Booker T. Washington

When the economy was suffering from the majority of blacks flowing into the North from the South immediately after blacks were granted their freedom, Fredrick Douglas shared his thoughts on the subject. He thought the north was not meant for such a large influx of people and was the reason why the majority of blacks could not find jobs and had to move into the poor inner cities. If they move to the South, they would easily be able to find a job working on a plantation and keep the South’s economy going. They also would be able to set the demands from their white employers, but most blacks did not like the idea of working for someone who treated their race so horribly. He also thought that staying in the South would force the idea of freedom in the South.

Booker T. Washington had similar ideas as Douglas on the subject of blacks staying in the South. Washington thought blacks could thrive in the South. Blacks would be given a better chance to succeed in the commercial world in the South, rather than in the North. He thought blacks needed to stop and reflect on the life they could have in the South before making a haste decision to move to the North. He understood the Negro race wanting to leave after gaining their freedom, but thinks it is ultimately the wrong decision. Washington mentioned African Americans needing to understand they cannot start at the top immediately after gaining their freedom. They are going to have to work hard and work hard for a while before they start moving up in society. He also advises to not look down upon labor but to dignify it and use their skills in their work and their life.

Venture Smith vs. Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano and Venture Smith were both born and raised in Western Africa before they were taken and sold as slaves. Their fathers were leaders in their tribes and the two men were very close with their families. They learned honorable traits while growing up in their tribe in Africa. Both were hard workers, which transferred over to when they were slaves. Equiano and Smith were captured at a young age and separated from their families. Equiano was taken by other Africans and sold into slavery, but he was a slave in Africa for a few years before he went to America. He was traded all around Africa and saw many parts of the country before the white man bought him. Venture Smith’s story was different from the point that he was sent off to the United States shortly after being captured, he was never owned by a fellow African. A difference between their biographies was Equiano spent more time talking about his childhood in Africa and the traditions and lifestyles in his tribe. Equiano wrote in detail about his family, their religion and beliefs, and when he was captured and sold into slavery. He talked little about being in America and summarized his life after moving to England in a few paragraphs. Smith talked more about his life in America than his life in Africa. He gave detail about his journey from when the day he arrived in Rhode Island to his life after he had bought his freedom and his family’s freedom. The beliefs and traditions Equaino learned had some importance to him because he kept them through his life. He kept his African name, rather than use the name, Gustavus Vassa, given to him by a captain. Which is different from Ventures, who used the name given to him by a white man, rather than keep the name his family gave him. Equiano’s character had not changed by the end of his story, liked Smith’s did. But they both learned to read and write, they wrote about their life and experiences to get their stories heard. Smith’s character changed as time went by when he was a slave. He first started out as a hard and trusting worker that obeyed his master. But after a few years as a slave he started to act out against his master. He started to obsess over money and objects. When he bought his freedom he started to buy slaves, he would have them work for him for a certain amount of years and then they could be free. When they would run away, he would get upset because he lost money. While Equaino stayed true to himself and his beliefs. He was never a fan of slavery, never owned any slaves when he could, and he worked hard and respected his master. But they both suffered the hardships of being separated from their families, being sent to a foreign country and forced into slavery at a young age.

Values

The people in the stories that we have been reading for the past few weeks have all been placed in horrible situations. But yet the majority of them have faith that things will turn around and eventually get better. In Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round’, the narrator is showing the determination to march to the freedom land and now one will stop him, not the officers or any other white man. In the song, We Shall Overcome; there is hope that their freedom in due course will be granted. It is similar to the song, All God’s Chillen Had Wings, the slaves were told by the old man to wait for salvation, they needed to get to their lowest point before they could “fly away” from their suffers and be free.. The Strange Fruit reminded me of The Message and N.Y. State of Mind and how graphic both were. The narrator in The Message spoke about the life in the city and how drugs and violence were part of the daily routine. In Strange Fruit, the story gives the reader disturbing scenes involving the treatment and killing of slaves. All these stories are all about giving the singer/reader inspiration to keep fighting, to help them keep moving one foot in front of the other when things get rough. Some songs also tell the reader the hardships people have to go through in life.

John Henry

John Henry gave hope to the African American population because he beat the white man’s steam-powered drill in a race to see who could drill through the mountain faster. After he completed the tunnel and beat the white man’s drill, he died of exhaustion. He worked hard everyday to survive. John Henry went through a lot of hardship in his life, being prosecuted by whites, stuck in slavery, and also when digging a tunnel using only a hammer. The hardship John Henry went through showed in the ballad and it inspired others to be like him and to push through when times got a tough. The similarities between John Henry and both Nas’ songs, The Message and N.Y. State of Mind is all three talk about the hardships they have to or had to endure in their life. The hardships are different between Nas and John Henry, Nas is not a slave, but for Nas and many others in similar situations had to work hard everyday in order to see the following day. Nas talked about the life in the ghetto and the rough times that came with growing up there. Nas had to protect himself from other gangs when he lived in the city, he says in N.Y. State of Mind: “Try to cock it, it wouldn’t shoot now I’m in danger.” Some people look to Nas songs for inspiration and some even want to be like him because in today’s world it is cool to some to be gangsters. But though John Henry did not need a gun to protect him, he still had to hit pieces of steel with his hammer carefully because it could lead to his or others death if not taken seriously.