Intro to Afro American Studies Essays - African Slave Trade

Intro to Afro American Studies Essays - African Slave Trade October 15, 2015 Intro to Afro American Studies Bi-Weekly Essay #3 What are some of the similarities and differences in practices of self-determination of Africans in the U.S. and their counterparts throughout the hemisphere? Abstract: Both Africans in the Western Hemisphere and Africans in the United States practiced self-determination. They practiced self-determination in many ways such as marronage and quilombismo as a means to bring African people together to determine their own statehoods and form their own allegiances. Africans used their difference to fight one another rather than uniting themselves in the 18th and 19th century. However, Africans began to realize that if they wanted to conquer enslavement they would have to overcome the dominating social structure. The Africans in the Western hemisphere used the knowledge passed down from their griots when practicing self-determination. They did this more often than the Africans in the U.S. because they underestimated them and they were uneducated for a while. Africans in the U.S. were more aware of what was happening around them versus the other parts of the world. Although, Africans were divided by suffering from the injustice of slavery. they we re able to preserve their culture and use such as their means to resist. Critical Review of Scholarship: To begin answering this question, I will use the information provided during lectures as well as the readings. One of sources is coming from Black Self Determination: A Cultural History of the Faith of Fathers. This source will be used to elaborate on what self-determination is and how it evolved. The second source is Quilombismo: An Afro-Brazilian Political Alternative. This source will be used to further elaborate on what quilombismo is and how it effective in helping the African race as a whole in the practice of self-determination. Another source I will use to elaborate on marronage is the Black Movements in America by Cedric Robinson. My other evidence will come from class lectures and Dr.Carr particularly from the human social organization and their influence over people and nations. Discussion: To completely understand the practices of self-determination within the African community, you have to define what self-determination is. Self Determination is the uniqueness of culture (Dr.Carr). It is the process by which a person or group controls their own life, decides their own statehood and forms their own allegiances. (Franklin P., V. Black Self Determination: A Cultural History of the Faith of the Fathers. Southern Historical Association, 1986. Print.) From the small movements such as spiritual and secular slave songs, the Federal Writers Project and addresses in front of the Congress have demonstrated what self-determination means in the African community. The Western Hemisphere Africans and the U.S. Africans used maroonage to practice e self-determination. Maroonage was a common way Africans resisted throughout the hemisphere. Maroon is a based word from the Spanish culture. Maroons are small private communities that served as a safe refuge for runaway slaves and indentured servants. (Robinson, Cedric J. Black Movements in America. New York: Routledge, 1997. Print.) They were fugitive communities where escapees went. These maroons gave slaves hope of a community where they could have a new home and are apart of a safe haven to rebuild their families. Unfortunately these maroons never lasted so long because of the pressure it created on the Europeans. Regardless of the hardships of slavery, Africans did not let anyone take their culture from them. Their culture is what kept them dehumanized. Abolition always followed the Blacks regardless of where they were from. Because the Africans seemed less than the Europeans, the Africans wanted to create something to become equal with the higher powers. They combined their religion to create Afro Catholicism in hopes in acceptance of their religion to become equal as the Europeans. North Americans began practicing Afro Christianity as a means of resistance and a way Africans could gather publically. Quilombismo significance was the value in the tactics and strategies of survival, resistance and progress of African communities in contemporary Brazil (Nascimento Do, Abdias. Quilombismo: An Afro- Brazilian Political Alternative. Journal of Black Studies, 1980. Print.) Quilombismo revealed itself as a factor capable of mobilizing the Black masses in a disciplined manner when the Afro-Brazilians registered the quilombist concept. Quilombismo is in a constant process

