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American Hunger, an African American who faced a lot of challenges in their education
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American Hunger
First and foremost, it is evident that Wright was writing about the plight of the African Americans in the United States of America (USA). This is related to his real life because he is among the people who were subjected to this kind of treatment during his lifetime. After excelling in his studies, he was made a school valedictorian. However, this would not bring happiness to him because it put him into problems with the school’s white administrators (Baldwin, J., 2008). For instance, in 1923, he refused to submit the principal’s valedictory address. Even though he was doing this to coax the black administrators to support him, he was in a disagreement with all the school’s white officials. Later in September, after registering for the History, English and Mathematics courses at Lanier High School, we could not concentrate on his studies. He had to attend classes at regular intervals since he was supposed to look for menial jobs in support of his poor family. This is typical of an African American who faced a lot of challenges in their education. The ideologies put in this text reflex the racial prejudices Wright experienced during his childhood in Memphis.
Secondly, Wright reports about the challenges he faced when he was looking for a job. As he explains, he faced lot problems to be granted a job in the white dominated economy. Instead of focusing on his potentials and qualifications, they view him as a black American. This was so racial particularly when they were violently treating him. However, this brutality is related to his life in many ways. As a young man, he had to look for opportunities wherever he could get them. When he relocated to Chicago in the year 1927, it took him so long to get a job. However, securing a job as a postal clerk would not ultimately solve his plights. He was to deal with the racial discriminative practices of the dominant whites in his newly acquired work place. Even after enduring for long, he was finally laid off in 1931 during the great depression in USA. This was so turbulent since it would financially destabilize him. Later, he would find it so difficult to survive in the conservative society which believed in the supremacy of the whites at the expense of the minority migrant groups.
Thirdly, Wright writes about his family. He says that he lived with his grandmother especially after his father disserted them at home. This is true because it gives a clear picture of his childhood. As he states in his story, he had an unpleasant childhood because he was forced to live with his sick mother along side Ms. Wilson, his highly religious grandmother. This was the beginning of his problems since he had to persevere to cope up with his granny’s tough rules concerning most of the matters of interest to him. For instance, he was not allowed to work on Saturdays and choose the kind of religion to follow. Ms. Wilson, being a Seventh Day Adventist, did not allow him to perform any task on a Saturday. To her, this was a Sabbath day which needed to be observed and kept holy. At the same time, there was a very great disagreement between him and his aunties and uncles. Each of these had a conflicting ideology about what kind of religious faith to pursue. However, this was a great challenge which almost left Wright with a permanent religious hostility. In fact, he also threatened to flee the home for another safer environment (Baldwin, J., 2008).
Besides, Write writes about his experiences as a communist. After going to Chicago, he decides to join the Communist Party. The main reason for doing this is because he thought that it would give him an opportunity to interact and make friendship with other party members especially the blacks. However, as events unfolded, he later gets disappointed when he realized that it was not possible to attain this since even these people were also afraid of change as well. This is a true reflection of Wright’s life because of his decision to join the Communist Party just after joining John Reeds Club. His motivation was that most of the club’s members were members of this party. However, things later turned upside down when he realized that joining the party would not make life better as he thought. Instead, he had to face a new group of people who were conservative and afraid of any form of change. As he explains, the communists would not tolerate any conflicting idea (Wright, R., 1998). Therefore, he would not get a chance to freely exercise his freedom of speech. After being branded as counter-revolutionary, he decides to leave the party. His was not taken lightly because it made him be accused of trying to convince the party members to abandon it.
