Teaching African-American History, Lesson 4

Lesson for Henry Louis Gates’ Essay “Who’s Afraid of Black History”

One. What are Ron DeSantis and others’ objections to teaching African-American history in school?

Indoctrination as a counterargument for your essay

DeSantis is making the claim that African-American history doesn’t focus on facts but is rather concerned with an agenda of “indoctrination.” This doctrine, according to DeSantis, says America is bad, racism is so severe and systemic that only reparations can begin to solve it, and anyone who doesn’t agree with this doctrine is a racist. 

While some adhere to this doctrine, many teachers who present African-American history in their classes are not attaching such a doctrine; nevertheless, these teachers are being reprimanded, canceled, and having their books and teaching content banned in class.

To lump all teachers together in one extreme doctrine is inaccurate and by twisting what they’re teaching, their critics are committing a Straw Man Fallacy in argumentation: twisting one’s words to make that person easy for attack. 

***

DeSantis cries indoctrination and then he indoctrinates:

Gates points out the hypocrisy of DeSantis making a claim of teachers imposing a doctrine on their students when in fact DeSantis is an apologist for racism, The Lost Cause, and erasing Black History, which is a doctrine in its own right. In fact, DeSantis got himself in trouble when he said slavery wasn’t all bad and actually benefited African-Americans.

It is a great irony that DeSantis wants people to teach facts and stay away from doctrines when he himself pushes the false facts that slavery benefited African-Americans as part of his anti-woke agenda. 

Education is a civics lesson: how to debate and argue in a civil manner; how to address opposing views, how to embrace universal laws of human decency:

Gates concedes that education indoctrinates us but he uses different language. He argues that in schools “we learn how to become citizens, that we encounter the first civics lessons that either reinforce or counter the myths and fables we gleaned at home.”

He further counters that we do indeed learn facts about African-American history. We learn about the following:

• Slavery
• The Civil War
• Reconstruction
• The Confederacy’s “Redemption” followed by Jim Crow segregation
• The Lost Cause Myth
• The Great Migration
• Two Americas: Barbaric America Vs. Inclusive America (spiritual warfare)

The above are all facts about the black struggle in American history, a struggle that can be defined by spiritual warfare. Why does the teaching of this history have to be part of some pernicious anti-American doctrine?

Gates finishes his essay by observing the long history of trying to erase and demonize Black history. He writes:

DeSantis is verging into the Lost Cause Lane:

Is it fair to see Governor DeSantis’s attempts to police the contents of the College Board’s A.P. curriculum in African American studies in classrooms in Florida solely as little more than a contemporary version of Mildred Rutherford’s Lost Cause textbook campaign? No. But the governor would do well to consider the company that he is keeping. And let’s just say that he, no expert in African American history, seems to be gleefully embarked on an effort to censor scholarship about the complexities of the Black past with a determination reminiscent of Rutherford’s. While most certainly not embracing her cause, Mr. DeSantis is complicitous in perpetuating her agenda.

As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. so aptly put it, “No society can fully repress an ugly past when the ravages persist into the present.” Addressing these “ravages,” and finding solutions to them — a process that can and should begin in the classroom — can only proceed with open discussions and debate across the ideological spectrum, a process in which Black thinkers themselves have been engaged since the earliest years of our Republic.

Censoring black history is not new:

Throughout Black history, there has been a long, sad and often nasty tradition of attempts to censor popular art forms, from the characterization of the blues, ragtime and jazz as “the devil’s music” by guardians of “the politics of respectability,” to efforts to censor hip-hop by C. Delores Tucker, who led a campaign to ban gangsta rap music in the 1990s. Hip-hop has been an equal opportunity offender for potential censors: Mark Wichner, the deputy sheriff of Florida’s Broward County, brought 2 Live Crew up on obscenity charges in 1990. But there is a crucial difference between Ms. Tucker, best known as a civil rights activist, and Mr. Wichner, an administrator of justice on behalf of the state, a difference similar to that between Rutherford and Mr. DeSantis.

