Middle Passage :: essays papers

Middle Passage The triangular trade system was so named because the ships embarked from European ports, stopped in Africa to gather captives, after which they set out for the New World to deliver their "human cargo," and then returned to the port where they had originated. The Middle Passage was that leg of the slave triangle that brought the "human cargo" from West Africa to North America, South America, and the Caribbean. Depending on ship design, weather conditions, and points of departure and arrival, the journey across the middle passage lasted from six weeks to three months. A few days before departure on the slave ships, all enslaved men, women, and children had their heads shaved, supposedly to reduce the spread of disease and facilitate hygiene. On the day of departure for the New World, they gave slaves who had been confined to the holding camps awaiting ships an "abundant" meal, signaling their last hours on their home continent of Africa. They were then stripped naked of their clothes, chained in pairs by the ankles, and taken by canoes, usually at night, to slave ships which were usually anchored in the harbors. Inside the ships, slaves were stacked and crammed into the dark and small holds, which now became their home. The conditions on slave ships repulsive, horrifying, painful, and inhumane. These peoples entire journey was primarily spent sitting on top of each other on wooden plank floors. Besides many diseases, ship holds were poorly ventilated, sometimes causing suffocation during storms when the few existing hatches had to be closed. And of course, normal bodily functions had to be done: people used the restroom, bled, vomited, coughed, sneezed, died, etc., all in the holds of slave ships. In addition to the stench of slave ships, the practice of throwing dead and dying slaves overboard brought sharks from miles around to feed on the bodies. Many people committed suicide by jumping overboard or hanging themselves with any available rope. It has been said that "if the Atlantic Ocean were to dry up today, there would be a trail of human bones stretching from Africa to the Americ as.

Racial Discrimination Essay

The scene of ghettosThe with poor living conditions of the ghettos in whichwhere black people live is not uncommon. , Iit actually manifests a larger picture of racial discrimination which is closely related to poverty. Racial discrimination is about the pre-conceived notion that black people are inferior; they are more prone to violence and totally relianty on social welfare to survive. As a result of these stereotypical images, black people receive low quality education and they will have less job opportunities, not to mention the limited access to the welfare system. In this essay, we shall discuss whether racial discrimination causes poverty among this minority community in America. Racial discrimination undoubtedly appears in the education system in AmericaAmerica’s education system, as Gordon, Piana and Keleher (2000) points out that the public schools in America failed to provide the same quality education for the blacks compared to the whites. In minority schools where African American and Latino are concentratedthere is a concentration of African-Americans and Latinos, there are limited resources and professionally trained teachers for students. Tthis phenomenon conveys that resources are unevenly distributed among schools as a result of racism. Besides resources and quality of teachers, there is a higher rate of suspension and expulsion for black people, as suggested in the search by Applied Research Center for Expose Racism and Advance School Excellence, suspension and expulsion rate is three times higher for African AmericanAfrican-Americans, with the rate of 56% compared to 18% of general school population. This may be due to the unfairness in treating the treatment of black people in the case of zero-tolerance policies such as the Gun-Free School Act (GFSA) enacted in 1994. It is important to note that schools expel African AmericanAfrican-American students at a disproportionate rate compared to white studentsstudents, as schools seem to have a convenient reason to expel the â€Å"unwanted† students. This clearly illustrates how such kind of policpoliciesy aggravates existing disparities in the education system. Uneven distribution of wealth is also a major problem, causing poverty among black people. It is suggested that due to racial segregation and a controlled political environment by white people, black people usually find it difficult to assimilate themselves into the labor force and civil society (Ducan, 1999). In the U. S. , per capita income of the whites is almost five times more than that of the blacks, which clearly illustrates the serious problem of a widening wealth gap between these twodifferent racial groups. The findings from Mean Racial Wealth Gap across 181 U. S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas shows that the standard deviation of wage between the blacks and the whites is the highest in among comparison toof different racial groups such as Latinos and white people and Asians and white people. , Iit clearly points out that the most severe wealth gap exists between black and white people. However, upward mobility is restricted for the black blacks as they face racial discrimination in the process of hiring and firing. Only about half of working-age black men are employed, compared to two-thirds of white men, but even if black menpeople are employed, they are usually engaged in low-paid jobs so that they can barely affordsupport their daily expenses. It is likely that black people are being exploited in the labor market because they are seen as racial minorities (McCall, 2001). As a result of lower wage rate comparably, black people are more likely to live under the poverty line than white people. It seems to be a logical conclusion that sinceas black people are less able to support themselves, they will become the major beneficiary of the welfare system. However, figures show the opposite situation; , only 7. 7% of retirement insurance are received by black peopleblack people receive only 7. 7% of retirement insurances. Researches also shows that a social welfare other than retirement insurance, such as disability insurance, medical healthcare and housing, benefit black people to a limited extent (Davies & Derthick, 1997). Another example of institutional racism is that in hospitals in AmericaAmerican hospitals, black people will beare segregated from white people, and and they will receive lower quality of medical healthcare services. han white people and Hhospitals that primarily serve the minority community are disproportionately closed without sound reasons (Randall, 2011). All these examples clearly illustrate the fact that equal opportunity isare not provided to people of different races. , Ppeople in need are not being subsidized enough simply because they are black people. The two social problems of, racial discrimination and poverty should not be seen as separated issues. , Iin fact, they are closely correlated in the sense that racial discrimination directly causes poverty. The three arguments above portray a vicious cycle: low education level will cause black people to have less job opportunities, together with limited social welfare, and the resulting ins poverty. When a family does not have enough resources to support their children to receive better education, poverty will pass on to the next generation. Black people end up being socially and economically inferior compared with to white people. Racial discrimination undeniablye creates and perpetuates unbalanced economic opportunitiesy, which should be eradicated in all sense.

