responses needed for both......... must be at least 150 words each SEE ATTACHMENT IN ORDER TO WRITE RESPONSES

1. Hello Class,

            To everyone that seeks to submerge African America history, I have important news for you. I understand your plight. There are several reasons to limit the knowledge of historic evils and demons that has made America who it is today. This stems from Native American genocide to the enslavement and dehumanization of the African American citizen. Africans were shipped here on boats, made to believe they are lesser beings than their white owners, and worked for free every day, picking cotton, cleaning houses, serving dinner, and babysitting children of their slave owner. That is the perfect reason to submerge African American history, but you would be doing a disservice to all those brave men and women who sacrificed so much, even their lives, to rectify this evil for future generations. Meaning African American history, is American history.

            You mean to tell me, we should not teach our children that the President of the United States publicly denounced Lynch Laws (Kelley & Lewis 2014)? The history behind that is important, considering Franklin D. Roosevelt was the reason majority of black people stopped voting for Republicans and started voting for Democrats (Kelley & Lewis 2014). Lynch Laws were deemed necessary by outraged white people whenever an alleged black person committed a crime. The lynching customarily did not even follow a legal process, and all that would happen is a mob of white people would hang a black person that was in police custody, for a crime he may or may not have committed (Squires, 2015). President Roosevelt publicly stated that it was cold blooded murder, which was ultra-refreshing for the African American community. We would also forget that Ida B. Wells, a relatively unknown African American historian, took up investigative journalism and started publicly displaying the discrepancies with a lot of these lynching (Squires, 2015). Her newspaper articles helped preserve the innocence of the deceased, who were killed with no due process (Squires, 2015).

            Next is the Civil Rights movement. Some of the most prolific names in African American history stems from this period. Where older and younger African American’s were not fighting for every right, they simply fighting for their “civil” rights. The term “Separate but Equal” established a way for white people to consistently showcase their prejudice attitudes legally, in the late 1800s (Harlan & Brown 1896). This created disparities in education and entertainment. White people were allowed to keep black people segregated, as long as there was an area for them. Black areas, such as movie theaters, we usually not kept to the same standards of their white counterpart’s area (Harlan & Brown 1896).

            Black people rallied together, boycotted busses, marched, protested, and supported each other when times were hard. They were sprayed with hoses in the streets for marching. They had ketchup poured on their head for sitting at the “White Only” bar (Kelley & Lewis 2014). African American children had to be escorted to and from desegregated schools because adult white parents were appalled and angry (Kelley & Lewis 2014). So I say, do not silence the accolades of Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King Jr, or Dorothy Height. We must cherish what they have achieved and continue speaking about it, because it is our history.

Kelley, R. D., & Lewis, E. (2014, May 14). To Make Our World Anew : A History of African Americans. Retrieved December 26, 2017, from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/lib/apus/reader.action?docID=679615&ppg=73

Squires, D. (2015). Outlawry: Ida B. wells and lynch law. American Quarterly, 67(1), 141-163,279. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/docview/1670113922?accountid=8289

Harlan, J. &. John Brown (May 18 1896). Plessy v. Ferguson.

Kelley, R. D. G., & Lewis, E. (Eds.). (2014). To make our world anew : a history of African Americans. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu

1. African American history isn’t just for African Americans, it is for anyone who is willing to learn about the less exposed sides of “American” history. By eliminating African American history after Reconstruction, one would be contributing to the erasure of some of the most significant landmarks of African American progress towards equality. In fact, the bulk of progress came after the Civil War. “Battling segregation, discrimination, and other barriers to success and equality, black Americans were able to distinguish themselves and grow politically, socially, and culturally through the beginning of the twentieth-first century” (Lesson 8).

Amid Reconstruction, African Americans were able to begin new lives, but more importantly, they had the law on their side. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, along with many other laws such as the Civil Rights Acts provided a new-found sense of intellection, justice, and freedom (lesson 1). Such events are turning points within history that should remain in school curriculum because it accounts for history from an unfamiliar perspective. The lessons include original excerpts and documentation from African American leaders and activist that many Americans would otherwise not have access to outside of academic contracting.

Booker T. Washington once asserted that “vocational education and economic security were more valuable than social advantages and political office” (lesson 2). Further, education and spirituality are what provided African Americans with the strength and security to endure some of history’s most unspeakable timeframes. So, to avoid repeating the past, one must learn from it; one must educate themselves. It is important that all Americans be provided with the knowledge necessary to ensure that this nation does not decline in progress towards a government that represents all Americans (and not just a certain group). But before that can occur, all Americans need to be educated and introduced to the struggles that occur outside of their own race. They must be allowed to experience the past, and understand that African American history courses provide such an opportunity.