Consequently, Wright gives an encounter of how he became branded as an enemy of the party e had joined in order to continue with the revolutionary struggle he had launched. His decision to withdraw his party membership after witnessing the trial of a ‘counter-revolutionist’ black member, he becomes an ‘enemy’ of the party. As a result, he is threatened of being laid off from his jobs and being removed from the various associations in which he was a member. The member’s of the Communist Party considered him as a subversive fellow who was not loyal to the party’s policies. Nevertheless, he opts not to fight them back because he knows that they are just a clumsy groping intolerant to the diverse ideologies on equality, tolerance and unity. When he writes about this, he reflects on his real life experiences in Chicago, New York City and Paris where he had gone to seek solace, but would not find one. For example, while in New York, he was accused of publishing the Native Son as a mockery to the white community. His portrayal of black man’s agonies was interpreted to be tainting whites as the worst oppressors in the world.
Finally, Wright ends his book by writing about the revolutionary struggle he had initiated. His belief that everyone has a hunger which must be satisfied compels him to venture into writing. In his opinion, he believed that the only way through which he would attain this is by making a lot of publications addressing the plights of the oppressed whites. Just like the other sections, this idea was influenced by his real life since he later decided to use writing as the only way of appealing to his audience. Hence, he wrote the New York Panorama (1938), Uncle Tom’s Children (1938), novel Native Son (1940), Black Boy (1945), The Outsider (1953) and the Black Power (1954). All these were meant to inform the world o the injustices suffered by the oppressed blacks. This is why he criss-crossed the whole world in order to meet distinguished freedom fighters in Africa and Europe. For instance, in 1953, he traveled to the Gold Coast where he met Kwame Nkrumah and discussed about the revolutionary ideologies of people like George Padmore and Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois (Wright, R., 1993).
Conclusively, I would like to agree that American Hunger is a true reflection of Richard Wright’s life. It qualifies as an autobiography which gives unexaggerated information about this legendary African American revolutionist.
Works Cited
Baldwin, J. (2008). Richard (Nathaniel) Wright. Contemporary Literary Criticism (Detroit:
Gale) 48: 415–430.
Wright, R. (1993). Black Boy. New York: Harper Collins.
Wright, R. (1998) Native Son. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Health and Medical (2)
Health and Medical
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Institution of Affiliation
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The Affordable Care Act more profoundly known as the Obama Care was signed into becoming law on March 23rd of the year 2010 with the intention of helping millions of the United States citizens acquire health insurance as every individual in the country has the right to health (Protection & Act, 2010). By the time of its signaling, a majority of the patients in the US were not covered by the health insurances and to some point, the sick individuals were denied access to health insurance covers especially their application during a sickness. As a result of the inability to cover a wide range of individuals by the present insurance covers, the United States government under the leadership of President Obama saw the need to institute an insurance cover that could cover every citizen in the American nation. The primary aim of the Obama care was to ensure that every citizen had health insurance that could aid them in catering for their treatment cost in the times to which the fall sick, making it able for every person to access health care services without restrictions.
The Affordable Care Act has instituted some reforms concerning the manner to which the health care is delivered in the United States (Shi & Singh, 2014). For one it has aided the less fortunate individuals to gain access to the health providers, but on the other hand, the program has not lowered the costs to which are associated with the care, a fact that still makes the health program unaffordable to all. Besides, the Act created quality in the system of health delivery to which tries to improve day by day but as well has continued to introduce excessive compliance reporting that threatens to the quality programs through focusing on creating reports and not on the patients. It can, therefore, be deduced that the Obama care puts much emphasis on the creation of the reports neglecting the patients, and thus despite having a lot of individuals being covered by the policy, the quality of healthcare has deteriorated.
Despite the Act’s intentions of providing accessible and affordable care to all, the Obama care has been faced by a lot of controversies that have led to a majority of the people questioning the program. It is a fact that the introduction of the Affordable Care Act has made the health care system of the United States worse than the previous situation. The reason behind is that the Obama care is no longer affordable and that a majority of the people feel that they are double taxed as the insurance premiums are too much expensive because every individual is entitled to be covered by the program (Center et al. 2017). The health care costs in the United States are very high, and this triggers the most significant problem to the affordability of the health insurance plans as they too tend to become expensive.
Concerning the accessibility to the health services, the Obama care has made it possible for thousands of individuals access the healthcare services with the help of the mandatory insurance (Collins et al. 2015). Consideration that it is a constitutional requirement for every person to have access to quality and affordable health care, the patient protection, and affordable care act has made it possible for the less fortunate access health as they are catered for by the insurance. It is now possible that a majority of the people can apply for the coverage regardless of their health condition. However, the accessibility to the health services gets limited due to the high cost of living and as well the increased cost of healthcare.
It is true that the healthcare is a goose that lays golden eggs for the insurance companies and the drug manufacturing companies as they happen to be the primary beneficiaries of the insurance programs. The companies tell lies to protect their billion dollar profits, and the insurance companies go to an extra mile of stemming individuals once they are diagnosed with chronic ailments and as well penalizing individuals when they don’t pay the premiums as expected. It is therefore hard to offer universal health care to all as it is faced with multiple challenges that eventually end up affecting the quality of services delivered to the patients.
References
Center, H., Woods, C. A., Manchikanti, L., & Purdue Pharma, L. P. (2017). A critical analysis of obamacare: affordable care or insurance for many and coverage for few?. Pain physician, 20, 111-138.
Collins, S. R., Rasmussen, P. W., Doty, M. M., & Beutel, S. (2015). The rise in health care coverage and affordability since health reform took effect. New York: The Commonwealth Fund.
Protection, P., & Act, A. C. (2010). Patient protection and affordable care act. Public law, 111(48), 759-762.
Shi, L., & Singh, D. A. (2014). Delivering health care in America. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
American History
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American History
World war 2 was a trying time for the African American community in general. Tyrone Williams was now a fully-grown man, arguably experiencing his peak, and was drafted to fight in the German fronts by the US army. Cassandra was yet again opposed to this idea but had little to say about it. Cato convinced his son to enroll and serve his country, despite the rampant segregation faced by the black community at the time. Life was especially hard for Tyrone as he had a mixed ethnicity. He could not fit in well with the white community as they viewed him as a black man. Yet, the black community also rejected him due to his light-skin appearance. Therefore, he was often neglected by both communities and was lonely. He only had the comfort of his mother, Jenifer, and the rest of his family, Cato and Cassandra.
Therefore, it was understandable for him to seek some form of appreciation from society by enlisting in the army. The NAACP was advocating for African American to be selected according to their percentage of the population. However, this was not the case as more than one million African Americans were drafted. This figure, compared to only four thousand blacks enlisted in the army before 1941, shows they were over-drafted. Tyrone was first selected as a serviceman cooking for the officers who were in the front line of battle. But when the war took a toll on the numbers of soldiers, he was forced to enter the battlefield. He was unfortunately murdered in the war and his remains could not be recovered due to the state they were in.
This news shocked his mother and family in general. Cato felt guilty for compelling his son to join in the war and it led him to alcoholism. Jenifer was likewise infuriated with Cato’s decision to compel her son to join the army. She refused to talk to Cato for the next six months and the mood in the house was unbearable. Cato eventually succumbed to liver disease and dies a few years later. After his death, Jenifer left their home, and Cassandra never saw her again. Luckily, Cassandra’s involvement in the NAACP started to bear fruits. Civil rights activists and war veterans began staging demonstrations against segregation and racism in the black community.
President Roosevelt advocated for freedom and equality for all Americans and it further fueled the riots by the NAACP. Cassandra involved herself in all these demonstrations by taking to the streets and mobilizing fellow black women. These protests were risky as police often used excessive force and live ammunition to disband these groups. Cassandra often suffered minor injuries but they did not deter her involvement. The protests aimed to achieve an end to end segregation in the work area.
The war opened up more job opportunities for black communities as some posts were left vacant after the whites went to war. More educated blacks joined the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 60s. As the cold war heated, President Truman advocated for the cease of segregation and racism in the army. Cassandra, along with fellow blacks, protested the segregation of education. At that time, blacks were only allowed to learn in all-black institutions. The pressure from the demonstrations forced the government to abolish segregation in all public schools.
Even though the law allowed black people to vote, many states made them take voter literacy examinations. They were biased and confusing, causing nearly all blacks to fail the exam, including Cassandra. However, pressure from civil rights movements compelled Congress to abolish these rules, allowing blacks to vote and making it illegal to prevent anyone from voting. In the 1960s, prejudice was still a major issue. Cassandra volunteered to participate in the Selma March despite the apparent risks involved. It was arranged due to the exceeding number of blacks that were eligible voters but were still rejected from applying.
During this march, Cassandra was significantly injured by a stampede and required immediate medical treatment. A black family in Alabama adopted Cassandra after they heard her sad story. The Johnsons’ were a family of five and were all involved in the fight for the end of segregation and prejudice. The first-born son, Jackson, was a middle-aged man and was closest to Cassandra. She taught him all she knew about the struggle blacks had faced throughout her life. Cassandra considered Jackson as her apprentice and son.
They lived in poor conditions but devoted most of their time by attending protests and rallies to ensure equal opportunities for black. After many famous leaders of the civil rights groups were assassinated, the protest became more common and pressure mounted on the government to enact more laws favoring equal rights. Finally, in 1968, the fair housing bill was passed by congress. It was a game-changer to the Johnsons family’s lives as they finally allowed them to move into a decent neighborhood in Alabama. The housing was affordable and many black communities could finally live in respectable conditions. Cassandra was finally in a place where she could be comfortable.
As prejudice became less of an issue, a new problem emerged. The war in Vietnam was escalating and the army was recruiting members again. Jackson was opposed to what was happening in Vietnam and often participated in protests against it. He helped distribute flyers and brochures containing information on why the war was wrong and rally locations. He rose in ranks and was soon recognized as a significant activist in his area. He mobilized black youth to get off the streets and avoid idleness. He encouraged the black youth to participate in anti-war demonstrations instead of idling or drug use. Luckily, these protests helped greatly in the agreement to the ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam.
Jackson continued to join lobby groups and non-government organizations that kept the government on his toes and observed misconduct. The groups investigated on many activities the government undertook and raised the flag in many scandals. Such scandals included the Watergate scandal, the Pentagon paper scandal, the oil embargo scandal amongst others. Jackson helped recruit black people to join the groups and assist in funding to ensure the smooth proceeding of activities. He participated in investigations that related the Watergate Scandal to President Nixon. He educated people in his community on what was going on. His help in bringing these controversies to light, combined with other activists, led to the eventual stepping down of Nixon.
Jackson joined a local media house and wrote controversial articles citing the mismanagement of power among other issues. He especially wrote on issues ongoing during the Gulf War. He got the information from a friend who was in Baghdad as the war emerged. He would relay letters of the occurrences and Jackson included them in his article. Soon, the local paper received national attention because of the unknown details it uncovered. Writing about several airstrikes by the US government that murdered many innocent women and children, his article was soon canceled by the government. He was not deterred and made frequent appearances at radio stations cutting the government’s involvement in the war.
Additionally, Jackson discussed many issues and viewpoints in which he disagreed with government action. He commended the decision of Germany to destroy the Berlin wall. Specifically, he admired the peaceful demonstrations by those in East Germany. He disagreed with the occasional use of force by the police to disband the rioters and encouraged the Germany officials to listen to the pleads of their citizens. He later applauded the quick decision to allow the migration to either side of the wall and challenged the US government to emulated such action.
Even though segregation and prejudice were against the law in the US, several cases of racism were still prevalent, especially by police officers. Black people were still being murdered without legitimate cause. Jackson was often critical to such events and organized the sending of parties for the deceased. He often talked of the widespread white supremacists in the police department and requested for serious vetting of citizens who wished to become police officers. However, little was done to prevent the innocent death of black citizens. Also, incidences of police officers enforcing excessive force to black communities were still high with many reports being filed.