While the urge to censor art — a symbolic form of vigilante policing — is colorblind, there is no equivalence between governmental censorship and the would-be censorship of moral crusaders. Many states are following Florida’s lead in seeking to bar discussions of race and history in classrooms. The distinction between Mildred Lewis Rutherford and Governor DeSantis? The power differential.

Rutherford wished for nothing less than the power to summon the apparatus of the state to impose her strictures on our country’s narrative about the history of race and racism. Mr. DeSantis has that power and has shown his willingness to use it. And it is against this misguided display of power that those of us who cherish the freedom of inquiry at the heart of our country’s educational ideal must take a stand.

***

Why Do We Study African-American History? (Review)

 

• To understand the racist toolbox that today’s Internet trolls are using to weaponize their misinformation for the sake of power. 
• To understand that historical revisionism, The Lost Cause, Replacement Theory, and Scapegoating have been in the racist toolbox since the days of Jim Crow. 
• To understand that historical revisionism is a power play, thus the adage: “The winners get to write history.”
• To understand that there are historical narratives by Alex Haley, Dr. David Pilgrim, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Toni Morrison, and Frederick Douglass that speak to personal excellence, courage, sacrifice, and contributions to America that are often overlooked or obfuscated by people with sinister agendas. 
• To understand that the great voices of Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King presented an inclusive America that fulfilled the promises of the Constitution while condemning The Lost Cause as a grotesque America that makes a mockery of the Constitution. 
• To understand that the drive to obfuscate and erase African-American history vs. the drive to present authentic voices of African-American history represents a form of spiritual warfare. To put it bluntly, the drive to erase African-American history by labeling all of this history as “Critical Race Theory” is the drive to erase an entire people. 
• To understand there are 2 Americas in spiritual warfare: Barbaric America Vs. Inclusive America

Thesis Samples

The Florida governor is wrong to ban the teaching of African-American history under the justification of calling all such history “Critical Race Theory.”

The Florida governor is wrong to ban the teaching of African-American history under the justification of calling all such history “Critical Race Theory” because ________________, ______________, _______________, and ___________________. 

To ban African-American history under the fake excuse that all such history is “Critical Race Theory” is a craven act fueled by a demagogue’s willingness to slake racist appetites, a demagogue's willingness to reach into the racist toolbox of Jim Crow tropes and false narratives, and his willingness to erasing voices, which in turn is a way of erasing an entire people. 

While some displays of Critical Race Theory have proven too extreme in the classroom such as slavery reenactments, which can traumatize small children, such extremes do not negate the urgency to teach African-American history. This urgency is evident in the need to fight back against false tropes and narratives that have found a resurgence in America, to give Americans African-American voices that provide a counter-narrative to that of the racist trolls who swarm social media, and to present Americans with the challenges we face regarding justice today regarding racial violence, xenophobia, and voter suppression.  

Once we start debating whether or not we should teach "African-American history" in the schools, we've already lost because we get got in the language trap that consigns "African-American history" to a pejorative or a negative subcategory: "African-American" becomes a lower-tier division of history when in fact African-American history is, generically speaking, history itself; secondly, by turning real history into a specialization, we implicate African-American history as a form of indoctrination and imply that "regular history" is not indoctrination when in fact all of history requires some degree of interpretation, which is rooted in a moral or immoral point of view; finally, it is offensive to make the category of "African-American history" when we do so as a concession to a special-interest group when in fact we should teach the history of great African-American voices such as Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, and Ida B. Wells, not as a concession, but as a vital part of our understanding of an inclusive America and its spiritual warfare against barbaric America. 

Thesis that opposes teaching African-American history:

While I agree that we must teach great African-American voices to articulate and champion Inclusive America while appropriately condemning Barbaric America, it is naive to dismiss the fact that too many public classrooms from kindergarten through college are rife with radical instructors who use African-American history to impose their radical agenda on their students to harmful degree. Not allowing students to disagree with their orthodox worldview, these teachers shame students by calling them evil for their privilege; they rub their students' noses in racism to such extreme as they preach a "hate America" code that preaches the ugly doctrine that America is beyond redemption; they reenact slavery with cosplay dramas in which small children are forced to relive the cruelty and barbarism of chattel slavery; they are told to embrace the doctrine of reparations unless they want to be called evil; and these radical instructors will piggyback other radical issues to their agenda regarding identity politics, "intersectionality," and other "theories" that amount to brainwashing and indoctrination when in fact the classroom should be a place of critical thinking and free inquiry. 

