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United States History

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Civil rights

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in History

Becoming Belafonte: Black Artist, Public Radical, Judith Smith Aug 2014

Becoming Belafonte: Black Artist, Public Radical, Judith Smith

Judith E. Smith

A son of poor Jamaican immigrants who grew up in Depression-era Harlem, Harry Belafonte became the first black performer to gain artistic control over the representation of African Americans in commercial television and film. Forging connections with an astonishing array of consequential players on the American scene in the decades following World War II—from Paul Robeson to Ed Sullivan, John Kennedy to Stokely Carmichael—Belafonte established his place in American culture as a hugely popular singer, matinee idol, internationalist, and champion of civil rights, black pride, and black power.

In Becoming Belafonte, Judith E. Smith presents the first full-length interpretive …

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The Men Behind The March: Randolph And Rustin Together Again, Cynthia Taylor Aug 2013

The Men Behind The March: Randolph And Rustin Together Again, Cynthia Taylor

Cynthia Taylor

Through the media attention on this anniversary, it has been gratifying to once again see the cover of Life magazine (September 6, 1963) with Randolph and Rustin standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. At the time of the March, most Americans had viewed these two men as the real stars of the occasion. The 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom was actually the realization of their long-time “dream” to have a dramatic and peaceful demonstration that emphasized the need of all black Americans for economic opportunities and jobs, as well as the more elusive ideal of freedom.

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Introduction To We All Got History: The Memory Books Of Amos Webber, Nick Salvatore Mar 2013

Introduction To We All Got History: The Memory Books Of Amos Webber, Nick Salvatore

Nick Salvatore

[Excerpt] Who was this Amos Webber who assumed such a prominent role in this public, regional celebration of the black presence in American life? That he was a veteran was clear, but that alone did not account for his prominent position in that day's events. Certainly James Monroe Trotter, the eminent musician, author, and politician, William H. Carney, and William Dupree were all more widely known in the black North. How did a man such as Amos Webber, unknown beyond his own circle, the recipient of no awards or editorials in the local or national press, achieve such prominence in …

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How Did The March On Washington Movement's Critique Of American Democracy In The 1940s Awaken African American Women To The Problem Of Jane Crow?, Cynthia Taylor Dec 2006

How Did The March On Washington Movement's Critique Of American Democracy In The 1940s Awaken African American Women To The Problem Of Jane Crow?, Cynthia Taylor

Cynthia Taylor

This document project demonstrates the critical role women played in the 1940s March on Washington Movement (MOWM) during its formative period. African American women activists of the 1940s enthusiastically joined the MOWM because it promoted broad race-based employment goals. Although women found a welcoming place within the MOWM to fight Jim Crow, there was little room at this time for women to articulate their concerns about Jane Crow within the movement or society at large. Various factors kept female march activists from more fully developing an articulate feminist ideology in the 1940s: the effective and charismatic leadership of A. Philip …

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Are Asians Black?: The Asian-American Civil Rights Agenda And The Contemporary Significance Of The Black/White Paradigm, Janine Young Kim Dec 1998

Are Asians Black?: The Asian-American Civil Rights Agenda And The Contemporary Significance Of The Black/White Paradigm, Janine Young Kim

Janine Kim

In recent years, Asian Americans have increasingly laid claim to a place in civil rights history. One strategy of this movement has been to renounce the black/white paradigm as a biracial model of race relations that no longer accurately describes contemporary America. In this essay, I suggest that the black/white paradigm is more compelling than commonly assumed, and explore six dimensions of the paradigm that speak to its contemporary relevance to the Asian American civil rights agenda.

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