The three events from the African American History Timeline I chose were the Atlanta Daily World publication in 1928, John S. Rock's argument of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1865, and Professor Bartolome de Albornoz of the University of Mexico's writing against enslavement in 1573. The publication of the Atlanta Daily World in 1928 was a prominent event in history due to the fact that this newspaper covered black owned businesses and major issues occurring at the time- including police brutality and lynchings. The achievement of William Scott encompasses the principles of Kujichagulia (self determination) and kuumba (creativity). His determination to establish this newspaper involved hard work, dedication, and creativity. He made a name for himself through this accomplishment. John S. Rock, the first African American to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1865, portrayed the principle of Ujima of collective work and responsibility because of his efforts to work towards solving a major problem within the community. When Professor Bartolome de Albornoz of the University of Mexico wrote against the enslavement and sale of Africans in 1573, this act encompassed the principle of Ujima, of collective work and responsibility, due to the fact that this act worked to solve problems of community members.
I believe that the Nguzo Saba did matter in the success stories of African Americans and with the progression of the
African American community. These principles have empowered African Americans and have allowed for growth and success in their lives. This seems to have increased over time. The Nguzo Saba principles of umoja and ujima are used today in actual interventions with youth and families which is evident in the Harvey & Hill article about
individual and family interventions. The interventions for at risk youth, which included mentoring and career development, was used to empower youth and improve self esteem.
Tyler Perry's work is often criticized for portraying a negative perception of African Americans, although its through comedic work. Personally, I believe that there should be a balance in this type of work. In a way, it does not reflect progress for Black Americans, because he portrays African American characters in his films that take on the stereotypes given to Blacks. A few examples from the article that take on the negative portrayal of Black Americans are "In Why Did I Get Married, four professional couples embark on their annual weekend retreat, where secrets and lies threaten the couples’ relationships." The characters and the storyline of this film do not provide a positive image of African Americans. As well, mentioned in the Tyler Perry article, "in Madea Goes to Jail, Josh must choose between his lawyer girlfriend and the real love of his life, Candace, a prostitute who befriends pistol-toting matriarch Madea while both are in jail." These different issues and problems these characters are facing in each of Tyler Perry's films are presented in a humorous manner, yet to those who do not have much knowledge of the African American culture, can get mistaken as the actual way African Americans behave, which is not necessarily the truth.
Hi Rawand, I definitely agree with your opinion on Tyler Perry. Because it is comedy, it is tricky to determine if his films are doing more harm than good. Like you said, the films are probably most harmful in shaping the perceptions of those viewers who do not have much knowledge of the African American culture. This reminds me of the "Ethnic Notions" film from the beginning of the semester. So many of the caricatures and negative stereotypes were viewed as "comedy" originally. The difference now is that, while those media pieces historically were made for white audiences, Tyler Perry creates for black audiences. Because of this you would think the population would be more positively represented, but often in Perry's movies, as we have seen, they are not. Although it is certainly difficult to find a balance between laughing at truth and perpetuating negative stereotypes, I am disappointed in Tyler Perry for not trying a little harder to find this balance, and instead, continues to basically create the same movie over and over with the same characters.
ReplyDelete