7 Solutions for Sentences with Problematic Parallels

7 Solutions for Sentences with Problematic Parallels 7 Solutions for Sentences with Problematic Parallels 7 Solutions for Sentences with Problematic Parallels By Mark Nichol 1. â€Å"The street is lined with boisterous sports bars, nail salons, and clothing boutiques. Some neighborhood, where nail salons and clothing boutiques can be described as boisterous. Do I misunderstand? I do, because when only the first of several items in a list is given an adjective, it is easily confused as applying to each item in the list. Either omit the adjective, or play fair and supply each item with its own: â€Å"The street is lined with elegant nail salons, trendy clothing boutiques, and boisterous sports bars.† 2. â€Å"The process would be confidential, voluntary, and the information would remain the property of the teachers.† The same rule applies for verbs. Either use a verb to apply to all items in a list, or attach a verb to each item. Or, in this case, combine the first two items into a combined item: â€Å"The process would be confidential and voluntary, and the information would remain the property of the teachers.† 3. â€Å"The so-called beer summit was photographed, discussed, and dissected on blogs, newscasts, and in barbershops and bars nationwide.† Let’s not forget prepositions. In a list, one preposition carries each item, or each has its own; there’s no middle ground: â€Å"The so-called beer summit was photographed, discussed, and dissected on blogs, during newscasts, and in barbershops and bars nationwide.† (For variety, try to use a different preposition for each item.) 4. â€Å"It would be safer to keep our bushy tree trimmed so that no would-be burglar could hide under it and buy a locked mailbox to help prevent identity theft.† Infinitives want equal standing, too. The original sentence implies that the would-be burglar might buy a locked mailbox after hiding under the bushy tree. The addition of a parallel infinitive after the conjunction linking the two parts of a sentence arrests this infelicity: â€Å"It would be safer to keep our bushy tree trimmed so that no would-be burglar could hide under it and to buy a locked mailbox to help prevent identity theft.† 5. â€Å"Legislation is often to blame, not because legislators are bad people but often they act on partial or misleading information.† Two reasons, one invalid and the other valid, are supplied in this sentence. Set them up separately, each with its own because: â€Å"Legislation is often to blame, not because legislators are bad people but because they often act on partial or misleading information.† 6. â€Å"The location features stifling heat, bacteria, polluted seas, lice, and bad cuisine.† If you’re going to modify one or most nouns in a list, go all the way and precede each with a pertinent adjective: â€Å"The location features stifling heat, gut-wrenching bacteria, polluted seas, itchy lice, and bad cuisine.† 7. â€Å"The afflictions are believed to include autism and learning and hyperactivity disorders.† Is learning a stand-alone item, or does disorders apply to it as well as to hyperactivity? You don’t know until you get to the end of the sentence, when it’s too late. The inclusion of a comma after autism prevents a stumble, and inserting â€Å"as well as† helps link the two remaining list items: â€Å"The afflictions are believed to include autism, as well as learning and hyperactivity disorders.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:85 Synonyms for â€Å"Help†Body Parts as Tools of Measurement50 Synonyms for â€Å"Villain†

