english 103 critical thinking thru battles for independence

English 103

Critical Thinking thru Battles for Independence

Table of Contents

• 1. The West Indies

• 2. Oppression– Jamaica and Linton Kwesi Johnson

• 3. Revolt and Revolution– U.S., Mumia Abu Jamal, and KRS-ONE

• 4. Freedom and Independence– Bob Marley and Peter Tosh

• 5. New Identity– Barbados and George Lamming

The West Indies

The West Indies

• The West Indies are a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean

Geography of the West Indies

• The Greater Antilles: Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico

• The Lesser Antilles: Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

• Isolated Island Groups: The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire

Population and Ethnicity

• Mostly, the population descended from African slaves (76.3%) or from Spanish, French, British, or Dutch colonists

Major Languages

• 1. Dutch• 2. English• 3. French• 4. French Creole• 5. Haitian Creole• 6. Papiamento• 7. Spanish

Major Exports

• 1. Sugar• 2. Bananas• 3. Citrus• 4. Cocoa• 5. Spices

Oppression

Definition of Oppression

• According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “oppression” is defined as a (1) “prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control, (2) “the state of being subject to unjust treatment or control,” (3) “mental pressure or distress”

• Types of Oppression include: sexism, heterosexism, classism, racism, and colonialism

Current Examples of Oppression

• Palestinians by Israelites• Georgians and Ukraine

by the Russians• Tibetans by the Chinese• Countries oppressing

their own people: Guinea, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Sudan, and Syria

Linton Kwesi Johnson

Jamaica

Brief History of Jamaica

• Claimed by Christopher Columbus (in the name of Spain) in 1494

• In 1655 Jamaica was claimed by the English who established plantations and used slave labor

Brief History of Jamaica

• Baptist preacher Samuel Sharpe led a somewhat peaceful revolution against the English

• 10-day Work Strike and Rebellion

• 500 slaves killed• In 1838 slavery in

Jamaica was fully abolished (after 500 years)

Musical Genres in Jamaica

• Reggae: developed in Jamaica in the 1960s

• Mento: calypso inspired folk music

• Ska: combines mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues

Popular Musical Acts

• Bob Marley• Peter Tosh• Toots & The Maytals• Bunny Wailer• Linton Kwesi Johnson• Jimmy Cliff

Jamaican Artists

• Barrington Watson• Ras Daniel Hartman• Ken Spencer• Cecil Cooper• Ebony G. Patterson• Laura Facey

West Indian Immigration to England

• Four Waves of Immigration to U.K.

• A. 1600s-1700s• B. After slavery 1800s• C. After the start of

WWI: thousands of immigrants

• D. After WWII: ¼ of a million immigrants (1955-1962)

West Indian Immigration

• Sunder Katwala on Immigration from the West Indies

Linton Kwesi Johnson

• Jamaican, UK-based dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson (1952-present)

• Performs in Jamaican Patois

• Emigrated to London in 1963

• Once a member of the British Black Panther Movement

Excerpt from “Inglan is a Bitch”

• “W’en dem gi’ you di lickle wage packit, fus dem rab it wid dem big tax rackit, y’u haffi struggle fi mek en’s meet, an’ w’en y’u goh a y’u bed y’u jus’ can’t sleep. Inglan is a bitch, dere’s no escapin it. Inglan is a bitch, a hot lie mi a tell, a true.”

By Linton Kwesi Johnson

Revolt and Revolution

Definition of Revolution

• 1. A forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system

• 2. A dramatic and wide-reaching change in the way something works or is organized or in people’s thinking

• 3. An instance of revolving

Selected Revolutions

• Wars of Scottish Independence 1296-1328, 1332-1357

• English Revolution 1642-1660

• The Fronde (French civil wars) 1648-1653

• French Revolution 1789-1799• American Revolution 1765-

1783• Nat Turner’s Rebellion 1831

The Haitian Revolution

• Haiti was a French colony known as St. Domingue

• Sugar and Coffee plantations used slave labor

• After American and French Revolutions, slaves rebelled

Haitian Revolution

• The Haitian Revolution began August 22, 1791

• Their timing was perfect. France, England, Spain, and Russia had been involved in a series of civil wars for the past 200 years. Furthermore, their oppressor France was in the middle of the French Revolution (1789-1799)

Leader of the Haitian Revolution

• Unsatisfied with the leaders of the rebellion, L’Ouverture started his own, training his troops in guerrilla warfare

• L’Ouverture fought successfully against the French and Spanish for Haitian Independence (1791-1804)

Toussaint L’Ouverture

The Haitian Revolution

• PBS: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution

Revolutions in Europe (1848-1871)

• 24 Feb. 1848: French Revolution. Monarch King-Louie Philippe overthrown

• March 1848: Uprisings in Germany

• March-June 1848: Revolutions in Italy

“Tennis Court Oath” (1791)

Revolutions in Europe (1848-1871)

• April 1848: Revolutions in Vienna, Budapest, and Prague

• 1861-1865: American Civil War

“Aurora Borealis” by Frederic Edwin Church (March 1865)

Picture Prompt Exercise

Explain what you think this picture means. How does Church’s “Aurora Borealis” relate to the end of the American Civil War?