Thesis that offers a rebuttal to the above:

While I will concede that there are some radical instructors who are guilty of committing the excesses described above, these excesses do not minimize the urgency of teaching African-American history in a manner that is free of any kind of radical indoctrination such as "hate America" or "defund the police." It is not radical to give the real history of Barbaric America and show how those racist toolbox used in the time of Jim Crow is being used today by Alt-Right trolls who weaponize misinformation on various social media platforms; it is not radical to teach the great African-American voices of Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, and Ida B. Wells and glean wisdom from their suffering and genius to make an Inclusive America; it is not radical to present to students the spiritual warfare between two Americas, one that is a mockery of democracy and one that is its fulfillment.

 

 

ChatGPT is hit and miss:

Prompt I entered into ChatGTP: Write an essay that addresses the claim that African-American history teaches us how to struggle for a better America while rejecting a grotesque version of America. 

Title: African-American History: Struggling for a Better America while Rejecting a Grotesque Version

Introduction

African-American history is a testament to the enduring struggle for justice, equality, and human rights. It teaches us how to confront adversity and work tirelessly for a better America, all while rejecting the grotesque version of the nation marred by racism, discrimination, and inequality. Throughout its rich tapestry, African-American history exemplifies the unwavering spirit of resilience and the unwavering commitment to a more equitable society.

1. The Struggle for Civil Rights

One of the most poignant aspects of African-American history is the relentless fight for civil rights. From the days of slavery to the Jim Crow era and beyond, African-Americans have been at the forefront of the struggle for equality. Figures like Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Martin Luther King Jr. exemplify the indomitable spirit of African-Americans in advocating for their rights. Their actions and words continue to inspire individuals of all backgrounds to engage in the struggle for a better America, where the grotesque version of racial segregation and discrimination is firmly rejected.

2. Embracing Cultural Identity

African-American history has consistently demonstrated the resilience and strength of the African-American community in the face of adversity. The Harlem Renaissance, for instance, was a cultural movement that celebrated African-American art, literature, and music. This cultural resurgence represented a rejection of the grotesque portrayal of African-Americans in mainstream media and a powerful assertion of their cultural identity. It taught us that one's cultural heritage is a source of strength and pride, helping to counter the damaging stereotypes that have often plagued African-Americans.

3. The Fight for Economic Empowerment

African-American history is marked by individuals and movements that aimed to uplift the community economically. Figures like Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois promoted differing approaches to economic empowerment, but both shared the goal of rejecting the economic injustices that perpetuated a grotesque version of America. African-American leaders have consistently advocated for economic self-sufficiency and the rejection of systemic barriers to success.

4. Advocating for Education

African-American history emphasizes the importance of education as a tool for empowerment and social change. Leaders such as Mary McLeod Bethune and Thurgood Marshall recognized the transformative power of education in the fight against a grotesque version of America. By promoting education and advocating for equal access to quality schooling, they aimed to break the chains of inequality and discrimination, teaching us that knowledge is a powerful weapon in the battle for a better America.

5. Building Alliances and Solidarity

Throughout history, African-Americans have sought alliances and solidarity with individuals from diverse backgrounds who share the vision of a more just and equitable America. The Civil Rights Movement, for example, showcased the power of multiracial coalitions working together to reject the grotesque version of America perpetuated by segregation. African-American history teaches us the value of building bridges and uniting with others in the common cause of justice, illustrating that the struggle for a better America is a collective effort.

Conclusion

African-American history serves as a powerful guide on how to struggle for a better America while rejecting a grotesque version of the nation marred by racism and inequality. It is a history of resilience, determination, cultural pride, and unwavering commitment to justice and equality. By learning from the lessons embedded in this history, we can be inspired to confront contemporary challenges, work towards a more equitable society, and build an America that rejects the grotesque while embracing the principles of liberty and justice for all.

