Chapter 14: Building African American Identities and Public Perceptions
The author details how African Americans built their identities and public perceptions in chapter 14. African Americans valued their heritage and sought to reclaim their identity, according to the author's primary argument. Black power groups, like the Black Panther Party (BPP), were founded by African Americans with the goal of reclaiming the black identity and fostering a favorable perception of the race. According to the author, "black power reclaimed what had once been a stigmatized identity." (317). This demonstrates that African Americans were ready to alter the negative perceptions that people had of them. African Americans were also inspired to forge their own identities as a result of the Vietnam War.
The author notes that "the war itself radicalized black soldiers, who created their own symbols of black pride" (317). Even their leaders encouraged them to be proud of being black, with Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. saying that "now I'm black, but I'm black and beautiful" (332), while addressing an audience in New Jersey. This indicates that they all wanted to create an identity that portrayed African Americans as beautiful people. Furthermore, African Americans started looking at themselves and appreciating their blackness. African Americans "broke from the prevailing American mindset of seeing black people as a problem and found beauty and value in blackness" (318). Moreover, "many African Americans embraced separatists black power rather than continuing to petition for the rights of American citizenship" (318). African Americans joined politics, and black representatives were elected into office. The author notes that "the number of black elected officials continued to climb" (318). This reveals that African Americans were claiming their place in the country, through politics. African Americans wanted to eliminate the negative image that was associated with them, and they did not care about what white people thought of their way of life anymore. African Americans wanted to have independence from the white people's culture, since "black power meant black people defining themselves positively, regardless of what white people thought" (318).
They did not base their thoughts and way of doing things on what white people wanted or expected of them but rather, on what they wanted as a people. During the black power era, under the leadership of Carmichael and Hamilton, black people decided to fight for themselves without looking up to institutions for help. This meant working towards meeting their needs by themselves. However, the warned that "black people were going to use words they want to use, not just words that white people wanted to hear" (319). They wanted to do things their way as a people. They also decided to re-educate themselves so as to find new solutions to their problems and "these new solutions did not need to be respectable or acceptable in the eyes of white Americans" (320). This would give them their own way of doing things, away from what the white people prescribed. They also formed their own service institutions through the Panther, which "set up free medical and dental clinics". They also created freedom schools (323). This shows how African Americans were dedicated to creating their own identity as a people.
Chapter 15: Defining Authentic Blackness
In chapter 15, the author discusses how African Americans defined being authentic black. The author's main argument is that African Americans have made a great contribution to the American culture.
In order to always remember the civil rights activists who fought for the rights of black people, African Americans established the black heritage culture. Through this, "civil rights museums now exist in many places in the South" (359). These museums have promoted cultural nationalism in the U.S. In addition, holidays have been created to honor black leaders. For example, "the U.S designated the annual federal holiday marking the birthday of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. in 1986" (359). This shows how African Americans have contributed to the current culture in the U.S, in this case through the creation of holidays. African Americans participated and excelled in national sports and became great entertainers. For example, actor and actress Denzel Washington and Halle Berry respectively "did the seemingly impossible by winning Oscars for the best actor and best actress in the same year" (361). From this example, it is clear that African Americans' contribution to the American culture was being recognized even by non-black people. One of the main contributions is the popular culture that has spread all over the world through the hip-hop culture. The hip-hop culture has influenced the creation of black content and the provision opportunities to artists. It has "given rise to its own version of movies, poetry, and fashion" (367). This culture has made African Americans more visible to the world as it is their unique invention. In addition, the use of rap music to voice their feelings and thoughts has extended beyond the U.S. Rap music is also used in other countries where "it gives voice to the poor, the oppressed and the youth in revolt against official harassment" (367). The author notes that "rap music reaches millions of non-African American consumers all around the world" (367). The African Americans influence has gone beyond borders, indicating a great cultural contribution by the black people.
Conclusion
These two chapters have improved my understanding of the history of the African Americans to a large extent. Chapter 14 has explained how African Americans created their own identity by detaching themselves from the white people culture through re-educating themselves and forming their own service institutions. They embraced their originality and portrayed a positive image of blackness. Chapter 15 explains how African Americans have contributed to the American culture by participating in sports, music movies and other forms of art. Their contribution has spread to other countries around the world.
