. They made the ultimate sacrifice (lost their lives). They raised their voices to stand up for the rights of those who had no voice.