Discrimination In The Royal Battle, By Ralph Ellison

Alfred M. Green Speech Analysis In the 1860’s, Alfred M. Green gave a speech in Philadelphia regarding the Civil War. Green speaks about how African Americans are treated in a poor manner not only in the Southern region, but in the Northern region too. This speech that he delivered was chiefly intended to recruit fellow African Americans to join Union forces and fight for their freedom, even though African Americans were not allowed to join the Union army at this time. In this speech, Alfred M. Green uses a variety of appeals, schemes, and tropes to encourage his audience to participate and fight in the battle.

Throughout A Rumor of Revolt, Davis explains the racial tension that takes place between African Americans and Caucasian officials of New York throughout 1741. Although there was always “prevailing racial attitudes” in colonial

Ervin Beisch David W. Blight’s, “The Meaning of the Fight: Fredrick Douglas and the memory of the Fifty Fourth Massachusetts,” is an attempt to explain how the black population in the northern states, during the Civil War, fought not only for themselves but also fought o prove their value to the American people and to prove their manhood (Blight). Fredrick Douglas attempts to appeal to the colored populations encompassed both the art of acting and speech. The author wrote about how the black people, “Love their country, though rudely dealt by” (Blight), shows how he attempted to prove that this war was about all Americans and not just Americans that are white. The formation of the Fifty -Fourth was not the first all black regiment to fight but it was the first for the Massachusetts and northern area.

The black men did the same job just as hardy, but yet they were put in more danger than the white men. There were many racist comments thrown at the Harlem Hellfighters before, after, and during their fighting. One example of these statements are “the Negro brain just wasn’t “evolved” enough to handle the challenges of combat leadership…” The Harlem Hellfighters really earned their spot in this war. Even though they were getting beaten up every day they continued to try their hardest at every obstacle, they didn’t let the white mens’ comments decrease the amount of work that they did.

Edward Zwick portrays the 54th regiment as “regionally and socially diverse,” by incorporating “one Southern rebel and one Northern intellectual, one naïve field hand, and one wise old head.” (Denault, Whose Past is it Anyway?). Glory displays the regiment as being made up of runaway slaves, however, the regiment was composed of “ politically aware, educated, free, Northern African-Americans whose experience in the regiment allowed them to become leaders in the black community after the Civil War” (Danult, Whose Past is it Anyway?). Edward Zwick uses the stereotype of run-away slaves to develop the image of a diverse regiment that came together to fight a common evil, the Confederates. By doing this, Zwick expands the nationalism the run-away slaves felt by fighting for their freedom and the Union, making it understandable to a contemporary audience.

These particular facts contribute to his overall push for continued, assertive action against the government. He finds it essential that the Ladies Anti-Slavery Society of Rochester be able to visualize such revelations on the reality of American society. Realizing this provides them the means to take more radical steps towards greater civil equality and rights for African Americans, despite the laws prohibiting equivalent efforts. This shift brings the author closer to his end result of using passionate language to convey his

“She would impart to me gems of Jim Crow wisdom” (Wright 2). In “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow,” Richard Wright, speaks of his own experiences growing up in the half century after slavery ended, and how the Jim Crow laws had an effect on them. Wright’s experiences support the idea that a black person could not live a life relatively free of conflict even if they adhered to the ethics of Jim Crow. The first experience that Wright describes came when he was only a young boy living in Arkansas. He and his friends had been throwing cinder blocks and they found themselves in a ‘war’ against a group of white boys.

The mistreatment is shown when Aminata describes the white men rampaging through town, killing, beating, and raping Negroes. They tear down houses or set them on fire. They will attack anyone who resists (382). The people of Nova Scotia blamed the Black loyalists, African American supporters of the British during the American Revolutionary War, for taking their jobs and retaliated in violence. The ‘white men’ uses violence and fear to beat the Negroes into submission.

We are fully armed, and equipped, have done all the various duties pertaining to a Soldier’s life…” (Gooding, 221). The blood of his fellow man has stained the ground that protected Union, so they deserve to be paid as equals to those of a lighter skin. Time after time, before and during the war, black men were refused the privilege to fight for their nation. Now that their country needs them most, the question remains as to why they are not equally treated and rewarded as others who fight for the same thing.

This gives the reader a first hand look into what it was like to be an African American during the Revolutionary era. These people were viewed as a lesser race only because of the color of their skin, or as Wheatley states, the speaker’s “diabolic

Both of these men were contemporaries and without a doubt their personal experiences and perhaps the overall black experience in the United States guided their conscious to adopt certain strategies and tactics in order to uplift black people politically, economically and socially. This is where these two leaders fundamentally disagreed, which was followed by suspicion, name calling, distrust and an unwillingness to concede and perhaps recognize the strengths and weaknesses that existed in both of their philosophies. They were divided and they left black America divided and yet their arguments are still highly debated in academic circles and laypersons circles alike throughout America. Lastly, this research study is limited in scope and has not met all the academic restraints consistent with a scholarly paper, nevertheless, at the same time, it will display objectivity and sound research methods by briefly exploring in an unscientific manner, the slave plantation personalities (giving in the seminal study by John Blassigame) and how perhaps those historical values—culture) impacted slave behavior, as well shaped black personalities that proceeded from this peculiar institution.

In the short story Battle Royale by Ralph Ellison, the theme was grounded in fear. The group of African American boys were forced in participation in harmful activities. His grandfather gave him advice in the beginning of the story. The meaning to his grandfather’s last words could be translated into two ways; to rebel or to follow. The grandfather was instructing him to agree with the white man's orders.

In Terrance Hayes’s poem “Mr. T-,” the speaker presents the actor Laurence Tureaud, also known as Mr. T, as a sellout and an unfavorable role model for the African American youth for constantly playing negative, stereotypical roles for a black man in order to achieve success in Hollywood.   The speaker also characterizes Mr. T as enormous and simple-minded with a demeanor similar to an animal’s to further his mockery of Mr. T’s career. The speaker begins his commentary on the actor’s career by suggesting that The A-Team, the show Mr. T stars in, is racist by mentioning how he is “Sometimes drugged / & duffled (by white men) in a cockpit,” which seems to draw illusions to white men capturing and transporting slaves to new territories during the time of the slave trade (4-5).

In The Lesson, written by Toni Cade Bambara, it begins with Sylvia giving her own description on Miss Moore. She is confused as to why Miss Moore always gathers the kids from the neighborhood and takes them on boring outings. Sylvia mentions that Miss Moore is one of the few who has a college education, but she does not seem too impressed and would rather spend her day at the pool with her cousin, Sugar. As they enter the taxi cab, Miss Moore hands Sylvia a five dollar bill to tip the driver at the end of the trip. However, Sylvia has a difficulty time figuring out how much she should give the driver and decides against tipping him but would rather give him nothing.

The intention of battle is an evident adjunction of not only breaking but also “the dozens”, which is a playful exchange of insults found between African Americans and includes “dissin” and “jonin” (Cobb 78). The ritual of insult is an established component in black vernacular tradition (Cobb 78) and, therefore, can