***

Prompt I typed into ChatGPT: Write an essay that addresses the claim that studying the works of Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King helps us struggle for a better America while rejecting a grotesque version of America.

 

ChatGPT

 

Title: Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr.: Beacons of Hope in the Struggle for a Better America

Introduction

The study of the works of Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. is an invaluable resource in our collective quest for a better America while firmly rejecting a grotesque version of the nation marked by racial injustice, inequality, and division. These two iconic figures in African-American history, separated by time and circumstance, offer powerful insights and inspiration on how to engage in the ongoing struggle for a more just and equitable society.

1. Frederick Douglass: A Lesson in Self-Empowerment

Frederick Douglass, a former slave, emerged as a towering figure in the 19th century abolitionist movement. His autobiography, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave," is not only a personal narrative but a compelling call for individual empowerment. Douglass's story illustrates how education, self-confidence, and the relentless pursuit of freedom can lead to personal and societal transformation. His life serves as a testament to the idea that one can struggle against oppression while rejecting the grotesque version of America by asserting one's own agency and demanding change.

2. Martin Luther King Jr.: The Pursuit of Equality Through Nonviolent Activism

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a legendary civil rights leader whose advocacy for racial equality and social justice through nonviolent means has had a profound impact. His famous "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered during the March on Washington in 1963, remains a symbol of hope and a vision for a better America. King's message is a powerful reminder that the rejection of the grotesque version of America is not achieved through violence or hatred but through love, understanding, and peaceful protest. He emphasized that the struggle for justice must be rooted in nonviolence, as it is a path to lasting change and national healing.

3. The Power of Civil Disobedience

Both Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. understood the transformative power of civil disobedience as a means to reject the grotesque and fight for a better America. Douglass's life was punctuated by his escape from slavery, an act of civil disobedience in itself. King, on the other hand, was a proponent of nonviolent protest, which challenged racial segregation and inequality. These leaders demonstrated that peaceful civil disobedience can serve as a moral force for change, highlighting the injustice that a grotesque America perpetuated and inspiring individuals to demand a better future.

4. The Universality of Their Messages

The teachings of Douglass and King extend beyond race and ethnicity; they hold universal relevance in the struggle for justice and equality. Their messages are not limited to African-Americans but speak to all who value a just and inclusive society. The idea of rejecting a grotesque version of America transcends racial lines, emphasizing the need for unity and cooperation among all citizens who believe in the principles of freedom, equality, and justice.

5. A Call for Ongoing Activism

Studying the works of Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. is not merely an exercise in historical remembrance; it is a call to action. Both figures stood as beacons of hope, urging us to take an active role in the struggle for a better America. Their works inspire us to confront the persistent issues of racial discrimination, inequality, and social injustice that continue to plague our society.

Conclusion

The study of the works of Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. provides invaluable lessons on how to engage in the struggle for a better America while firmly rejecting a grotesque version of the nation marred by racial injustice and division. Their stories and teachings underscore the power of self-empowerment, nonviolent activism, and the universal values of justice and equality. In the spirit of these two remarkable leaders, we must continue the fight for a more equitable, inclusive, and just America, embodying the timeless principles of their messages and working to make their dreams a reality.

***

Prompt I put into ChatGPT: Write an essay that compares the dystopia of Jim Crow and the current dystopia of gun violence as these nightmares are portrayed in Childish Gambino's video "This Is America."

 

ChatGPT

 

Title: Dystopian Realities: Jim Crow and Contemporary Gun Violence in "This Is America"

Introduction

Childish Gambino's music video, "This Is America," provides a gripping commentary on the persistent dystopian nightmares that have plagued America throughout its history. In the video, the artist, whose real name is Donald Glover, delves into two distinct yet interconnected dystopias: the Jim Crow era's racial oppression and the contemporary nightmare of gun violence. By juxtaposing these dystopian realities, Glover underscores the profound impact of these issues on the American social fabric. This essay aims to compare and contrast the portrayal of Jim Crow and contemporary gun violence in "This Is America."