W.E.B DuBois once stated, “If history is going to be scientific, if the record of human action is going to be set down with the accuracy and faithfulness of detail which will allow its use as a measuring rod and guidepost for the future of nations, there must be set some standards of ethics in research and interpretation” (NYTimes). African American history courses provide such standards.

Many of the materials and resources provided throughout the course, allow for open discussions about African American history with various people from diverse backgrounds. So, not only are students provided with the tools needed to discuss history in a tactful way, but they are also introduced to some of the traditions and customs that African Americans have adopted as part of their identity; and more importantly, they will be able to understand the reasons why.

For instance, at the turn of the twentieth century, the rise of black nationalism was no coincidence, rather it was a response. It was in response “to the continued escalation of white supremacist violence, largely through the Ku Klux Klan” (Lesson 3). So, black nationalism called for a separate black nation, which in turn, contributed to the Great Migration. The Great Migration led to many African Americans from the south and the Caribbean islands to relocate to northern urban and industrial areas in the 1920s (Lesson 3). Consequently, the north became the cultural and artistic focal area for African Americans, but more specifically Harlem, New York (Lesson 3). Many Americans may not be provided with such in-depth details within their courses outside of African American history.

The Harlem Renaissance marked the beginning of the emergence of African American musicians, artist, and athletes in the 1920s and 1930s (lesson 3). The 1940s through the 1960s laid the foundations for the ending of segregation and marked a step in the direction of equality. After World War I, “the military remained segregated at the beginning of the war, pressure from black leaders and soldiers led President Roosevelt to establish the Committee on Negro Troop Policies; the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses also worked for integration; propaganda films used famous black athletes, musicians, and actors to support this effort. After Pearl Harbor, the need for more manpower was an impetus toward integration as well” (Lesson 5). All the above details are just some of the numerous reasons why all Americans should be provided with the opportunity to take an African American course. “Black studies departments in colleges and universities have deliberately sought to formalize and redefine the study of black life and to address challenges faced by the African Diaspora” (Lesson 7). So, it is important to ensure that their efforts are not in vain.

In closing, All Americans should be afforded the opportunity to take an African American history course. Although America's fundamentals were once biased and did not necessarily represent African Americans, that doesn’t mean that society can’t change it. In fact, now that the Constitution and many other legalities have been implemented to reflect the progress of African Americans, education on historical, racial tensions and injustices may be essential to keep America moving in the right direction towards equality. And an African American history course can help all Americans put such information into perspective.

Works Cited

American Public University System. “HIST222 Lesson 1 African Americans After the Civil War.” American    

Public University System, 2017, edge.apus.edu/access/content/group/arts-and-humanities-common/Universal/HIST/222/elf/lesson-1/elf_index.html.

American Public University System. “HIST222 Lesson 2 Race and Politics at the end of the 19th century.” American Public University System, 2017, edge.apus.edu/access/content/group/arts-and-humanities-common/Universal/HIST/222/elf/lesson-2/elf_index.html.

American Public University System. “HIST222 Lesson 3 African Americans at the Turn of the 20th

Century.” American Public University System, 2017, edge.apus.edu/access/content/group/arts-and-humanities-common/Universal/HIST/222/elf/lesson-3/elf_index.html.

American Public University System. “HIST222 Lesson 5 Victory on Two Fronts: African Americans in

World War II.” American Public University System, 2017, edge.apus.edu/access/content/group/arts-and-humanities-common/Universal/HIST/222/elf/lesson-5/elf_index.html.

American Public University System. “HIST222 Lesson 7 African American Culture in a Post-Racial

America.” American Public University System, 2017, edge.apus.edu/access/content/group/arts-and-humanities-common/Universal/HIST/222/elf/lesson-7/elf_index.html.

American Public University System. “HIST222 Lesson 8 Course Conclusion.” American Public University

System, 2017, edge.apus.edu/access/content/group/arts-and-humanities-common/Universal/HIST/222/elf/lesson-8/elf_index.html.

Gonchar, Michael. “Text to Text | 'Why Reconstruction Matters' and 'Black Reconstruction in America'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Dec. 2015, learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/text-to-text-why-reconstruction-matters-and-black-reconstruction-in-america/.