Tyasia Rose

Professor Young

The New Jim Crow

09 February 2017

It All Makes Sense Now

Racism is a industrial tool initiated by the ruling class of society, Whites, with the primary goal of instilling a political agenda that allows them to remain the ruling class of society. This mechanism embedded an attitude of conformity into the non ruling class citizens, African Americans, to the point where they never thought to question this way of living. Despite the prior knowledge that I had about Racism and the Civil War before taking this course, the readings assigned to us thus far have extended my knowledge drastically in regards to these two historical topics. The information that I was taught prior to enrolling into this course helped me to understand the fundamental roots of the inequalities embedded into the American system. The information that I have learned so far from taking this course has revealed to me the bureaucratic tools that were used to keep the enslavement of African Americans ongoing through the legal system similarly to how things are maneuvered in today’s legal system to keep the enslavement of African Americans ongoing .

As a Black woman who grew up in an urban setting I have always been able to recognize the United States government’s systematic maneuvering to keep White superiority ongoing in America. The economic structure of the American system today is a reflection of the economic structure that was used to keep the enslavement of African Americans ongoing back then. When I was initially taught about slavery none of my instructors informed me about: civil leasing, black belt states, confession judgement, black codes, debt slaves, first class prisoners, industrialized black labor, or any other key elements that would have allowed me to see the connection between the American system then and the American system now. Basically, the public school system taught me what they wanted me to know, they taught all of us what they wanted us to know.

Despite the fact that I am angered by this additional information I am not at all surprised. As I mentioned before, being raised in an urban setting allowed me to realize the government’s systematic conspiracy to keep the enslavement of Blacks ongoing legally. The government is able to keep this conspiracy ongoing by incarcerating a mass amount of Black people, instilling poor education systems in Black communities, and the continuance of industrialized Black labor. After reviewing all of these facts American citizens need to take a moment to ask themselves have Black people ever really been free? Once people began to realize that Black people have never actually been free they need to ask themselves when will it be legal to be Black?

Black Superheros Save the Day

I have selected this poster which displays catwoman as a Black woman because it vigorously displays the strength and the powerfulness that entirely all Black women posses. Unfortunately, being a colored individual in the world that we live in is a nightmare but being a colored woman is even more challenging. It saddens me to know that people continue to remain oblivious to the struggle of being a Black woman on this earth. Despite the fact that some people still do not acknowledge the challenge of being a Black woman the reality is throughout her life a Black woman is dealing with a double burden. Every day Black women have to constantly battle the hardships of both racism and sexism. In this image the intensity displayed in catwoman’s eyes symbolizes her courage and determination. Black women are extremely determined and very rarely give up. When a Black woman says that she wants something she jumps over all of the hurdles that she has to in order to get it. Another element of this poster that I admire is Catwoman’s fist. Catwoman’s fist depicts toughness and reflects her sturdy attitude. This aspect of the poster relates most closely with a lot of Black women’s devotion to the Black Lives Matter Movement. Their boldness to go out and protest and stand up for the oppression of Black people shows just how hard Black women are willing to fight back. The last element of this poster that made me chose to write about it is catwoman breaking away from the chains. This part of the poster relates with a lot of Black women’s decision to break away from expectations and standards of society. Black women are breaking away from these expectations and standards by embracing the richness of their skin and accepting the natural curl pattern of her very own hair. This superhero definitely proves that the struggle still continues but the elements that I have pointed out shows that she will save the day and continue to fight the struggles that we continue to live with and deal with.