**Use History textbooks as sources
Paper Topic: The Paradigm Shift of African Americans being treated justly in America Audience: My peers, my professor, and those willing to educate themselves (?)
Possible ideas for the introduction (see the front side of the handout for suggestions):
-Mention how unjustness and racism began with slavery before the country was born
-Country has since then fought valiantly to eradicate this discrimination to bring us to modern ages and ideologies of equality
-Discuss the Civil Rights Movement and compare it to civil unrest today blandly.
Thesis Statement (Usually the last sentence(s) in the introduction):
-(Rework) Throughout American history, a paradigm has shifted that has invoked the majority of people to finally treat people of color as human beings and equal.
II. Body (A paper may have a few or many main points; decide how many your paper will need)
Main Point: Slavery and discriminatory beginnings (smaller paragraph)
Examples/Details/Explanations:
a. Slaves were stolen in Africa because they were weak, not as civilized, and did not look the same as the captors
b. Slaves were immediately chained up, polished, and sold as if they were property (and to the buyers, they were)
c. No one even questioned the condition of the slaves, thus creating a social barrier of social racism
Main Point: First slave revolts (Turner’s rebellion is the best example)
Examples/Details/Explanations:
a. (Specific People)
Nat Turner- Preacher and slave who started the “only effective, sustained slave rebellion in U.S. history.”
Ku Klux Klan- hate group that wore masks and murdered Christians, Republicans, and anyone that even supported blacks, on top of the majority black people killed and threatened.
b. Protests and violent revolts from enslaved people woke the country to realize that slaves are people too, and thus shouldn’t be enslaved like an animal or a farm tool
c. Some of these revolts led negative connotations to the slaves who enacted them, but they were limited by choice to make a change and were not trying to just send a message but to finally be free
Main Point:Civil War and Legislature following
Examples/Details/Explanations:
a. (Specific People)
Confederates (Robert E Lee and Jefferson Davis)- leaders of the Confederate States of America who seceded from the union to continue slavery in the states
Abraham Lincoln and the Union- First Republican President who promised to free the slaves and was elected because of it. Led America through the Civil War and emancipated all slaves.
Frederick Douglas- Social Reformer who escaped from slavery and assisted other escaped slaves to reach Northern sanctuary
b. Union and Lincoln wanted to ban slavery and Confederates seceded to prevent this, and the Civil War began, which resulted in the freeing of African Americans and allowance for them to become citizens
c. American idea of equality and negative views on discrimination began to be spread amongst the states.
Main Point: Civil Rights Movement and Protests
Examples/Details/Explanations:
a. (Specific People)
Martin Luther King Jr.- Christain minister and activist, most famous for his nonviolent protests and “I have a Dream” speech. Got presidential recognition from JFK
Rosa Parks- openly defied the racist segregation laws by sitting in the whites-only section of the bus
Booker T Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois- clashing activist authors and activists who juxtaposed ideas on how to truly free the black community
Malcolm X- Muslim minister who used faith and rhetoric to rally people to his cause for equality
Black Panther Party- Group of college students who formed a political party to defend and fight for African American rights
b. Despite slavery being illegal, segregation and racism was still very common in the United States following the Union’s victory in the civil war
c. Northern blacks still faced racism, but southern states still enforced rules (Jim Crow laws) and much stricter restrictions on people of color, on top of blatant everyday racism
Main Point: Modern view on equality and racism
Examples/Details/Explanations:
a. (Specific People)
In General- Famous, and Popular Elite. For example MLB, NBA, NFL all have tributes to the Black Lives Matter movement. Social influencers such as Megan Beer, Lebron James, Saquon Barkley, A-Rod/ J-Lo, Ariana Grande, Beyonce, etc.
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, etc. – Black lives lost that led to sparks of protests across the country fighting for social justice
b. Describe how organizations have embraced black lives matter to denounce racism and shine through whatever discrimination is left
c. Racism is highly tolerated, resulting in many social networking platforms banning users who perform such acts and making heinous remarks regarding one’s race and its supremacy has modern dilemmas and consequences that could jeopardize someone’s entire life.
d. The country has not only rooted outmost racism but is going to extreme measures to completely eradicate it and prevent racism from being even somewhat prevalent again
III. Conclusion
Reworded Thesis (Usually found near the beginning of the conclusion):
-The country has gone through multiple forms of turmoil since slaves landed in this country, but finally, the American people have reached a platform against racism and social injustice towards black Americans.
-talk about how the road to complete social justice is close, but arguments still arise about how to achieve this “equality”, which may even lead to postponing finally eradicating racism
Sources as of now:
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement#:~:text=The%20civil%20rights%20movement%20was,law%20in%20the%20United%20States.
https://www.biography.com/activist/nat-turner
https://www.biography.com/people/groups/civil-rights-activists