Civil War Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Civil War - Term Paper Example The civil war was also a morality issue. Most stories of the civil war are depicted from the eyes and viewpoint of the whites, either Northern or Southern white people. There are not many books detailing the war from the perspective of the African-American slaves at that time and their roles in the civil war. They had certainly made big contributions to the ultimate victory of the North but these were mostly either not given prominence or just glossed over to a certain extent. The previous kind of master narratives viewed the US civil war as mainly among the white themselves. This paper attempts to explore a narrative within this master narrative. It will detail in the following pages how the issue of slavery took a decisive role in the ultimate victory of the North because of the help from the black slaves who took great risks to choose their freedom. Moreover, this paper will also try to explain and demolish some of the myths surrounding the role of the blacks in the civil war at i ts most crucial moments when the outcome of the war had hung in the balance (no pun intended). Finally, this paper also talks about how slavery in America really indeed, with the wits and guile of an obscure general named Butler. Discussion The US civil war started when eleven Southern states declared their secession from the United States of America and formed the Confederate States of America. The core of the issue was slavery but even the newly-elected Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, did not call for its outright abolition. In fact, he was very careful to tread on this sensitive issue and declared only that slavery should not be allowed to expand into other states. In other words, slavery will remain in those states where slavery already existed. However, Southern whites took umbrage at this declaration which they considered to be a threat to their way of life that was based on slave labor. The larger narrative of the civil war was that Pres. Lincoln did not take direct st eps to abolish slavery precisely to avoid war and preserve the Union. Lincoln gave this reassurance because he knew there will no winners or losers in civil war; there will only be losers on both sides. His phronesis (practical wisdom) and training as a lawyer gave him the ability to weigh several options but all based on constitutionality. But as the South declared hostilities and as the war progressed, his position took a hardline stance as he knew the issue of slavery will rear its ugly head once again if allowed to continue. This issue will never rest until it is extinguished completely and one sure way to do that was win the war decisively. His ultimate objective was to preserve the Union at all costs but somehow later down the road, also find justification for abolishing slavery through legal means. Pres. Lincoln was in a serious quandary as the US Constitution had guaranteed rights to slavery for those states who wanted it (McPherson, 1996, p. 100). He was also personally aga inst slavery and abhorred its practices and evil inhumanity to fellow human beings but he could not just prosecute the war to its bitter end and present it as a war against slavery. There has to be some other solution and it came from a newly-appointed general named Benjamin Franklin Butler; he was a lawyer by profession and given the rank of major general. The narrative –

Johnstown Flood Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Johnstown Flood - Research Paper Example It goes without saying that the Johnstown Flood was both a human and economic tragedy. More than 2,200 Americans were killed in this flood and it caused a huge economic damage amounting to $17 million (Foote 94). One peculiar thing about Johnstown Flood was that it turned out to be the first of its kind disaster relief operation that was handled by the American Red Cross, under the leadership of Clara Barton. Not to mention that the support for these relief operation emanated from across the United States of America and many foreign countries. International Red Cross to begin with was essentially meant to be a battlefield relief organization that was designed to provide help and relief to the victims of wars (Ritter 15). The American Red Cross in consonance with the spirit of its parent organization, also primarily intended to be a war relief organization (Ritter 15). The founder of the American Red Cross that is Clara Barton though had some experience in the battlefield relief opera tions during the American Civil War, it was her heartfelt belief that the American Red Cross could also evolve to be a major instrument of help during the peace time catastrophes and disasters (Ritter 15). In that sense the Johnstown flood came as an opportunity for the American Red Cross to extend help, aid and relief to the victims of an unprecedented peace time disaster. Thereby, the role played by Clara Barton in these relief operations does deserve a salient mention. The 67 year old founder of the American Red Cross determinedly rushed to the scene of disaster, once she came to know of it (Burton 118). She not only helped organize the requisite supplies and material donations, but also beckoned the friends, acquaintances and the citizens of America to accompany her in this relief cause (Burton 118). As it happens in most of the relief operations, the American Red Cross did not act alone to extend relief and help. Before Barton and her crew arrived on the scene, a group of dedic ated Johnstown residents had already initiated a relief operation intended at taking care of a number of local necessities like clean up and repairs, food distribution, restoring the local government, arranging the necessary supplies, etc (Douglas 336). Help and funds poured in from various sectors and voluntary organizations like citizen groups, The Children’s Aid Society, Yellow Cross, and foreign relief organizations (Douglas 336). The primary contribution of the American Red Cross was that it extended the emergency relief and help to the impacted people, before more permanent and elaborate relief distribution could be initiated and organized by the government and voluntary organizations. The role played by the American Red Cross was not merely limited to the immediate aftermath of this disaster, but rather happened to be prolonged, dealing with the provision of shelter and household supplies to the victims (Johnstown Flood Museum 1). Going by the fact that at the time of Johnstown Flood, the American Red Cross was not the exclusive local chapter of the International Red Cross, the organization did much to help and aid the survivors of this disaster (Johnstown Flood Museum 1). It helped nearly 25,000 people and distributed goods and supplies worth $211,000 (Johnstown Flood Museum 1). The American Red Cross also built the Red Cross Hotels that sheltered large

