Martin And Stokely On Violence

Chris Smith

In reaction to violence, both Dr. Marin Luther King and Stokely Carmichael both organized social movements against white supremacy though each thinker’s ideas on how violence works had commonalities and divisions.  According to King, in marches sometimes non-violence brings about more results then violence. For King this is because marches get the black people more involved and gives them something to commit too. According to Carmichael, the white versus black double standard where white people are excused when using violence towards blacks but blacks can’t do the same towards whites still sticks when it comes to using violence. Carmichael’s theory of America’s bias view on violence is extremely useful because it opens people’s eyes to the difficult problem of police brutality in the black community. Though I concede that Stokely’s view was correct, I still in insist that King produced more change with marches then with violence because that is what is remembered today and he is the one with the national holiday.

Malcolm X Essay.

The elections in the mid 60’s brought about much uproar in the African American community. Activist called together groups and discussed the chicanery and deceit that was to come. In his speech “The Bullet or the Ballot”, Malcolm X encouraged a sense of pride in oneself and attaining, even if by force, equality, which is everyone’s birthright. He called for an awareness of all the lies pending and a realization of the strength that lies in community. The same way strength is used in war when unified for causes sometimes unbeknown of parties fighting, in the same sense that could be implemented in conquering the demons of racial injustice. Malcolm X reassured people that it was not unbeknown of him that he was not a political figure but fact was fact. It was unfair that becoming “American” was not based on the soil on which they all stood but on the base of pigmentation.  “Everything that came out of Europe is an American. As long as you and I have been over here, we aren’t Americans yet” he said in concluding. In selecting someone to represent you there should be a sense of self-assurance in that person. With the events occurring and the way the laws were in place, African Americans were in a dry place. It was about changing the foundation and emerging in equilibrium with everyone else before they could move forward. Malcolm X amongst others stood as a backbone to a people capable of so much, yet bound by a structure designed against the,  yet having the audacity to want their vote. The most significant point in this was injustice.

"Workin' On The Chain Gang"

Chris Smith

In this blog I will examine the introduction of Walter Mosley’s “Workin’ On The Chain Gang”.

In it Mosley used race as a fundamental basis to further explain some of the problems that face us all in America. Mosley illustrates in the text how we are all subjugated to an economic system. He rationalizes the very idea that people are worth their weight in labor and the vassalage black people experienced for centuries is currently still standing and now inclusive of us all despite race, color, gender, or religion. He boldly states “We will have to pay for our future every day. We’ll pay in blood, sweat, and sacrifice.”

This authoritarianism we are all now slaves to is called capitalism. Mosley explains capitalism perfectly in the text saying, “Capitalism has no race or nationality. Capitalism has no humanity. All that exists in the capitalist bible is the margin of profit, the market share, and those quirks of individualism that must be dealt with in much the same manner as a mechanic must deal with a faulty element; removal and replacement” (Mosley, 12). This quotation is significant because it confirms that we are altogether really under the same order of ruling as slavery in the sense that we must do as our employer wills of us otherwise be removed. As with slavery we are at the shortcoming of supply and demand and so we must succumb.