Unit 2 Reflection
Unit 2 was a lot of information for the most part, but the last 3 chapters of this unit stuck out to me when we got into real depth about slavery and how the slaves were not necessarily free it was just a play on words from the examples Dr. Oliver shown us. As we closed out of the unit, I was mainly stuck on chapter 7 because it brought a lot to my attention on how the constitution and compromises uses a lot of play on words that you will miss if you’re not careful.
The focus in chapter 7 to me is the phrase “The word freedom does not mean you’re “free”. Freedom is “having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one’s purposes unhindered. Blacks were never free because their freedom was limited to, and they never had any possession of any power. The whites limited everything that the Blacks did whether they were trying to access jobs, receive an education, housing, and ride public transportation. In Indiana they made a law where any free Blacks wanted to settle there they would be whipped until they left. What is the point in saying that they're free if they are still being whipped for wanting to settle down?
Towards the end of chapter 7 it talks about how white mobs would frequently attack Black neighborhoods, Black businesses, and Black churches. I would always ask my friend If they were so afraid of us and talk about how hostile we were and portrayed us to be monsters back then why would they come to our neighborhoods and fuck with everything we built. Therefore, that is why I’m big on the government giving back reparations to African Americans because they destroyed homes and businesses the African Americans would use for income, and they had to restart each time. Don’t understand how we got labeled as this when they were the ones doing the destruction and throwing fits when they felt like we did not need them anymore.
Black/African Americans have received a lot of stereotypical backlashes for years and it is still happening till this day. Black women still get labeled as the angry Black woman just for voicing her opinion and defending herself, which is known as the sapphire. How can you teach your daughter the right to defend/protect herself if you have people labeling her as the “mad Black woman”? I do think there are a lot of jezebels today, especially in the music industry, mainly from the new upcoming artists that involve rap, r&b, and Latin music. I don’t agree with women over sexualizing themselves for an audience gain, but I guess it is because I grew up with parents who adored oldies and I tended to grow up with that every Saturday when I heard my mother cleaning the house.
