Paper 2 Draft

Breaking Barriers

The assimilation of the black culture into the growing America was a dream of many of the slaves. However, it is the dreams of the native white Americans that continue to hold them back from ascending into significant members of society. It had been a norm of America to take advantage of the inferior to better their own cause. The American Empire establishes new land through dominating these weaker populations. Kaplan believes that America at this time, the whites, looked at people of color as if they were completely different and incapable of matching up with them. They were thought of as effeminate and were discriminated against because of their different ethnicity. By having that approach with enemies, the whites also formed that hypothesis on the African-American population in America. Blacks are not given the opportunity take control of their lives because they are not seen as a someone capable of doing so. Blacks assume they have functionality other than doing blue collar work. They don't think they are of much value, but in fact they are. Whites would not do the work and that is why they buy slaves and trade them. They are a commodity for them. Once the blacks become free they must realize that they are no longer under control by one man who plans to use them for personal use. They need to break the mindset that they will continue to do blue collar jobs for the rest of their lives. They need to not only show themselves that, but also to the whites who are the dominant culture in America. The whites are stuck in with the idea of "Myth of the Old Negro" as Locke puts it. They don't see the changes that Blacks should and have been making for years. They have taken advantage of many jobs in the industries including the cosmetics industry which have produced many successful. However, many tried to identify themselves with the white race in order to make life easier. In doing so they are leaving behind their roots. It is those significant steps that African-Americans need to take to be accepted in the culture. Whites continue to believe that blacks are an inferior and unworthy race and it is the responsibility of the blacks to prove that they can help by following suite with the goals and standards of native born Americans.


The Imperialist America the beliefs were that they felt superior to others and this belief continued through the times of the Emancipation of the slaves. In America the symbol of the White Heroic man that will go to war, win and return with with many rewards meant strength and success. The opposition was seen as effeminate and weak. The Americans can go and scare away the likes of the Filipinos. With a constant demonstration that people of color can easily be manipulated to their advantage, America begins to believe that this will work for all minorities. Even before the Emancipation the Dred Scott case laid another expectation when it came to the slaves. Whites were supposed to have complete authority of their slaves, and this case allowed slave-owners to torture their slaves. Once the African-Americans were freed the opposition was immediately heavy. The Jim Crow Laws were immediately enforced after the Emancipation of the slaves. The manner in which the laws were stated made light of the impact the laws had. They assumed the blacks were not educated enough to understand what it was actually saying. They wanted them to think they got what they wanted, which was the rights, as long as they had it only with African-Americans. But in actuality, they limited all the possibilities the blacks had. Not only were politically creating trouble but also within the social spectrum. African-Americans were seen as dangerous people. They were accused of raping white women. Douglass points out that no one ever used to complain before when they were slaves and were left at home alone with the women when the men were at war. (743) This shows thats they are looking for excuses to mistreat the blacks, whether or not they are truly afraid of them or they can't see how their lives could function with them as a member of society. They KKK was created to “protect white women” from the blacks. Its more so they can torture their former slaves. Americans adopted the same beliefs they had for many others and that is people of color are incapable of governing themselves (Kaplan, 117) and hence feel that they need to control them and set an example. By continuing to have an imperialistic outlook on people of color it will make it harder for blacks to surpass the boundaries made by whites in the time of slaves. This creates a psychological affect for blacks that makes them think they can't change what whites think of them. No matter what they do they continue to feel that the superior race will always looks down on them.


As black men continue to find jobs and redefine the African-American identity the women are always finding ways to improve their image. Women both white and black have come to see consumption as a way to not only define their image, but also a way to earn wages by making it an occupation. According to Piess, the expansion of products released makes women feel that they need to stay up to date and buy all these products. The use of cosmetics gave women a way to perfect their image and personality, which is important when it comes to representation. Women felt that they had to be able to represent themselves and their community well. Women felt they needed to appeal to an audience. For black women they felt that if they could look more respectable, in this case look more white. In doing so, they are showing that black women and their race can be like and look like white people. That would be an attempt to show the whites that they are changing by just looking at their appearance. They hope that this will lead to acceptance of their race.


The consumption and cosmetics field also provided a way for women to get jobs. Piess categorized cosmetics into three categories, "Class" for the wealthy and upper middle class, "Mass" the cosmetics sold in drugstores and the "Ethnic" cosmetics is for women of color. Blacks learned how to create businesses and manufacture cosmetics. Many entrepreneurs have found was to sell and sell well. Anthony Overton used his daughters faced powder product and created one of the largest Black-owned businesses in America. C.J. Walker realized what black women needed to look like and created it for them. If an entire race wants to white, then why not give them that, they will pay for it. Simply knowing your target audience and what is popular can make them successful. It is important that these people established that it can be done because it created jobs for many blacks. Simple jobs that they can do in the homes and then go door-to-door to sell. The success in these areas created more job opportunities in beauty parlors throughout the neighborhoods. The new jobs represent a new self-dependence which they never had before. They couldn't work freely before and this start creates an image that black women can work. They can contribute to society just like white women through cosmetics.


There are several ways in which African Americans can affiliate themselves with America in which they are breaking barriers and proving that they are not the slaves they were in years past. They have become members of society. James Van Deer Zee, a famous photographer of black culture, shows the different positions black have taken in society. He portrays many women sitting in a tea and beauty parlor. The consumption industry becomes widely popular and a way for African-American women to band together. A stronger and closer community will make it easier to be persistent against the discriminate whites. Another mean of showing loyalty to the nation is by serving for them. The black soldiers are now taking the roles of the White Heroic males of the imperialistic army. Africans taking the responsibilities of these heroes can prove that they too can be that savior. The sign of wealth within the African-American communities are those that show that they have established a luxurious foundation. The picture with the family by the piano shows a sign of sophistication. Sophistication means they are not the blue collared slaves that they once were. The whites can appreciate the music and class expressed in the photo. The photo of the family having tea is also very sophisticated and luxurious. The clothes, jewelry and the furniture clearly show class. This portrait shows that at this time it is possible to assimilate to the American culture and prove previous cultural perceptions wrong. The best way to do so is to lead by example. That is exactly what Africans-Americans will need to continue, prove by example. There is no other way to demonstrate than by showing you can be one of them.


The constant struggle for equality is everything a minorities works for. Whether they actually believe that can attain this goal or not they must realize they are trying to break a psychological mindset that had been formed through years of non-equivalent relations:

But while the minds of most of us, black and white, have thus burrowed in the trenches of the Civil War and Reconstruction, the actual march of development has simply flanked these positions, necessitating a sudden reorientation of view. We have not been watching in the right direction; set worth and South on a sectional axis, eve have not noticed the East till the sun has us blinking. (Locke, 1)

The blacks must band together and make their actions and changes visible to everyone. The must not allow the imperialistic ways of superiority keep them down. They must become the image and symbol of America. If they think they cannot make a difference then they wont. They must be persistent in their attempts to gain respectability and define their population. They must create the identity of being a human being and not just accepting the “formula” (Locke) that they to be held down and easily manipulated. They must use the likes of the Great Migration and other opportunities to get more jobs and become more “American”. However, are there any ways in which these opportunities won't won't cause commotion with the white population? African Americans and all immigrants will eventually be taking jobs from the white population. There are bound to be more protests or at least resent towards them. It is the imperialistic America that believes that they are the best, no one can take control away as long as that symbol of a saviour remains.