Student Presentation #12: Gabe on The Scottsboro Boys

The Story of the Scottsboro Trials: The court case that shaped the Civil Rights Movement

The Martin Luther King “I have a Dream” speech, Rosa Parks, and the ground breaking decision from Brown v. Board of Education were the foundation that helped construct the civil rights movement. It is well known that the Civil Rights movement began in the mid to late 1950’s well into the 1980’s. Whether it was African Americans fighting for the end of segregation to gender equality movement to the Chicano Movement, the foundation of these struggles were the necessity to become equal. These groups sought to change the national staple that label these groups as inferior, an issue that plagued the lower class for decades. Prior to the Civil Rights movement, Alabama was at the center of the Jim Crow Law, where a train ride greatly altered the lives of nine African Americans boys. This may quite have been the beginning of the Civil Rights movement for many reasons.

Throughout the early 1900’s it was common in the South that once an accusation was made against an African American, regardless of its legitimacy, the law proclaimed that suspect guilty until proven innocent. This issue was a common practice among lawyers, judges and prosecutors, who would deny the liberty and fair trial of African Americans. The Scottsboro trail was no exception. These boys were being prosecuted after a rumble ensued on a freight train traveling throughout Alabama. The nine Scottsboro boys left a group of white kids stranded after they were kicked out the train following the fight. Thus leaving two white women on the train with the remaining nine black boys. After word got out about the fight and that two white women were left on the train, a group of armed civilians and officers were waiting in Paint Rock, Alabama, the stop that altered the lives of these men forever. After these nine men were arrested, the two women, Victoria Gates and Ruby Price, were taken into custody and asked if they were assaulted. It was reported that the police officer that questioned the woman place this misleading notion that these black boys raped these woman. In an attempt to harm these boys, much greater than an assault against the white gang, the public wanted these boys to suffer by charging each with rape of the two white women.

The court case, which was widely controversial for its lack of evidence and severe illustration of racism, received national attention from several radical legal-action organizations such as the NAACP and the International labor defense. These organizations wanted to broadcast to a national level the inequities in the Alabama justice system. As the court cases went to trial the initial verdict rendered that all nine suspect were guilty in the rape of Victoria Price and Ruby Gates. In 1932, the International labor defense sought to challenge the initial verdict on the grounds that these men were discriminated against, grounds for an immediate re-trial. The case was appealed up to the Alabama Supreme court, in which the decision was upheld. It was not until the landmark supreme court ruling of Powell v. Alabama stated that it is deemed unconstitutional to deny the right to counseling from the time of their arraignment up to the time of the trial. This was the second landmark decision that allowed African Americans the right to receive equality in the justice system. This may well in fact have been the start of the civil rights movement.

Following the decision from Powell v. Alabama, another major precedent was set in Patterson v. Alabama where an African American is denied his due process constitutional right if the jury pool excludes African Americans. These two major precedents laid the foundation to allow African Americans the opportunity to fight for equality. This was during an era where the United States justice system have finally shun the light on developing a system based on equality. The actions from this case was ahead of its time, the precedents were the only staple in allowing African Americans to fight back. Society was too fearful to combat these issues because this was still during the time of lynching, Jim Crowe and post-reconstruction. 

These court decisions were made during the time of the great depression, continuous culture battle between the north and the south, and legal violence within the justice system. Although there weren’t any major upheaval among the black community with riots and protest, the subject of the case allowed African Americans to seek justice. This court case provided an alternative to persecution. It allowed African Americans to help develop the idea that justice may finally be available to them. This case demonstrated that in order to seek some form of liberation from a deeply rooted racial society one must fight. The fight that was shown in this court case was a legal battle that the nine Scottsboro and their lawyers would never give up, that in order for an issue to finally change one must fight for it. The state of Alabama was against the nine boys whether it was the legal system or the white community. The only thing that those nine innocent children had were the fight and determination to stop these reckless acts of social injustice.

These men filed for their freedom. Although there were not completely successful, those nine African American boys opened the door to the civil rights movement. It took sacrificing their freedom and lives to allow the African American community to change the ideology of what it meant to be free. It was clear that nothing was going to be given to them; they had to take matters into their own hand. Showcasing that freedom and peace will only be guaranteed if you fight for it.

Student Presentation #11: Henri on the Black Panther Party

Appropriation and reinterpretation in the ideology of the Black Panther Party

While the belief system of the Black Panther Party is generally referred to as Marxist-Leninist, the reality is somewhat more complicated. The problem with classifying the BPP in this manner is that it can be quite misleading: while the members did study Marx and Lenin, the concepts present in those ideologies were subject to adaptation and reinterpretation. Understanding how the ideology of the BPP functions is important, because it is consistent with the way other radical militant groups, such as the Rote Armee Fraktion or Revolutionäre Zellen, functioned during the Prague Spring period.

