Please At Least Use 4 Materials For Giving Please Take A M ✓ Solved
Please al least using 4 materials for giving Please take a minute
Please take a minute to look at the questions below. As always, you should provide an analysis that does more than summarize, and you should aim for an original view of how the material combines—or doesn’t—as you see fit. You are free to use parenthetical citations (ie, Takaki, 4; Caldwell, 8). Please draw from the A-V material (videos, films,) and please be sure that bulk quotes do not take the place of your own analysis. You can just cite a film with a general citation (ie, “Cachoiera†) and you need not cite lecture material.
You need not cite lecture materials specifically, although you are of course welcome to use material from class. Ideal responses will be original, insightful, and comprehensive, with a clear statement (thesis) that lays out your argument. But we will bear in mind that you are working with a limited word count. Your total answer should fall between 1800 and 2000 words. These word limits are guidelines, not requirements.
Your total submission is likely to be around 7 pages, in a regular (ie, Times New Roman) font and 12-point size. You may write more. You may write less, although this is not recommended. In each case, you must have a thesis and an argument that is supported from citations from the texts. We are looking for clarity, originality, and comprehensiveness.
Your answer must include multiple textual cites and a discussion of at least one film.
In 1964, the black revolutionary Malcolm X compared conditions in Africa to those in America. He said “Algeria was a police state. Any occupied territory is a police state. Harlem is a police state. The police in Harlem are like an occupying force. The same conditions that forced the noble people of Algeria to resort to terrorist-type tactics…those same conditions prevail in every Negro community in the United States.” Evaluate the historical importance of Malcolm’s claim, using Cabral, Covington, Kaufman, the Black Panther Party 10-part program, The Battle of Algiers, and Malloy.
Put simply, evaluate Malcolm’s analogy as a template for understanding the black freedom struggle. The transcendentalist Unitarian minister and abolitionist reformer Theodore Parker spoke of “the moral arc of the universe” as “long, but bending toward justice.” King was fond of this phrase, as, it seems, is former President Barack Obama. The idea of American society as growing slowly, but surely, toward a freer and more equitable one seems supported by events such as emancipation, women’s suffrage, the civil rights movement, and other reforms. At the same time, Sean Malloy observes that “the persistence of police violence directed against African Americans, enduring patterns of racialized economic inequality and de facto segregation, the militarization of U.S. policing and its links to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement raise the question of what relevance the Black Panther Party and its legacy have in the twenty-first century.” More generally, Malloy points to the continuation of patterns of violence and inequity that have plagued the United States for centuries.
Mike Davis extends Malloy’s notion further, casting “political and social war” as “inevitable” in the United States. These seem two diametrically opposed ideas. In one, the U.S. is a self-regulating democracy growing ever freer. In the other, fundamental oppressions return time and again. Compare and contrast these two visions, using specific evidence from our class.
Which do you find more compelling, and why? Feel free to include material from modules #1 and #2. As had been the case in the interwar years, the postwar Black Freedom Struggle was profoundly shaped by international conditions and by the direct and indirect engagement of African Americans with struggles throughout the world. In an essay, evaluate the importance of struggles beyond the borders of the United States for thinking about the Black Freedom Struggle. You may want to discuss Algeria, South Africa, and China.
What is gained by a global approach toward thinking about African American politics? What, if anything, is lost? How do the struggles engaged after 1945 differ, if at all, from the countries (Mexico, the Soviet Union, Japan) that were influential before 1945?
Paper For Above Instructions
The American Black Freedom Struggle, spanning decades from the civil rights movement to contemporary movements like Black Lives Matter, is deeply intertwined with global conditions and struggles against colonialism and imperialism. Malcolm X's 1964 assertion that Harlem is a “police state” comparable to Algeria exemplifies the urgency and relevance of historically contextualizing domestic oppression within a global framework. This essay will evaluate Malcolm’s analogy as a basis for understanding the interconnectedness of the African American struggle for justice and liberation alongside global anti-colonial movements. Key texts from Cabral, Covington, Kaufman, and the film The Battle of Algiers provide rich insights into this discussion, revealing how examining struggles beyond U.S. borders enhances our understanding of systemic inequality and resistance.
Malcolm X’s assertion about Harlem and Algeria reflects a powerful analogy that resonates within the historical context of both locales during the 1960s. The conditions of African Americans and Algerians under colonial and systemic control reveal shared experiences of oppression. The Algerian War of Independence against French colonial rule serves as an important backdrop to understand Malcolm's observation. In Algeria, the police state exemplified through repressive measures against dissent mirrors the experiences of African Americans in Harlem, where systemic violence, racial profiling, and economic deprivation created a similar state of emergency (Malcolm X, 1964; Covington, 78).