Jim Crow: A Dark Historical Dystopia

Jim Crow was a system of racial segregation and discrimination that enforced racial hierarchy and inequality in the United States from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century. In "This Is America," the video encapsulates this dystopian era through the use of symbolic imagery, such as the Confederate flags and the minstrel show, which were pervasive during this time. The video portrays African-Americans in a dehumanized manner, reflecting the horrors of racial caricature, cultural appropriation, and systemic injustice that defined the Jim Crow era.

The video further captures the violence and oppression of Jim Crow through sudden acts of brutality. In a scene where Glover shoots a man who has been treated with care, the video illustrates the arbitrary violence inflicted upon African-Americans during this period. This underscores the unjust violence that was an integral part of the Jim Crow dystopia, where African-Americans were targeted for acts of discrimination, humiliation, and even lynching.

Contemporary Gun Violence: A Modern Dystopia

The second dystopia depicted in "This Is America" is the ongoing nightmare of contemporary gun violence. The video powerfully portrays this issue through scenes of sudden, chaotic violence that erupt in the background while Glover dances and distracts in the foreground. These scenes reflect the alarming regularity of mass shootings and gun violence incidents in the United States. Contemporary gun violence, like the Jim Crow era, is a dystopia characterized by sudden and senseless acts of brutality that leave communities in fear and mourning.

The video's juxtaposition of Glover's cheerful dancing with the scenes of violence serves as a poignant commentary on society's desensitization to gun violence. It highlights the juxtaposition between the joyous facade that often masks the dystopian reality of shootings and the alarming frequency with which such incidents occur, leaving countless lives shattered.

Comparing the Dystopias

Both the Jim Crow era and contemporary gun violence are dystopian realities rooted in systemic injustice, oppression, and violence. While they exist in different historical contexts, the video emphasizes their enduring impact on American society. Both dystopias are characterized by a sense of powerlessness, where individuals and communities are subjected to arbitrary violence and discrimination. "This Is America" draws parallels between these dystopias to underscore their shared legacy of trauma and struggle.

Additionally, the video highlights how societal distractions, often in the form of entertainment and popular culture, can serve as a smokescreen, diverting attention from the pressing issues at hand. This notion is embodied in Glover's dancing, which takes place amidst the chaos, illustrating how distractions can obscure the grim realities of both Jim Crow and gun violence.

Conclusion

Childish Gambino's "This Is America" masterfully portrays the disturbing parallels between the Jim Crow era and contemporary gun violence in the United States. By juxtaposing these dystopian nightmares, the video underscores the enduring impact of systemic oppression and violence on American society. "This Is America" serves as a powerful reminder that, despite the passage of time, the nation must confront these dystopian realities head-on and work towards a more just and equitable future, free from the horrors of racial discrimination and gun violence.

***

Prompt I typed into ChatGPT: Write an essay that addresses the claim that racist iconography such as Confederate flags, statues, and schools that glorify the name of Jefferson Davis reflect the moral degradation that results from a society that is ignorant of real African-American history while feasting on the grotesque lies of the Lost Cause, Replacement Theory, and other morally abhorrent forms of historical misinformation.

 

ChatGPT

 

Title: Racist Iconography and the Moral Degradation of Historical Ignorance

Introduction

Racist iconography, such as Confederate flags, statues, and schools glorifying figures like Jefferson Davis, epitomizes the moral degradation that can result from a society ignorant of authentic African-American history while indulging in the grotesque lies of the Lost Cause, Replacement Theory, and other morally abhorrent forms of historical misinformation. These symbols and the narratives they perpetuate represent not only an affront to the struggles and experiences of African-Americans but also a broader societal failure to reckon with the darkest aspects of its history.

1. Confederate Flags: Symbols of Racial Oppression

Confederate flags, particularly the notorious Confederate battle flag, serve as powerful symbols of racial oppression and white supremacy. These symbols are rooted in a history of slavery, secession, and rebellion against the United States in defense of slavery. When such flags are displayed today, they perpetuate the grotesque lie of the Lost Cause, which romanticizes the Confederacy and portrays it as a heroic, noble force. This misinformation obscures the true horrors of slavery and the legacy of racial discrimination that still plagues American society.

2. Statues and Monuments: Homage to Injustice

Confederate statues and monuments, many of which were erected during the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights Movement, are tangible expressions of the moral degradation resulting from historical ignorance. These monuments often glorify leaders like Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, who fought to maintain the institution of slavery. They perpetuate a false narrative of the Civil War as a "noble cause" rather than a struggle to uphold human bondage. By celebrating such figures, society fails to confront the true historical context and the enduring impact of slavery and racism on African-Americans.

3. Schools Named After Confederate Figures: A Legacy of Ignorance

Schools named after Confederate leaders like Jefferson Davis serve as a disturbing reminder of the historical ignorance that persists in some corners of society. These institutions, which should be centers of enlightenment and progress, instead honor individuals who championed a morally reprehensible cause. The namesake of such schools, chosen during periods of racial tension and segregation, perpetuates the narrative of the Lost Cause and the idea of white supremacy.

4. The Grotesque Lies of the Lost Cause and Replacement Theory

The Lost Cause myth, which falsely portrays the Confederacy as an honorable and just entity, is a prime example of historical misinformation. This myth has been used to justify white supremacy, erasing the true horrors of slavery and the suffering of African-Americans. Similarly, the Replacement Theory, which propagates conspiracy theories about white genocide, is based on unfounded claims that contribute to racial division and hatred.

Conclusion

Racist iconography, whether in the form of flags, statues, or school names, is a manifestation of the moral degradation that can result from a society ignorant of real African-American history while feasting on the grotesque lies of the Lost Cause, Replacement Theory, and other forms of historical misinformation. These symbols and narratives perpetuate racial injustice, white supremacy, and the erasure of the profound suffering of African-Americans. To confront this moral degradation, society must engage in a more honest and accurate examination of its history, recognizing the injustices of the past and striving for a more inclusive and equitable future. By acknowledging the impact of these symbols and narratives on contemporary society, we can take steps towards rectifying the injustices of the past and working towards a more just and informed future.

 

Not knowing African-American history has consequences:

 

***

What Is Jim Crow 1.0?

Jim Crow was born of white southern resentment to losing the Civil War, losing slavery, and being told by the northerners that their way of life was evil. 

Full of resentment, white southerners scapegoated black people by crushing them with a series of cruel and often ridiculous laws that were enforced by violence. These oppressive laws in the words of Isabel Wilkerson constituted a “feudal caste system” with the privileged and servant classes. 

Jim Crow was a sneaky way white southerners brought back slavery “off the books” by making black people subject to violence and exploitation with no protection from the law. In other words, slavery was illegal but Jim Crow brought it back under another name. 

In other words, the Civil War did not end slavery; it merely shifted slavery into another form called Jim Crow. This shift is chronicled in Douglas A. Blackman’s book Slavery By Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II. 

Perhaps the best book ever written about Jim Crow from the point of view of African Americans is Isabel Wilkerson’s award-winning The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration in which six million African Americans fled the south to escape Jim Crow.

Wilkerson interviewed over 1,000 black Americans who lived in the terror of Jim Crow and fled for their lives to the Northern and Western states between 1915 and 1970. 

Over six decades, six million African Americans fled the Jim Crow south not knowing what was in store for them. By the end of the Great Migration, almost half of all the black Americans in the south were gone. They had no job, no place to live, no assurance of the means to survive, but they went anyway.

That should tell us just how bad Jim Crow was. “I don’t know what’s in store for me, but I’m getting the hell out.” Jim Crow was a 24/7 Torture Chamber. 

All they knew was one thing: Whatever they faced, it couldn’t be worse than living in the Jim Crow states. 

Characteristics of Jim Crow

One. Jim Crow didn’t allow black people to flourish.

In 1953, a black doctor Robert Joseph Pershing Foster got out of Monroe, Louisiana, and headed for California. Why? Because even though he was qualified in the highest medical procedures, the whites wouldn’t let him practice surgery. 

In the Jim Crow south, whites didn’t like to grant any rights to blacks that suggested that blacks were equal to them. Allowing a black man to practice surgery was just too much for the whites to bear. The mere suggestion that blacks were talented and intelligent was a scandal to white southerners and a threat to their carefully curated racist paradigm, so Dr. Foster got in his car and headed for California. 