The Ideal Old Man Essay Example for Free

The Ideal Old Man Essay The initial reason for designing and constructing the Maglev vehicles was to create a car that could both carry a high number of people in a quick amount of time, and be the most cost efficient. Unfortunately for me, a high number of people would not be able to squeeze into my car. A slow, yet steady and comfortable pace made it quite obvious that my car was not in the upper echelon of the class. Instead however, it found its own identity as being ideal for an old man. Freedom rides through the countryside would be this cars specialty. In preparation for our upcoming project, we first watched a video on modern day Maglev vehicles. In the video we learned about the theories of magnets and electricity working together to form a high-speed vehicle. We learned about the futuristic possibilities of traveling from New York to Washington (without spilling your coffee) in relatively short time. The main purpose of a Maglev vehicle is for mass transportation in a quick amount of time. After we were introduced to the Maglev vehicle in the video, we proceeded to the computer lab to peruse the Internet. On the Internet, we found a variety of current Maglev vehicles. We got to check out the various speeds and performances that these particular vehicles had. In the making are some more elite types of Maglev vehicles. Perhaps someday in the near future, there will be a Maglev line running through our very own town. It was now time to plan out a strategy on the design of my car. The very first thing I sketched out was how wide the track was. A car any wider than the track would obviously not be able to run. Also, the magnets had to be a little more than an inch separated apart or else the magnets would not function properly. My completed sketch was a relatively small car that would be able to fit approximately 7-10 passengers at a time. One motor was supposed to rest on the top of the rear end and act as a propeller. Once my advisor approved my sketch, I looked for the proper materials in making my vehicle. The first thing I found was the material for my body. A light Styrofoam material was perfect for the design of my car. I cut out the proper design and also placed a shield of protection on it. Once the basic body was established, I found a base made of a hard light plastic. The plastic was easy to cut so that the contours of my base would match that of the car. Once I had my body and my base all set, I needed to install the ingredient that makes it all happen, the magnets. You could not just plug the magnets on the base in any sort of arrangement that you want. The magnets have to be placed on in rows approximately one inch apart. Also, the magnets (once they are placed on) must repel the force given off of the track so that the Maglev vehicle can float. After the magnets were carefully put on, it was time to install the motor system. The motor system consisted of one motor, two wires, and a propeller. The two wires would touch the side of the Maglev track and generate power inside the motor, which would turn the propeller. Once my motor system was installed, I was ready to test out my product on the track. Something was wrong. Placing my vehicle on the track was no different than trying to drive a car while it is elevated, the motor was humming but it wasnt moving an inch. Upon observation, I concluded that my car had too much weight pushing down on the magnetic track. The one thing I could do was to hollow out the insides of the Styrofoam, which would reduce much of the weight. Well, that didnt do too much. So I continued to chop away at the body of my car. Each crucial chop eliminated the passenger rate of my vehicle. Eventually the weight balanced out when my vehicle totaled the passenger rate of 1. 5. Saddened by the loss of passenger space, I was happy to see that my vehicle could at least move. My vehicle was now completed. All it needed was a purple colored body, and a beautiful purple baseball No. 4 for good luck. A cheap car to build, it only cost a shade over $57 million ($50 million going into labor). Measurements concluded that a mere 1. 5 passengers could jam into my cars tight surroundings. With the knowledge of my car being a one man wrecking crew I tested it on the track to see how much speed my puppy could burn. Once the results came in, it was time to label my Maglev car ideal for the old man. A respectable average speed of 4. 75, my car will not pass the board of transportations expectations. However, if the time comes for personal Maglev use in the future, people can come to either me or Q. Some controversy was brought up in aspects to the motor. A more efficient gold motor was placed on some of the other vehicles, and showed that they performed at a higher speed. Would my car have broken record speeds with this gold motor? Although my car would not have passed the expectations of the Maglev transportation theories, I did learn a lot about how electricity and magnets can work together. I learned that the Maglev is a mode of transportation for the future. A low (if not zero) pollution percentage, a Maglev would be ideal to the ozone. I found it amazing how the vehicles actually float down the track. The main problem for me was the weight factor. For some reason, I wasnt able to carry a space wide enough to fit any more than two passengers. Speculation could lead to bad magnet placement on the bottom. If I could do it again, I would design a car that distributes the weight more evenly throughout the base so I could fit more passengers. I would also look into purchasing the gold motor for higher velocity. I thought it was a fun project and I recommend it to future generations of classes.

