Juneteenth is a national holiday that celebrates the Freedom and Independence of the African American community. In my project, I discuss the topics of voting rights, Civil Rights Amendments, and the Civil Rights Movements to talk about how these issues change over time in the United States.
English
With the language arts project, I started researching different books about African Americans' suffrage in the United States. While I was studying, I came across a book called The Black Book by Toni Morrison. The book talks bout how African Americans were taken to the United States and treated throughout the 1600s to the 1940s. After reading the book, I analyzed some of the articles in the book and took notes from what I learned from the book. I recommend the book if you would like to read some articles, stories from African Americans, events, and inventions made by slaves and freemen.
To follow up on the book, I wanted to write a speech for my final product of the language arts project. I read and watched videos of Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have A Dream speech, read Frederick Douglass's What to the Slave is the Fourth of July speech to Congress, and President Obama's A More Perfect Union speech. I analyzed their addresses to get a better understanding of how I wanted to write my original orientation about voting.
My speech is known as Voting for Liberty. The setting is at an NAACP conference, and my message is to inform young African Americans and remind others in the organization why we fight for voting rights and the right to have a chance at true liberty.
I didn't have too much difficulty overall with the process of my project. The only concern was finding the book because my school didn't have it. Other than that, my plan was straight forward, and I loved how it turned out.
The speech was pleasant to write because I got to express myself to an audience instead of merely writing an essay and letting people glance at it. I was inspired by all three men who had a powerful influence in the country and that their legacy will continue within us.
To follow up on the book, I wanted to write a speech for my final product of the language arts project. I read and watched videos of Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have A Dream speech, read Frederick Douglass's What to the Slave is the Fourth of July speech to Congress, and President Obama's A More Perfect Union speech. I analyzed their addresses to get a better understanding of how I wanted to write my original orientation about voting.
My speech is known as Voting for Liberty. The setting is at an NAACP conference, and my message is to inform young African Americans and remind others in the organization why we fight for voting rights and the right to have a chance at true liberty.
I didn't have too much difficulty overall with the process of my project. The only concern was finding the book because my school didn't have it. Other than that, my plan was straight forward, and I loved how it turned out.
The speech was pleasant to write because I got to express myself to an audience instead of merely writing an essay and letting people glance at it. I was inspired by all three men who had a powerful influence in the country and that their legacy will continue within us.
Social Studies
Researching and analyzing the context of the social studies portion allowed me to dive into African American studies and learn about my ancestors during the difficult times in the United States. I started with researching and analyzing the Civil Rights Amendments, also known as the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. They are amendments that here to ensure equality for recently emancipated slaves. The 14th and 15th amendments allowed them to become U.S. citizens and the right to vote, no matter the race, color, or past servitude. I also analyzed the Jim Crow Laws of the South, Reconstruction Era, and the Civil Rights Movement and how they all play a role in today's society.
I got engaged with a document I researched that talked about the voting system in 1865-1900, Disenfranchisement II from 1900-1941, World II voting politics from 1941-1954, the impact of the Brown decision from 1954-1965, the Civil Rights Act of 1957, and the aftermath of the Voting Rights Act.
For my final product, I used all the information I contextualized from my research process and used it in my Voting for Liberty speech. I wanted my English and Social Studies portion to correlate with this project because I knew they would merge so well.
Many of the topics I researched were interesting, and analyzing them allowed me to reflect on my history as an African American in the United States. There's a lot of context in these topics, and I think my project topic stands out during today's time.
I got engaged with a document I researched that talked about the voting system in 1865-1900, Disenfranchisement II from 1900-1941, World II voting politics from 1941-1954, the impact of the Brown decision from 1954-1965, the Civil Rights Act of 1957, and the aftermath of the Voting Rights Act.
For my final product, I used all the information I contextualized from my research process and used it in my Voting for Liberty speech. I wanted my English and Social Studies portion to correlate with this project because I knew they would merge so well.
Many of the topics I researched were interesting, and analyzing them allowed me to reflect on my history as an African American in the United States. There's a lot of context in these topics, and I think my project topic stands out during today's time.
art
Drawing isn't something I'm good at, but for the art portion of my project, I wanted to create a painting that showed people marching in unity for their freedom as American citizens of the United States. I did some research and saw a website that talks about the African American Art Harlem Renaissance Era, where they displayed artists, drawings, and painting styles. I even researched some artists who are in demand like Tajh Rust, Rashid Johnson, Jerrell Gibbs, Nina Chanel, Tschabalala Self, and more.
The artists' art styles gave depth to their pieces and meanings, whether it's about identity, life in the south, civil rights, urban America, celebration, and affirmation. I analyzed the artist's paintings and talked about how their art connects with how young artists portray their emotions in their distinct art styles.
With the final product of my art portion, I created a drawing about the Civil Rights Movement march with Martin Luther King Jr. Rep. John Lewis, and other people holding arms in solidarity for voting rights and equal rights in general. Rohan Crite's art piece School's Out (1936) was very inspiring. He designed the art piece to demonstrate the universal statement about community, stability, and the bonds of the family in the black community. My picture reflects that of Rohan Crite's art, and I'm extraordinarily proud of how my piece turned out.
The most strenuous part of the work was getting everything completed in such a short period because I was cutting it close. There were concluding touches I wanted to solidify before the due date, and I got it done in the notch of time. My sister and I laughed at my drawing because it may look ridiculous to others, but anyone looking at it, hopefully, enjoys and understands the composition of art.
Contextualization
Contextualization is a critical thinking skill that allows people to relate to particular information, setting, situation, or area of application to make the competencies relevant, meaningful, and useful. During the project, I contextualized racism over the years, dating back to slavery and through the present time in the United States. When I contextualized the history portion, I wanted to show African Americans and minorities have been discriminated against in the voting system during the Emancipation Era, Reconstruction Era, Civil Rights Era, and today's Era. It's still a significant problem in the United States, and action can't happen if we don't put our voices through the voting system. The final thing I contextualized was my art piece to capture the context of the Civil Rights Movement using the styles of various African American artists. My favorite part about this project was studying African American Studies because I'm interested in what my ancestors sacrificed to be a part of this country and how we got here in today's society. I hope you enjoyed my contextualization of voting rights, freedom, liberty, and so much more on my website. Like the famous slave, Frederick Douglass said, "Without struggle, there can be no progress."
Here is a Webpage
Here is my Annotated Bibliography