Journal Comparison
The two journal articles present a clear view on the troubles of many Black Americans during the past centuries. What was explained in the articles was their dreadful fate from the hands of the White Americans, as blacks suffered much from the discrimination of the whites. The first article discusses the plight of blacks, particularly of the black women. During the slave times, black women suffered much from working too hard in the homes of the whites, as they do the laundry, wash the dishes, cook food for their masters and all other heavy chores. It points out how the author is vexed by how the white women lie to their friends of working in the house, when they know in truth that the black women did all the hard work. According to the article, the white women are “untouchable” and feel like “angels” as they are the masters of the blacks and they can do whatever they want. But in reality, both the black and the white women are the same. The color of their blood is red and that same blood runs through their veins, and the way the whites stress their difference with the blacks paved way for the desire of the blacks for liberation. The articles emphasized also that the blacks possess anger for the whites but this anger helped them to make the whites realize that they are as important in their society; they are also humans, they have rights, and they suffer much from problems such as pollution, poverty, malnutrition and hunger.
The article by talks about the role of Black women in the society. According to the article, black women work side by side with black men for their survival, for their liberation, and for giving justice from so much injustice. The author was able to develop a program for her people, called the Freedom Farm Coop and became involved with the Young World Developers. The author’s involvement with the programs helped poor black and white families as well, in resolving their problems regarding poverty and hunger. Her determination to aid many has helped many people as well. The author also used her influence to pursue the education of her people and strongly believed that the excellent skills of black teachers are not different from the skills of whites. It is true that the black women has suffered much from their situation as slaves, but instead of retaliating against the whites, they fought for their rights for equality, gathered resources and aid from many concerned citizens around the world, as the author did, and made a difference by protecting their humanity. The author cited that during one occasion, many young people around the world are having a walk or a strike against poverty and hunger. The funds from this walk will go to the program of Hamer and contribute to help many poor black and white families in the society.
In the second article, the slavery and the inhumane situation of the blacks or the Negroes in general, were given in detail. The blacks suffer much from the unusual brutality and the merciless scourging during the slave times. The article also reported that the white masters could not kill their slaves for losing thousands of dollars, so it is much better to sell them than kill them in order to get rid of them. It also emphasized that the whites own the body and soul of the Negro, as they have great power over them. However, the time for the whites to disown them came at the time of the Emancipation or the Negroes’ liberation. But Emancipation did not do anything good for the Negroes, instead, the whites were given more power, as they do not only physically punish and scourge the Negroes, but kill them as well. The article reports that many Negroes were murdered and executed during these times, having no judicial or legal trials. This matter has awakened the conscience of the public and lead to thinking of excuses for the barbarism of the whites toward the Negroes. The article cited , who is the greatest of all Negroes, to have had come up with three excuses for the crimes. First excuse of the whites is to repress and stamp out alleged “race riots” due to the planned insurrection of the Negroes against the whites. Many colored men and women were slaughtered during those times, but the idea of insurrection never materialized, nor was any Negro rioter apprehended because of it. For this matter, the Southern whites came up with the second excuse, which had its birth during the turbulent times of reconstruction (). Negroes were given the right of franchise and to vote, but this did not last long as the whites would not respect the fact that the Negroes also belong to a republican country. The government has given them freedom but could not and would not protect that freedom. For the poor Negro, the small white ballot that he holds is the symbol of his humanity and citizenship, and the whites would not grant them that right, as the whites won again and the blacks became voiceless once more in the councils. The Negroes were eliminated from all participation in state and national elections, and their killing has not been stopped. The third excuse would be the worst, as the Negroes were condemned to be rapists and assailants of womanhood. This happens when a black man makes a relationship with a white woman, and the Negro is killed for it. With all these accusations, the image of the Negro much worsened and suffered much more. It could be deduced that their era in slave times could be much better than in their time of their liberation. One example of this damnation of the Negroes was exemplified in the movie based on the book by entitled A Time to Kill (1996). In this movie, a ten-year-old black girl was raped and beaten by two white men, and his father takes the law into his own hands and murders them. The most compelling question raised by this film is whether a black man can get a fair trial from a white judge and jury (1996). This situation is relevant to the plight of the Negroes before as injustice for the Negro prevails that time.
The significance of these two articles lies on its impact to the readers. We can deduce that both articles cite the injustices that black people suffer from the whites, as they are always wrongly accused, punished and maltreated in different situations. Both articles emphasize the impact of slavery to the blacks and both stress that these injustices did not hinder them from doing and fighting for what is right despite the maltreatments but instead, it helped them to fight for equality and justice in the society. The good Samaritans in their time became their inspiration. These people or missionaries helped them understand Christianity, and this pushed them to hold on to their faith. In the first article, the author mentioned the story of the old wise man, and the plot of two young persons to deceive him. The birds in the story represent the black people and their freedom, as many circumstances test their faith and endurance, but in turn, their fate will still be in their hands; that their freedom from slavery and maltreatment depends on how they will do about it. It is better nowadays, as people are more open now regarding the issue of racism. Racism is a big issue in different parts of the world and racial discrimination has affected many issues present in the society. This article has given us a clear picture of what people think before, and this can be used to re-evaluate our perceptions regarding the culture and race of different individuals. We must always bear in mind that each person is a unique individual, belongs to a specific race and has certain beliefs and practices. With this, we must remember that no race is superior or inferior to another, whatever skin color and type of hair a person has.
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