Oxygen Essay -- essays research papers

Oxygen Oxygen, symbol O, colorless, odorless, tasteless, slightly magnetic gaseous element. On earth, oxygen is more abundant than any other element. Oxygen was discovered in 1774 by the British chemist Joseph Priestley and, independently, by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele; it was shown to be an elemental gas by the French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier in his classic experiments on combustion. Large amounts of oxygen are used in high-temperature welding torches, in which a mixture of oxygen and another gas produces a flame of much higher temperature than is obtained by burning gases in air. Oxygen is administered to patients whose breathing is impaired and also to people in aircraft flying at high altitudes, where the poor oxygen concentration cannot support normal respiration. Oxygen-enriched air is used in open-hearth furnaces for steel manufacture. Most of the oxygen produced in the United States is used to make a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen called synthesis gas, used for the synthesis of methanol and ammonia. High-purity oxygen is used also in the metal- fabrication industries; in liquid form it is of great importance as a propellant for guided missiles and rockets2. I have chosen the element "Oxygen" because without Oxygen, human beings would not be able to live. Oxygen is probably the single most important element...

Electronic mail will out perform the regular Postal Service Essay

New technologies have always allowed us to do things faster, more efficiently and more professionally than ever before. Generally, every new technology is a step forward for speed and productivity. The speed, usage, reliability, and expense make electronic mail more desirable than our general postal system. The speed of transfer is an important part of the decision to send mail by either E-Mail or Postal System. E-mail has a distinct advantage in this category. With the click of a button, ones message is sent. Whether you are sending an e-mail to a person across the street or to Afghanistan, the transfer rate is virtually the same. The Postal Delivery System takes from two days to two weeks to deliver even the smallest package. Depending on the locations of the sender and the receiver, even sending a letter to the house across the street takes unnecessary time. Another variable aspect of the two mail systems is ease-of-use. E-Mail has advantages when viewed from this angle. For one thing, E-Mail has no limitations on pick up or delivery. Anyone who wishes to use E-Mail may do so on his or her own leisure. When receiving letters from the Post Office waiting is a major inconvenience, taking time out of the person’s day. In addition, writing a letter by hand often allows room for error. The E-Mail user also has to pay a monthly fee for an internet account, generally ranging from eight dollars to twenty-five dollars per month, and the user may send unlimited E-mails. Local Post Offices charge for envelops and packaging material. The cost of a stamp is thirty-seven cents for each letter. This cost adds up when mailing three to four letters a day. Reliability of E-Mail far outweighs the Postal System. Because a computer network runs e-mail, human error is unlikely. Consequently, E-Mail is usually transferred to the correct address; it is never lost, stolen, and its contents are never removed or damaged. On the other hand, the Postal System has more problems. Since humans deliver the envelopes, error is very  common. Letters are often delivered to the wrong address creating delay for the intended recipitant. In addition, dishonest postal workers have stolen checks and other items out of packages. When choosing how to mail letters, think about the most used system in the world of today. E-Mail is a system that rarely looses or damages letters, and offers fair and low rates. Even though the Postal System offers low rates, the speed and safety of delivery is sacrificed due to unqualified and dishonest employees. E-Mail is instant, cheaper, and most reliable way to send letters.