You watched the documentary "Jim Crow" in class. Please answer the handout questions in your post.
This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
17 comments:
Allison Shea
What stood out for me was how little actually changed following the end of the civil war for the newly freed blacks. I have read about it how little had changed but actually seeing so many pictures of the conditions of their lives was shocking.
I found it difficult to identify with anyone in the film because I feel so far removed from the whole situation. I felt bad for the blacks and realize that the whites thought that they were doing the right thing however, I just can’t feel connected to either party. I guess I would be closer for the whites only because of our common race however that is all I have in common with them.
Again I found it difficult to relate with anyone because I am so far removed by time and location. However, I guess I had a harder time relating to the freed blacks because I have no idea what that was like at all.
The feeling that I got from the film was brought up by the pictures. The pictures shocked me as they made the conditions of the newly freed blacks much more real in my mind.
i am very familiar with the story of the Little Rock Nine. However, every time I hear about their story again I marvel at the courage those nine students had when entering the school. I cannot even begin to imagine what they endured and how they must have felt when parents yelled angrily at them, threatening their lives.
One image really stuck with me, and that was one of the person with scars on their back. The scars were like a web and it was raised off the person's back at least 2 inches. To create such scars requires numerous painful whippings.
I agree with Allison in that it is hard for us to identify completely with any of them because we are so far removed. However, I thought the will power and desire to succeed in life was so admirable. So many of them were self learned and constantly living to improve their lives.
I agree with you guys. It was ludicrous that very little changed after the civil war. I could not imagine what it must have been like to have to live through that fighting for freedom that others have, and at the end not be given what was promised.
However, as bad as those times have been, things still remain similar. Black individuals may not be neccessarily treated as differently and harshly now, however there are still many subsects in society that are still treated just as harshly.
My point is there are still people today, that are being treated as people were during the Jim Crow era. Maybe not as harshly or as common everywhere but they still exist, and there may never be an end.
Sara Ortiz Colon
something that really stood out for me in this film was the racism that there was back then. It was horrible how these innocent people where treated/ killeed because of there color. Something that reallt bothered me was that at this time Lincoln was the president how can people see this man as a hero if he never did anything to stop this. He could of done something for these people but he didnt, when he was going to he got killed. I could never relate myself to anyone in this video. This video made me curious and mad at the same time about why the white people where doing this I dont know if they noticed but they where being followers just because someone wanted to kill a colored person but this video made me curios because I would want to know why they killed so many innocent people but at the long run there are no real answers
What stood out to me, like Allison was the lack of change for the newly freed slaves in their lives. I couldnt identify with the KKK because I just dont get why they dont want everyone to live together in harmony.
What stood out to me the most was when the bus driver actually stopped the bus to give the angry whites a better shot at hurting the defenseless blacks by throwing rocks at them. That is what surprised me the most.
I could not relate to either of the two groups because I am neither a member of the KKK or NAACP. But what I will say is if I had the choice to join a group at this very moment, I would choose to side with the NAACP and join their fight agaist bigotry and racial hate.
I have seen this movie one other time and that was again, in Mr. Gallaghers sophomore History class. This film brought upon no knew emotions but the ones that did resurface were those of utter disgust of the white race during that period of time.
I agree with Alison in terms of not being able to relate to any of the two sides. The resaon being, I am not a hateful bigot who wishes to exterminate the African American race from the surface of this planet. I am also not an African American who may have thirty lashes on his or her back for not obeying his or her master. I am also just like Alison stated, not an African American who has just learned of their freedom because of the Union's victory in the Civil war. So I find myself saying that I have absolutely no right what so ever to try and say that I know what the African Americans went through and also try an relate myself to them because I am neither of those things.
One particular piece of the film that stood out for me was how few slaves were to be freed after the Civil War. The conditions that these people were forced to live with were simply extreme. It was difficult to identify with anybody in the movie because I simply can not pinpoint the logic in the beliefs of the KKK at the time. I sympathized for the slaves throughout the film.