Two. Jim Crow was a living hell.

Jim Crow was so hellish that it created The Great Migration, the greatest migration ever recorded in America, a migration that far exceeded the California Gold Rush of the 1850s, and yet the Great Migration, Isabel Wilkerson points out, is underreported. Not much is known about a migration that completely changed America, sending black people to urban cities in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and other major cities. 

Three. Jim Crow was a danger to black lives.

Isabel Wilkerson makes an astute observation: A lot of black people that we know about would not have existed except that their parents got out of the deadly Jim Crow south. She points out that James Baldwin, Michelle Obama, Miles Davis, Toni Morrison, Spike Lee, and Denzel Washington were “all products of the Great Migration” and might not exist but for the fact that their parents fled for their lives. 

Four. Jim Crow celebrated the myth of The Lost Cause.

The Lost Cause is a re-imagining of slavery as “a good thing” in which slave owners and slaves were happy in a bucolic paradise where whites and blacks “knew their place” and were blessed by God. Such heinous chicanery was embraced by the United Daughters of the Confederacy who published propaganda books to brainwash children in the Jim Crow public schools. 

The myth of the Lost Cause is so strong that to this day the great military heroes of the North who brought an end to slavery--Ulysses Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, George Henry Thomas, David Farragut are to this day hated and reviled in the south. 

Five. Jim Crow is a stain on American History that America has tried to sweep under the carpet.

Wilkerson understood that you couldn’t really understand the hell of Jim Crow unless you saw how black people reacted to it: Fleeing for their lives in a mass migration. She was astonished that before her book virtually nothing was written about the mass escape from Jim Crow. It’s as if historians are too ashamed of this chapter or not interested in it. Wilkinson has remedied that by writing a 550-page masterpiece about the subject. 

Six. Jim Crow’s tentacles reached into the smallest areas of black lives to create daily humiliations. Here are some:

• Black children had to learn in separate schoolhouses, always rundown with no resources.
• Black people had to sit in filthy waiting rooms at doctors’ offices while whites enjoyed clean waiting rooms.
• When black people walked opposite direction a white person on the sidewalk, the black people had to step off the sidewalk and walk on the curb.
• Black people had to give all the good parking spaces to white people. Whites parked close to stores. Blacks parked far away.
• No matter how slowly a white driver was going in a car, a black driver was never allowed to pass the white person’s car. 
• When a white person was at fault for a car accident involving a black driver, the fault always was assigned to the black driver. “You’re black so it’s your fault.”
• Blacks and whites couldn’t play chess or checkers together because such a game suggested they were equal.
• In one of Chris Rock's stand-up routines, he talks about his mother born in South Carolina in 1945. When she had a toothache as a child, she wasn't allowed to go the dentist as a black person. She had to go to the local veterinarian. That is Jim Crow. 

Seven. Jim Crow violated the Constitution.

As Wilkerson writes: “The South began acting in outright defiance of the Fourteenth Amendment of 1868, which granted the right to due process and equal protection to anyone born in the United States and it ignored the Fifteenth Amendment of 1870, which guaranteed all men the right to vote” (38). 

The North tried to grant rights to blacks in the south, but by the mid-1870s, Wilkerson observes, the North bailed on the south and stopped their oversight. 

Eight. Hostility towards blacks in the South was so acute that white politicians who fomented racism against blacks enjoyed popularity, which they leveraged for self-gain. 

When political leaders spoke of black people deserving violence, the white masses saw this as “open season” to commit any violence they wanted against blacks with impunity.

Nine. Lynchings of black people became an epidemic that was normalized and glorified by white southerners. 

In one of the most painful chapters to read in Wilkerson’s book, we read that a black man who was merely accused of looking at a white woman would be lynched. Petty crimes were always worthy of a lynching. 

These lynchings, which included beatings, hangings, and being burned alive, were watched by “festive crowds” who brought their children and let their toddlers sit on their shoulders to enjoy the spectacle. 