The Film, Frida, By Salma Hayek - 1347 Words

In the film, Frida (Taymor, 2002), Salma Hayek portrays the role of the iconic Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo, as she pursues her passion for art and navigates through her tumultuous relationship with the famous painter, Diego Rivera. Manifesting such a complex historical figure was a difficult task because of the range of age and emotion of the character, which were both needed in the actress who played her. To this effect, Salma Hayek’s personal properties and performance in this film contributed to her ability to represent a realistic version of Frida Kahlo and to support the film’s subjects of love and ability to express oneself through art; furthermore, Salma brings out the contrasting themes arising out of the difference in her performance of a teenage Frida Kahlo versus an adult Frida. As a teenager, the theme centers around an optimistic and somewhat naive view of love and art that exist in their simplest, purest forms; as an adult, the theme is the idea that love and art are shapeless and take many forms. Salma is able to take advantage of her voice, physical likeness, and heritage, in order to accurately represent the majority of Frida Kahlo’s life story. Overall, her natural accent also adds to the character because if Frida spoke English, she would have spoken with a Spanish accent. Her physical likeness to the Frida character was also evident when a painting of Frida and Diego dissolved into a shot in which Salma and her co-star, Alfred Molina, were standing inShow MoreRelatedFilm Analysis Of The Film Frida, By Julie Taymor963 Words   |  4 PagesDirector, Julie Taymor, released the film Frida on October 25th, 2002. The film is a true story of Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera, who have been and still are Mexico’s most acclaimed artists. The film was portrayed like Kahlo’s paintings, with vibrant colors that showed her creativity and pride for her Mexican background. Not only did the film contain a deep resonance of dark pain that represented the pai n in Kahlo’s life, but also the recognition and acknowledgement of Kahlo’s strugglesRead MoreFrida, By Julie Taymor762 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"Frida† the movie was released in 2002 and directed by Julie Taymor. The cast included Salma Hayek as (Frida), Alfred Molina as (Diego Rivera), Ashley Judd, Antonio Banderas, Edward Norton, Mia Maestro, and Geoffrey Rush. The film is a biography of the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. She is a woman who came from a very simple background. Kahlo rose to fame as an artist with an unique vision for her craft. She endured a difficult relationship with her husband/mentor Diego Rivera. Many of herRead MoreEssay on Frida Kahlo: A Life In Pain1175 Words   |  5 PagesFrida Kahlo: A Life in Pain â€Å"They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my reality,† said Frida Kahlo describing her art work (Frida Kahlo n.d.). Kahlo was a Mexican artist from the mid-20th century. She was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico, and the daughter of German and Mexican descendants (Lucie-Smith 1999). During her lifetime Kahlo embarked on many hardships caused by illness, heartache, and love. She became known for her haunting self portraitsRead MoreThe Inspiration of Frida Kahlo Essay1343 Words   |  6 Pagesknowledge. Later another artist emerged with the same ability, Frida Kahlo. She used her life as her canvas; allowed people to view the world from behind the surrealistic doors. In addition, she was able to present self-portraits in many forms, all influenced by a tragic bus accident which led to a broken spine that affected her whole life. Described mostly in the film Frida directed by Julie Taymor, and the book Frida: A Biograph y of Frida Kahlo written by Hayden Herrera, Kahlo’s portraits made viewersRead More Frida Kahlo: Artist, Feminist, Rebel Essay3022 Words   |  13 Pages Frida Kahlo is a world-renowned Mexican painter known for her shocking self-portaits filled with painful imagery. Her artwork was seen by many as surrealist and socialist, but she refused the labels put on herself. Until today, her works have been able to exude the same playful and wild feel as before (Fisher n.p). Her legacy as a painter has attracted prominent people like Madonna who has confessed her admiration for the painter. Not only that but fashion designers are frequently inspired by herRead MoreFrida Kahlo, A Surrealist Mexican Painter1948 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction More than 60 years have passed since the death of Frida Kahlo, a Surrealist Mexican painter. Frida Kahlo’s many talents were overshadowed by her husband’s fame during the course of her life. Yet, it wasn’t until her death and the early 1970’s where Frida’s artistic effort started to surpass that of her political and creative husband. Her biography is both depressive and particularly interesting. Many of her private moments and experiences are shared in her greatest pieces of art. SomeRead MoreThe Invisible Woman: Female Directors in Hollywood2710 Words   |  11 PagesFilm scholar Louis Gianetti says, â€Å"In the field of cinema, the achievement of the Women’s Movement [of the 1960’s] has been considerable, though most present-day feminists would insist that there is still much to be accomplished in the battle against patriarchal values† (428). Gianetti’s words are an understatement. Women in Hollywood are underrated, underrepresented, and generally shoved into the background of the film industry. However, with film becoming one of the most pervasive and influential