The appropriation and reinterpretation of ideological concepts is closely connected to the left-wing disillusionment with more doctrinaire forms of Marxism, which was a direct result of the Prague Spring. The following era of radical innovation that led to increased support for violence and militant radicalisation is referred to as the Prague Spring period. While the BPP had very focused goals in comparison to the Left as a whole, their approach to ideology is consistent with the period.

 Before giving examples of the process of ideological adaptation, it might be useful to first define what Marxism and Leninism actually are. The most obvious answer is that they are the respective ideologies of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, but we obviously need to look a bit deeper than that. Marxism is such a wide field that providing a curt description can be somewhat difficult. In essence, it is a simultaneously an ideology and a dialectical tool that focuses on analysing liberal and capitalist economics. Based on the premise of labour being the source of value (and the species-being for humans, but that is not pertinent here), it concludes that all forms of capitalism are inherently unstable and detrimental. By combining rhetoric, historical analysis, political science and economics (this “combination” is referred to as historical materialism), it encourages the ideas of class solidarity and argues that violent revolution in the form of a class war is the only way to fix the system or to correct the course of human history.

Leninism, on the other hand, is an ideology that is entirely based on Marxism. Instead of assuming that the progression from capitalism to socialism and finally to communism is inevitable, Lenin believed that there has to be a vanguard party of some sort. You might recall from A Huey P. Newton Story that he referred to the BPP as a “vanguard of the revolution”. That is not a description; it’s a strictly defined ideological concept. The vanguard party is a small group of leading thinkers and radicals should essentially lead the charge. They are the vanguard, which clearly indicates that they are the first ones on the field of battle. The goal of the vanguard is to replace the current state-apparatus or take it over and replace it with a socialist worker’s state.

The late 1960s were a period of radicalisation to the Black Freedom Movement. The previous attempts to gain political leverage through moderation and, occasionally, commodity riots, had not been incredibly successful. The Civil Rights activists had made some progress, but the 60s were largely a period of stagnancy. This, combined with the Prague Spring effect, led to the radicalisation of the movement, which was concurrent with the emergence of the Black Arts Movement. In terms of political science, the logic behind militant radicalisation is not particularly complex. If one of the defining features of a state is that it has a total monopoly on violence, then one of the ways of gaining political leverage or power is by directing or threatening to direct violence against the state itself by forming a base of violence that is not controlled by the apparatus.

The process of appropriation and interpretation can be likened to the process described in James Stewart’s The Development of the Black Revolutionary Artist. They are constructing a mode of thought: a new Black Power dialectic. It might utilise more traditional concepts, but it is first and foremost a Black Power ideology. Understanding the history behind the ideas and symbols the group is taking is still quite important, however.

The raised or clenched fist is one of the most important symbols of the BPP. It is often described as a Black Power fist. The first time it was used as a symbol or a logo was in Germany during the 1920s, after the First World War. The Spartakusbund had fallen apart and was replaced by the Communist Party of Germany, who decided to sponsor a paramilitary wing called the Rotfrontkämpferbund, or “Alliance of Red Front Fighters”. It was led by Ernst Thälmann, who was the first person to use the symbol to represent a group. In essence, what the BPP did was take Thälmann’s “Faust hoch” and paint it black. The gesture behind the symbol is older than Thälmann, but in older depictions it is always seen wielding an implement of some sort.

The BPP was not even limited to the ideologies of Marx and Lenin, which is another reason the term is misleading. They took some Maoist concepts, and Eldridge Cleaver even considered himself to be a Nechayevian. Describing Nechayev in great detail is probably not that important to the topic at hand, but his ideology is completely incompatible with Marxism and Leninism. Nechayev was a sort of an apprentice to Mikhail Bakunin, and the name of his ideology has been a derogatory term for that last 150 years. The term Nechayevschina was coined by Karl Marx, and it was later used by the post-Stalin Soviet Union to mock the kind of communism present in China. The term refers to barracks communism, which is a sort of forced communist system that is structured into separated barracks or community units in a way that resembles military organisation. The fact that Cleaver decided to be a Nechayevian is historically rare and incredibly bizarre, and the fact that the only Nechayevian in the Black Panther Party seems to have turned into a Republican spokesperson of some sort in the 90s does not help matters either. Still, it is an example of a BPP member ideologically appropriating something that would not be consistent with Marxism, Leninism or Maoism unless it was subject to heavy reinterpretation.

Student Presentation #10: Brandon on Got Tell It On the Mountoun

Go tell it on the Mountain 
Over the hills and everywhere  
Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. 

Go tell it on a Mountain 

Over the hills and everywhere 

Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.
      

Those are just some of the lyrics to the legendary gospel song Go Tell It on the Mountain. The song was composed by John Wesley Work Junior in 1865. The song has been redone by countless artists and there have been many different versions of it by Kirk Franklin, Dolly Patron, Bob Marley, Vanessa Williams, and Sarah Evans, just to name a few. 

