Africana Studies Paper 3 PDF

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An essay based on the dead president movie ...

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Findley, Horaceena Fall 2019 -- 7042

Paper 3

AAFS219 Burns

The Vietnamese war was the “White Man War.” It was a crucial, pointless war. Many black soldiers enlisted for an approval of manhood, equal rights, and their patriotism of the “Great Nation.” America’s involvement in the Vietnam war showed the division of the American population. In addition, the black community have worsened in the duration of the war and as the United States participated, it resulted in a rise of capitalism which unveiled the division of the population and racism in this “free nation.” Even though the civil rights movements provided benefits to the black community, but eventually new restrictions were enforced. The Vietnam War have negatively affected the black soldiers with various struggles and demonstrated the impact on black Americans and black veterans from the Civil Rights movement. In 1942, the Double V campaign was a slogan created by African Americans to draw awareness to individuals overseas and within the United States, of the racial division in America. This occurred during World War II and this was a movement demanding for equal rights for exchange of their suffering in the war. Eventually in 1948, President Truman passed the executive order 9981 which was an outcome from Civil Right movement which abolish segregation within the U.S armed forces, yet still faced discrimination. Many blacks’ soldiers fought against discrimination back home and this was a continuation into the Vietnamese War. In the movie, Dead Presidents, there was a scene when Anthony found a flyer labeled, U.S Blackman on his white brutally injured teammate, which illustrating the war was not intended for black soldier. In addition, it shows the multiple battles that African Americans faced to gain their humanity. [1] Black soldiers endured through many tribulations after sacrificing their lives for this war. These soldiers struggled with night terrors, drug and/or alcohol addiction, and struggle

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to get a job. After war, many went right back into the ghetto and remained poor which is disappointing. The African Americans in the urban community knew the Vietnam war was pointless and was not going to change the discrimination that lives in America. In Dead Presidents, the cowboy expressed, “Fools going over there to fight the white man’s war and what do you get, not a God damn thing.” [2] The Vietnam War was more of an escape from the world for Anthony. Furthermore, in the movie he did not want to think about his love ones not even his daughter because he believed his feelings would get himself killed. Many African American men enlist in the war because they get treated slightly better than back home in America. Some black soldier gets rewarded with medals like for example, the WWI veteran, Henry Johnson, who received the medal of honor. They feel appreciated abroad and they prefer being there than being in their country under the Jim Crow laws. Black soldiers were not even celebrated when returning from the Vietnam war. Blacks still had racial discrimination in employment, education, living situation, and more. The G.I. bill is a veteran package that supposedly provided benefits, but it was not enough for black veterans. This bill had its disadvantages, black veterans were not supported equally like the white veterans. In addition, black veterans were dismissed by the G.I. sponsored home loan in the red linings area. In the article, The Inequality Hidden Within the Race-Neutral G.I. Bill states, “86 percent of the skilled, professional, and semiskilled jobs went to white veterans, while 92 percent of the nonskilled and service positions went to black vets. Blacks were also pushed away from G.I.-sponsored home loans, which enabled white vets to own property that they could then pass down to their children and grandchildren.”[3] This was unfair because the black veterans sacrificed their lives as equally to the white veterans. African American men have participated in mainly every war for the United states seeking for the same