This film was a similar film to which I've read in textbooks within my past high school years. Watching this film was different than just reading a text book. The graphics and speakers through out the movie truly allowed me to captivate the struggles in which blacks had to face as they were mistreated and verbally abused. Although It has been a while since the "Jim Crow" era we still see segregation no matter where we go, which is still awful, however i'm at least the very most thankful with the idea of diversity being one of the key things in our country to this day.
This movie allowed me to really see the tough life in which the blacks lived through after the civil war compared to what i've seen and read in text books. Segregation still occurrs to this day, and is awful, however i'm at least thankful for the approvement we have between the way our country treats blacks and other races compared to the past.
*originally posted in the wrong period
Kelly Reilly said...
It stood out greatly in my opinion that the people were so willing and inclined to disregard the laws passed that forced the emancipation of slaves. I found that I really could not identify with anyone in the film, because I don't understand the feelings of those who perpetrated the racist acts, nor do I understand the violence, prejudice, and denial of rights that the former slaves suffered. I similarly think it would be difficult to identify with both the extreme racists, like the KKK, and the slaves who were forced to suffer such unfortunate events. Though I had seen and learned of these events before, the image of the slave who had been whipped repeatedly was very unsettling, because the violence and strength of racisim of the time was so prominent.
February 25, 2010 9:08 PM
* originally posted in the wrong period Jon Rohald said...
The things that stood out for me the most after watching the Jim Crow film were the audiences laughing at the actual minstrelry show and the KKK parade. They stuck out to me because it showed the mass acceptance of blatant racism in our country. I identified most with Booker T. Washington because I share his belief of giving power through education. I had the most difficulty relating to the Mississippi governor who made the black codes because in my own mind, it is astonishing to me that people would consider others inferior based solely on race, and deny them basic rights. The main feeling the film gave to me was pity for the African Americans living in that time because they were so oppressed and denied of rights that are so basic that at the time they had no real viable way of fighting back.
(originally in other period's post)
The thing that stood out to me the most was the footage of the KKK members in uniform marching in front of the White House and in numerous cities. It puzzles me to think that groups like the KKK were so successful and mainstream in America at the time. I honestly could not identify much with anyone in the film, but I agree with jon/sanjiv about Washington because he was forward-thinking and tried to improve the situation for the African-Americans. I couldn't at all relate to the KKK members or the freed slaves because I have no idea what that must have felt like. Overall,this film reinforced the whole idea of white supremacy that was so prevalent at the time.
(originally in period 2's post)
The thing that stood out to me the most was the footage of the KKK members in uniform marching in front of the White House and in numerous cities. It puzzles me to think that groups like the KKK were so successful and mainstream in America at the time. I honestly could not identify much with anyone in the film, but I agree with jon/sanjiv about Washington because he was forward-thinking and tried to improve the situation for the African-Americans. I couldn't at all relate to the KKK members or the freed slaves because I have no idea what that must have felt like. Overall,this film reinforced the whole idea of white supremacy that was so prevalent at the time.
The unreasonable racism was the think that stood out the most. It was hard to associate with them specifically. But I could not imagine living in society with those beliefs, and that everything was based on their color, harder than their potentials. I would say it is easy to feel anger about such prejudice.
(Posted in the wrong period)
The thing that stood out the most to me was that blacks were able to persevere through all of this and even when things were really bad they were able to find something good to hold onto. In the movie there was no one I could really relate to. I’ve never been in an extreme situation like that and I can hardly imagine the hurt and fear the black people were feeling or the mass irrational hatred the whites were feeling. If I had to chose someone who I least relate to it would be the whites. I could never imagine myself hating such a large group a because of how they look. The main feeling I felt after the movie was disgust at how the blacks were treated and that so few white people tried to stop it and instead just went along with it.
February 25, 2010 9:06 PM
I was very surprised that racism never really died down after the civil war the only differance was that african americans were not slaves anymore. The country was still racist towards them and did nothing to stop racism.
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