 

     No matter which artist has done their rendition of the song, the meaning, I would say,  remains the same. The poetic significance of the song is this: To tell something on a mountain is a metaphor for going to a high place or a very visible or audible place and telling the masses something that is important to you. It is a form of self-expression, a complete release of self. With the song this total release is made possible by sustaining your faith in God and never waning from it. It is made possible by never denying the power and grace of the Lord All mighty and doing your due diligence as a believer in him. This release, a validation of self-assurance, the peace of mind it brings is so simple and complete. Yet it is the exact thing that no one in James Baldwin's 1953 novel Go Tell It on the Mountain can do.
     Go Tell It on the Mountain was the first of many works for Baldwin but it remains to be his most popular one. The novel focuses on the lives of four characters and how family intertwines with religion and dominates them. The protagonist, John, is faced with the dilemma of not accepting his father or his religion. It is very difficult for John because nearly everyone expects him to be a man of god just like his father. John however wants nothing to do with that lifestyle.
   
"He lived for the day when his father would be dying and he, John, would curse him on his death-bed. And this was why, though he had been born in the faith and had been surrounded all his life by the saints and by their prayers and their rejoicing, and though the tabernacle in which they worshipped was more completely real to him than the several precarious homes in which he and his family had lived, John's heart was hardened against the Lord. His father was God's minister, the ambassador of the King of Heaven, and John could not bow before the throne of grace without first kneeling to his father." (Pg.13-14, Baldwin.)
 
The other characters are Elizabeth, Gabriel, and Florence. They are all a part of the same family and share some of the same experiences but it is their individuality that makes their respective stories interesting.
     Florence cannot successfully communicate her wants for the finer things in life to her husband. She is never fully satisfied within her relationship and never obtains the things she desires the most. She wants to have a nice home and sustainable things to her possession. However, her husband can never discipline himself enough to save money and spend it responsibility/ He almost always makes impulsive purcahses with money that lead to conflicts with Florence.
     Despite his success and influence Gabriel is not happy with-self. His constant abuse of his wife and children highlight the insecurities he has. He uses fear to intimate those closest to him to get his way while putting on a completely different persona when he is in public. 

“Then his father raised his belt, and it fell with a whistling sound on Roy who shivered and fell back his face to the wall. But he did not cry out. And the belt was raised again, and again. The air rang with the whistling and the crack! against Roy’s flesh. And the baby, Ruth began to scream.” (pg. 44, Baldwin)
 
Gabriel is unhappy with himself and is in deep denial about who he is. Because he is also citing God as his source and his salvation he cannot show weakness in the Church. In order to enjoy the life he has created he must continue with his lie of a life that he has created for himself, further plunging him into denial and leading to abusive behavior. He ends up losing both his sons because of it. He also suffocates Elizabeth, his wife, with his abusive behavior.
     Elizabeth is really affected by the loss of her father at a young age, and she never got along with her caretaker. Elizabeth later loses her first husband, Richard, because he committed suicide. She never told him that she was carrying his son though; it is her deepest regret. Elizabeth blames herself in part for the suicide because if Richard knew he had a son maybe he would have considered his life worth living.       
      She then marries Gabriel leading to suppression of self-expression. Gabriel is abusive to her and her children. She also does not have the friendship and loving relationship with Gabriel that she enjoyed with Richard. She is afraid to tell him things. I would say she leads a life of denial and is never truly able to “Go Tell It on A Mountain”.

Works Cited 
Baldwin, James. Go Tell It On the Mountain. Reprint. New York: Dial Press, 2000.

Student Presentation #9: Floyd on Huey P. Newton

“Black power is giving power to people who have not had power to determine their destiny.”

Student Presentation #8: Destiny on for colored girls

When it comes to this particular novel, I get really emotional. Something about it just touches me in a way that I can’t really explain. The issues as a woman are crazy, especially when you have to deal with rape, contracting HIV, lost love, lost hope, lost everything. Women are naturally strong and this book shows how women can tell their story without having an identity attached to them. The movie, for me, makes the novel so much more realistic, even though in the novel you can pretty much imagine what is going. I really like this review of the movie, and here is a clip: 

Student Presentation #7: Jennifer W. on Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was an African-American poet, novelist, playwright and activist. He is known best for his poetry, and is considered one of the inventors and innovators of jazz poetry. Hughes was a major player in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and many of his poems and novels focus on the plight of African-Americans.

Hughes’ poems “The Dream Keeper” and “Dreams” are not poems that address issues related to African-American experiences alone; instead they have more universal messages. “The Dream Keeper” asserts the idea that dreams are fragile and need protection.

That I may wrap them

In a blue cloud-cloth

Away from the too-rough fingers

Of the world.”

Our dreams, Hughes suggests in this poem, must be protected from harsh outside factors, which can diminish them or even make them disappear completely. Hughes views this as a terrible thing. Another of his poems, “Dreams,” focuses on the idea that without dreams life is tedious and, in the end, not worthwhile.

“For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly”

Our dreams keep us going and they make life worth living. The poem continues:

“For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow,”

Without our dreams, Hughes reminds us, life is uninteresting and dull. These two poems highlight the importance of our dreams and therefore the need to protect them from anything that can damage or destroy them.