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outcome, equal rights. Out of each war they did received rights nearly a step closer to whites’ rights yet so far at the same time. The black communities constantly are faced with the same exact situation of racism and even when they get the chance to prosper the white supremacy always have a way of interfering. As mention previously, the Civil Rights Movement contributed to the passing of the executive order 9981. African American men had the rights to enlisted in the war and even be an officer over both whites and blacks’ soldiers. Even in the Dead Presidents’ movie, Cleon, a black soldier was a sergeant in the Vietnam War for his team which included both black and white soldiers. The achievements gained from the Civil Rights Movement encouraged black soldiers to advocate for civil rights when returning to civilian life. In the duration of the war, many of the black soldiers got to observe and live a short period of time without the Jim Crow laws lurking for them based on the pigment of their skin. Dead Presidents movie depicted the real-life experiences. The Civil Rights Movement helped, yet there were so many other complications that still hindered the black urban communities. Black soldiers did not obtain much from the Vietnam War and even if they did, it had its limitation due to discrimination. According to Khan Academy’s article it mentions, “Other veterans were similarly determined to make the freedoms they had fought for abroad a reality at home.”[4] The quote expresses how veterans desire the same freedom abroad to also exist in the United States. Blacks fought equally with the white soldiers and it’s outrageous for the lack of benefits. The Civil Rights Movement impacted on the African American soldiers’ experiences on the war front by giving them hope for equality back home in the United States with promotion of this movement. While many black soldiers were sacrificing their lives, there was a revolution occurring in the states. This revolution was the Black Panther Party. Some black veterans participated in this movement for the satisfaction of

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racial pride and black reliance. While others battled through the street life of hustling. These soldiers basically pick up their life where they left it. Taking many steps backwards than they expected. It was difficult for them to obtain jobs and the G.I. bills mainly benefited the white veteran than blacks. White veterans were mainly served with high-skilled position, college education, and housing while the black soldiers got their leftovers, if there was any to spare. The black veterans were in the need of money to support them and their families. This was portrayed in the movie Dead Presidents. When Anthony returned, he struggled from employment but eventually got a job as a butcher at Saul’s market to provide for his family. While Anthony was away at war, Juanita was being provided by a pimp and even when Anthony was home, his manhood was consistently tested. It was like his manhood was stripped from him when the pimp was providing for his family, losing his job, and the constant drinking. His life was falling apart, and he was constantly getting night terrors. Even his friend, Skip was a junkie after the war because he did not know how to cope with the horrors from the war front and this led them to commit a robbery, killing innocent people. It was like another form of addiction, to do anything to supply their needs. In the end, he was sentenced to 15 years to life and even he judge believed the Vietnam War was serious compared to WWII. The tension affected his relationship with Juanita which divided the household. This basically was like a prediction of the Willie Lynch letter [5] stating, ““ The one with the nigger male offspring, she being frozen with a subconscious fear for his life, will raise him to be mentally dependent and weak, but physically strong…the nigger female offspring will teach her to be like herself, independent and negotiable.” In conclusion, black veterans gave up their lives for the exchange of equality for the black communities and themselves promoting their patriotism for their country. However, their

Findley, Horaceena Fall 2019 -- 7042

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plan backfired due to the remain of discrimination which led to long suffering. The Vietnamese War was not a battle for the black veterans, it was pointless because even with the passing of the executive order 9981, the buffering system was not adjusted to fit for African Americans. This war afflicted many black veterans’ lives causing corruption in their household, addictions, nightmares, etc. The Civil Rights Movements established prominent changes and progress of African Americans. This movement supplied more employment opportunities, outstanding leaders, equal rights, and provided hope for the people. As time progress, a door opens for African Americans however, there are always hidden restrictions that limited their rights to things.

Findley, Horaceena Fall 2019 -- 7042

Paper 3

AAFS219 Burns

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1.

Hughes, Allen and Albert Hughes, directors. Dead Presidents. 6 Oct. 1995

2.

Hughes, Allen and Albert Hughes, directors. Dead Presidents. 6 Oct. 1995

3. Luders-Manuel, Shannon. “. The Inequality Hidden Within the Race-Neutral G.I. Bill .” JSTOR DAILY, 18 Sept. 2017, . The Inequality Hidden Within the Race-Neutral G.I. Bill. 4. “African American Veterans and the Civil Rights Movement.” Khan Academy, Khan

Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/civil-rightsmovement/a/african-american-veterans-and-the-civil-rights-movement. 5. Source 6: Full Text of "Willie Lynch Letter 1712", archive.org/stream/WillieLynchLetter1712/the_willie_lynch_letter_the_making_of_a_sla ve_1712_djvu.txt. The Nigger Marriage...