Frantz Fanon’s writings, particularly in "The Wretched of the Earth," reinforce Malcolm’s claim by describing how colonized individuals respond to systemic oppression. Fanon argues that violence is a natural response to the psychological and physical tortures experienced under colonial rule (Fanon, 1963). The plight of Algerians fighting the French parallels the struggles of Black Americans confronting institutionalized racism and police violence. Malcolm’s comparisons compel us to analyze the implications of these struggles for the overall understanding of freedom and justice in both contexts.
Cabral's engagement with the liberation movements in Africa emphasizes the significance of international solidarity and the anti-colonial struggle that reverberated worldwide. While Cabral acknowledged the local conditions influencing liberation movements, he also articulated that “the struggle is global; the enemy is global" (Cabral, 1970, 21). These sentiments align closely with Malcolm’s ideas, suggesting that understanding the Black Freedom Struggle necessitates a comprehensive view of global anti-imperialism, such as through the connections with Algeria and broader liberation struggles across the world. The connections established through these shared experiences reveal a critical framework for assessing oppression and resistance, positioning the African American struggle within an international context.
The film The Battle of Algiers (1966) serves as a cinematic representation of the struggle for liberation against colonial oppression. The film depicts urban guerrilla warfare, police brutality, and the moral complexities of resistance, exemplifying the shared challenges faced by those in struggle. The portrayal of violence and state repression experiences faced by Algerians underscores the parallels drawn with the Black Freedom Struggle (The Battle of Algiers, 1966). The film communicates the urgent need for solidarity and the undeniable strength found in communal organization, resonating with the experiences of organizations such as the Black Panther Party.
The Black Panther Party's 10-point program highlighted many systemic injustices related to police brutality, lack of economic opportunity, and access to social services. This parallels the conditions described by Malcolm X, where societal oppression drives marginalized communities to resistance. The principles outlined in the Black Panther Party's platform concerning the demand for justice, equality, and community empowerment resonate with the fundamental claims made by Malcolm X regarding the violence perpetuated by the police state. The struggles represented by the Black Panthers further cement the notion that Malcolm's interpretations hold considerable weight regarding the interplay of local and global liberation efforts.
Investment in a global approach to analyzing the Black Freedom Struggle elucidates valuable aspects of African American politics, yet it must also be understood in a nuanced manner. Gains from a global perspective include insights into the transnational dimensions of struggle, which reveal how American injustices resonate with similar issues in other nations. For example, the collective struggles for freedom in South Africa under apartheid offer parallel considerations to racial injustices in America, emphasizing that the fight against racism is not confined to national borders (Nguyen Ai Quoc, 1951). Analyzing the legacies of global anti-colonial struggles further enriches African American political discourse, illustrating how solidarity across borders amplified resistance efforts during crucial historical moments.
However, some losses may arise from exclusively focusing on the global dimensions of African American politics. There is a danger of diluting the unique aspects of domestic struggles and specific cultural histories that inform the African American experience. While parallels can be drawn with other global contexts, it is essential to acknowledge the specificities of American racism and oppression unique to the historical and socio-political landscape of the U.S. Moreover, relying too heavily on a global framework may result in overlooking the contemporary, localized issues faced by African American communities today.
In conclusion, evaluating Malcolm X's claim reveals critical historical insights into both local and global contexts of oppression. By engaging with the relevant literature, films, and analyses, we uncover a profound understanding of the Black Freedom Struggle that transcends borders. The continued analysis of the systemic inequalities and violent histories informs current discussions on racial justice and signifies the enduring relevance of Malcolm's analogy in contemporary struggles. The inherent complexity of freedom struggles underscores the necessity for a comprehensive examination of the Black experience, acknowledging both domestic and global dimensions to produce a holistic analysis that fosters solidarity and advancement toward justice.
References
- Cabral, Amilcar. 1970. "Return to the Source: Selected Speeches of Amílcar Cabral." New York: Monthly Review Press.
- Caldwell, Charles. "The Negroization of the Chinese." In Race, Reform, and Rebellion. New York: Blackwell, 2006.
- Davis, Mike. "The Great God Trump.” New Left Review, no. 116, 2019.
- Fanon, Frantz. 1963. The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove Press.
- Kaufman, David. "What Does the Pentagon See?" In The Black Freedom Struggle. New York: Routledge, 2008.
- Malcolm X. 1964. "The Ballot or the Bullet." Speech, delivered on April 3, 1964.
- Madley, Benjamin. "Patterns of Frontier Genocide." In Race and Reform, 2016.
- Malloy, Sean. "Our Demand is Simple." The American Historical Review 124, no. 3, 2019.
- Nguyen Ai Quoc. 1951. "On Lynching and the KKK," Unpublished Manuscript.
- The Battle of Algiers. 1966. Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo.