Hughes expresses a longing for America to live up to its promise. This line from the poem “Let America Be America Again” challenges the Utopian promise of America and reveals the harsh reality. His work celebrates Black cultural life and addresses racism. Langston Hughes (1901-1967) was an American poet, writer, and leader in the Harlem Renaissance. The quote is on her tombstone.Īnd yet must be – the land where every man is free.” In that speech, she described the injustices and violence faced during her attempts to vote. The “sick and tired” quote comes from one of her most famous speeches in 1964 which she gave at a church in Harlem. She also supported the community through programs like the Freedom Farm Cooperative. “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.” – Fannie Lou Hamerįannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) was a leader in the civil rights movement and helped thousands of Black Americans in Mississippi become registered voters. Two of the men convicted were exonerated in 2021. In 1965, he was assassinated by Nation of Islam members, though serious questions about the killing and the government’s involvement remain. Malcolm X eventually left after a series of disagreements. For years, he was famous as the public face of the Nation of Islam, speaking about Black empowerment and racism. He was born Malcolm Little but took on the letter X to represent his unknown African ancestral name. Malcolm X (1925-1965) was a Black civil rights leader and a major figure in the Nation of Islam. “You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” – Malcolm X Black Reconstruction in America (1935), where the above quote is from, challenged the then-mainstream belief that Black people were responsible for the failure of the Reconstruction Era. He wrote against Jim Crow laws and discrimination, advocating for full civil rights and political representation for Black people. Among his many accomplishments, he was one of the founders of the NAACP in 1909. Du Bois (1868-1963) was a sociologist, historian, author, Pan-Africanist, and civil rights activist. “Rule-following, legal precedence, and political consistency are not more important than right, justice and plain common-sense.” – W. Harnessing journalism as her light, Wells’ work helped ensure that the injustice of lynching was not kept in the dark. Wells’ work exposed it as a brutal tactic to terrorize and oppress Black people. At the time, many claimed lynching was a punishment for criminals. In the 1890s, she documented lynchings in the United States. Born into slavery, she was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. Wells (1862-1931) was a founder of the NAACP and an investigative journalist. “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” – Ida B. Douglass continued to advocate for the rights of freed slaves after the Civil War. His first autobiography – Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass – was a major bestseller in 1845. ![]() After escaping from slavery, he became a leader in the abolitionist movement. It never did and it never will.” – Frederick Douglassįrederick Douglass (1817-1895) was an American writer, orator, abolitionist, and statesman. ![]() “Power concedes nothing without a demand. While they should be understood in the context they came from, their messages remain valuable to people everywhere. ![]() This is true of many quotes from the era of abolition and the Civil Rights movement. Speeches, articles, poems, and books may be written for a specific time to a specific audience, but truly great ones hold meaning years later.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |