Lecture 8 | African-American Freedom Struggle (Stanford)

[grunder20]

say no to racial discrimination!

[thetricon69]

I hope to see more of this video.

[4life1971]

and to this day white ppl still don't want to acknowledge racism......what a shame.

[sullenboy1o3o]

@4life1971 Caucasians like to call it color blindness nowadays.

[saint27573]

818poochie no im not a history major but i do like to learn as much as i can i belive that if we forget the pass we are condemed to repeat it . im white my mom married a black man then i have a mixed brother and sister . so i found myself having to explain alot of things to them and i even learn from them also . i been around blacks and white both good and both bad too . then i became a christian and now i find myself having to defent christianity to both the blacks and the whites nt always easy

[818poochie]

Amen to that! I have spent my life moving between the "white' and "black" worlds invariably offending someone. I noted that they were not as different as they liked to think they are past outer trappings. I find it amazing how we as Christians can see each other as the enemy so easily based on race and culture. No work left for the real enemy to do. I try to explain each side to the other but it gets tiresome. Not getting immediate obvious results. Racial or religious; too much venom at times.

[818poochie]

I absolutely agree that forgetting the past means comdemnation to repeat it. Our country needs to explore ways to do this without offense. I realize that some will always be offended but, I have to believe that even sensitive topics in history can be taught accurately and honestly without the only result being greater polarization. Admittedly, I am not at all sure how to do this ...

[saint27573]

818poochie i enjoyed these chats with you , you seem to be very open minded and smart .

[818poochie]

I try to be open minded. Not always sure about the other thing ;). I have had to move back and forth between predominantly white circles and predominantly black circles had noticed sometime in late elementary school that they were pretty much the same except for the outer trappings. I find myself trying to explain one group to the other quite often, except when I get frustrated and quit. I notice that you seem to know more history than the average American has forgotten. Are you a history major?

[saint27573]

my point was simply this we are all in the same boat here in america knowing our history keeps us from making the same mistakes , but also forgetting lessons learned hurts us all too . example too many young people complain that they are victims when in fact that have not experiences true discrimination , and all the while they are doing what they accuse others of doing . young black people not all but some accuse others of racism when they are actually being the racist.

[818poochie]

I will agree in so far as it seems that everyone these days seems to want a "card" to play, whether it is race, gender, orientation, age, size or whatever. In my workplace it seems that everyone is quick to claim discrimination and play the victim. It is like everyone is looking for a basis on which to be considered a victim and using it as an excuse not to do their jobs. See it outside of my workplace too, white, black and otherwise. I agree that we have to know our collective American history.

[saint27573]

818poochie alot were given their freedom and some even moved once given their freedom to start their own communitys but sadly once free then they suffered from greedy bankers convincing them to take out risy loans then jacking up interest rates to foreclose on their land i could be wrong but seems like i remember reading once about a exslave town in lincon , nebraska that the banks cheated them out of but dnt quote me on that cause i read that years ago my memory might be off on that .

[818poochie]

You may be remembering the town named Rosewood which was eventually burned to the ground due to racial conflict. Like you, I do not remember all of the details it is has been alwhile since I have read about it or watched to movie that was made.

[saint27573]

818poochie yes i do think white also disgrace themselfs too lol lots of them do . also alot of slaves were given their freedom by the slave owners and land afters many years so when the war started between north and south it wasnt about slave owning it was about northern industry like the railroad taking land from the south thats how it started then the slave issue came into play later . but alot of exslaves fought on the souths side cause they had lands .

[818poochie]

I agree with that. Also, some who were still slaves fought on the south's side because 1) the south was their home and they knew no other way of life and 2) many were promised their freedom for fighting although in most cases that did not happen.

[818poochie]

Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that your main point is that classes that focus on 1 main group fail to emphsize other relavant components of history. If that is your main point, I would have to agree with it. But not having these sorts of clases would mean ignoring other components of history, unless all parts are taught thoroughly and fairly as American History (which it is). Do you think our country is ready for this sort of curriculum change in the children's classrooms?

[saint27573]

818poochie as far as the taken against their will dont forget it was black tribal leaders that sold slaves from other tribes im not proud of the fact that alot of whites use to own slaves but i think there is enought blaim to go around and not that it is any of your business but none of my family owned slaves we were to poor to own anything barely could afford food . and i think alot of black people today disgrace themselves in the eyes of the older generation , martin luther king would cry !!!

[818poochie]

I realize that there are various ethinic or racial groups that have been abused and exploited in the history of the US. That does not mean we should forget any of them. I do realize that blacks fought for the south although I am not sure that you realize why. I am also aware that initially tribal leaders sold slaves from other tribes. Any student of history knows this. It does not however, excuse the kidnapping and abuse that the slave trade quickly degenerated into.

[818poochie]

Also, blacks were forced to do more than pick cotton. But even if they weren't, an argument could still be made that they helped build the country simply in that the economy at one point was so dependent on the cotton industry that could not exist in the same manner without slave labor. That is why it was referred to as "King Cotton". I agree with you on the fact that blame can be spread around. Do you think any whites disgrace themselves in the eyes of the older generation?

[saint27573]

818poochie you say forced to build america the only thing blacks were forced to do is pick cotton when they were slaves as far as building the rest of the country they were not forced to build it in fact chinese did more to build america the chinese built the railroad that connected this country bringing in the industrial reveloution they were treated worst than slaves go study history oh another thing i guess u didnt know that blacks fought for the south against the north .

[saint27573]

black people would be so much better off if there were no white people trying to keep them down . if black people had their own country like those in africa or like those in Haiti they would be much better off . Oh wait Haiti might not be a good example opps .

[818poochie]

I bet most black people feel that since they were taken against there will, brought to the US and forced to build the US that this is their country. We would all be better off if we did not spend so much time and energy being angry at other groups instead of trying to find common ground and move forward together.

[mogburke]

It would be interesting to learn more about those independent black towns that were formed.

[818poochie]

Watch the movie Rosewood.