I’m reading this, and I’m thinking I’d be part of the Great Migration myself. I would be urgent to leave the south. 

How frequent were these lynchings?

Wilkerson writes: “Across the South, someone was hanged or burned alive every four days from 1889 to 1929, according to the 1933 book The Tragedy of Lynching.”

According to Dr. David Pilgrim, there were 4,730 lynchings that we know about but no doubt many more. 

Avoiding Comma Splices and Run-Ons 

Fused (run-on) sentence

Klee's paintings seem simple, they are very sophisticated.

She doubted the value of medication she decided to try it once.

A fused sentence (also called a run-on) joins clauses that could each stand alone as a sentence with no punctuation or words to link them. Fused sentences must be either divided into separate sentences or joined by adding words or punctuation.

Comma Splice

I was strongly attracted to her, she was beautiful and funny.

We hated the meat loaf, the cafeteria served it every Friday.

A comma splice occurs when only a comma separates clauses that could each stand alone as a sentence. To correct a comma splice, you can insert a semicolon or period, connect the clauses with a word such as and or because, or restructure the sentence.

After each sentence, put a “C” for Correct or a “CS” for Comma Splice. If the sentence is a comma splice, rewrite it so that it is correct. 

One. Bailey used to eat ten pizzas a day, now he eats a spinach salad for lunch and dinner. 

Two. Marco no longer runs on the treadmill, instead he opts for the less injury-causing elliptical trainer. 

Three. Running can cause shin splints, which can cause excruciating pain. 

Four. Running in the incorrect form can wreak havoc on the knees, slowing down can often correct the problem. 

Five. While we live in a society where 1,500-calorie cheeseburgers are on the rise, the reading of books, sad to say, is on the decline. 

Six. Facebook is a haven for narcissists, it encourages showing off with selfies and other mundane activities that are ways of showing how great and amazing our lives our, what a sham. 

Seven. We live in a society where more and more Americans are consuming 1,500-calorie cheeseburgers, however, those same Americans are reading less and less books. 

Eight. Love is a virus from outer space, it tends to become most contagious during April and May. 

Nine. The tarantula causes horror in many people, moreover there is a species of tarantula in Brazil, the wandering banana spider, that is the most venomous spider in the world. 

Ten. Even though spiders cause many people to recoil with horror, most species are harmless. 

Eleven. The high repair costs of European luxury vehicles repelled Amanda from buying such a car, instead she opted for a Japanese-made Lexus. 

Twelve. Amanda got a job at the Lexus dealership, now she’s trying to get me a job in the same office. 

Thirteen. While consuming several cinnamon buns, a twelve-egg cheese omelet, ten slices of French toast slathered in maple syrup, and a tray of Swedish loganberry crepes topped with a dollop of blueberry jam, I contemplated the very grave possibility that I might be eating my way to a heart attack. 

Fourteen. Even though I rank marijuana far less dangerous than most pharmaceutical drugs, alcohol, and other commonly used intoxicants, I find marijuana unappealing for a host of reasons, not the least of which is its potential for radically degrading brain cells, its enormous effect on stimulating the appetite, resulting in obesity, and its capacity for over-relaxing many people so that they lose significant motivation to achieve their primary goals, opting instead for a life of sloth and intractable indolence.

 

Importance of Signal Phrases in Your Introductory Paragraph

It is important that you show your ability to summarize, paraphrase, and quote Dr. Pilgrim’s points by using signal phrases, which are short phrases you use to introduce quoted, paraphrased, or summarized content. Here are 6 important components to consider when writing signal phrases:

Review Complete 6 Components of Signal Phrases

1. Vary your transitions so you're not only using "say" and "write."
2. Transition from your own writing to quoted or paraphrased material. 
3. Vary your location of the signal phrase, beginning, middle, or end.
4. Provide credentials of the person being cited in your signal phrase.
5. Provide correct in-text citations for MLA format, as provided by Purdue Owl. 
6. Return to what you just cited and analyze its significance to your argument. 

For a fuller explanation of signal phrases, I would refer to my Breakthrough Writer blog post, “Mastering the 6 Components of Signal Phrases.”