“Art and Revolution” by Wagner

• A primary source (when we talk about the research paper), “Art and Revolution” by Richard Wagner (1849) claims, “when all men cannot be free alike and happy—all men must suffer alike as slaves.”

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. King

• In his stirring “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. states, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Make it Personal

• Wagner argues, “when all men cannot be free alike and happy—all men must suffer alike as slaves.”

• King puts forth that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

• Select one of these quotes and write about a moment in your life that relates to either passage

Group Discussion

• Break into groups of four or five and discuss your responses to the quotes

Individual Reflection

• Now, take a few minutes to reflect on how that quote relates to the case you are studying for Essay 2

Mumia Abu Jamal

Brief History of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Founded in 1682• Big Trading Port, especially

for the West Indies• Abolished slavery in 1780• Philadelphia took in refugees

from St.-Domingue (Haiti) and provided them political asylum during the revolution

• Today, the city is 44.3% Black, 36.6% White, and 6.8% Asian

Mumia Abu Jamal

• Author and radio journalist• Former member of the

Black Panther Party• For a murder many suggest

he did not commit, Jamal has spent the last 30 plus years of his life in prison, mostly in solitary confinement on Pennsylvania’s Death Row

Mumia Abu Jamal

• From Death Row: Mumia Abu Jamal

Definition of Rap

• “Deprivation and unequal opportunity nurtured the hopelessness, distrust, and early death depicted in Tupac Shakur’s lyrics. American urban centers in general and low-income minority communities in particular, are replete with poverty, police brutality, drug abuse, educational inequality, high dropout rates, and violence. A sense of powerlessness to change conditions grounded in complex social, political, and economic issues has led artists to seek ways to express their discontent.”

Definition of Rap

• Chicago Tribune writer Dawn Turner Trice writes, “Rap began in the mid-1970s as a way for [B]lack, Hispanic, and Afro-Caribbean youths in New York City housing projects to rail against fatherlessness, unemployment, drugs, and police brutality” (“Rap Offers New Form to Old Tradition” 2014)

Definition of Rap

• The Urban Dictionary defines “Hip Hop Music” as, “a style of music…[consisting] of two main components: rapping (MCing) and Djing (audio mixing and scratching)…music consists of intensely rhythmic lyrical form making abundant use of…assonance, alliteration, and rhyme”

Socially Conscious Rap Songs

• Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message” (1982)

• Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” (1989)

• 2-Pac’s “Changes” (1998)

• Immortal Technique’s “Harlem Streets” (2003)

KRS-ONE

Brief History of the South Bronx, New York

• KRS-ONE grew up at a time (1960s-1970s) when the South Bronx, once a thriving neighborhood, was overcome by crime, violence, drug-dealing, squatters, street gangs, the mentally ill, welfare housing, countless fires, and insurance fraud

• Since the 1980s, the culture has revived

KRS-ONE

• Rapper, author, lecturer KRS-ONE or Lawrence Parker (1965-present)

• KRS-ONE stands for “knowledge reigns supreme over nearly everyone”

• Debut album Criminal Minded (1987)

Excerpt from “Free Mumia”

• “Attackin me will leave youth with no voices. The choice is yours not mine hang with me. I’ll have you freestyle and bombin graffiti…America was violent before rap, FACT. Warner, Elektra, Atlantic…Instead of fighting them why don’t you go free Mumia.”

By KRS-ONE

Rap Exercise

• Take a 10-15 minutes to work on a rap or poem about the case you are studying for Essay 2

Freedom and Independence

Definition of Independence

• The Oxford English Dictionary defines “independence” (coined in 17th century) as:

• 1. “Free from outside control; not depending on another’s authority”

• 2. “Self-governing”• 3. “Not influenced or affected by others”• 4. “Capable of thinking or acting for oneself”

Examples of Independence

• Some Countries to Gain Independence from England: Afghanistan (1919), Antigua and Barbuda (1981), Bahamas (1973), Barbados (1966), Belize (1981), Ghana (1957), India (1947), Jamaica (1962), Nigeria (1960), Uganda (1962), and U.S. (1776)

Night before Barbados Gained Independence

Bob Marley

• Jamaican Rastafarian reggae singer-songwriter and guitarist Bob Marley (1945-1981)

• Bob Marley and Wailers (1963-1977)

• Bob Marley continued a solo career until his death in 1981

“War”

• Released in 1976• Credited to Wailers Allen

Cole and Carlton Barrett, “War” was inspired by Ethopian Emperor President Haile Selassie’s address to the United Nations (4 Oct. 1963)

• “War” has been covered by Ben Harper, Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, and Sinead O’Connor

Excerpt of Haile Selassie’s Speech

• “Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: that until there are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation; that until the color of a man’s skin is of no more significance that the color of his eyes…We Africans will fight.”

To the United Nations (Oct. 4, 1963)

Excerpt of “War”

• “Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned. Everywhere is war-Me say war. That until there no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation, until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes-Me say war.”

By Bob Marley and the Wailers

Peter Tosh

• Jamaican reggae guitarist Peter Tosh (1944-1987)

• Bob Marley and the Wailers, etc. (1961-1976)

• Peter Tosh solo career (1976-1987)

“Equal Rights”

• Tosh released the album and song “Equal Rights” in 1977

• The album features a collection of songs about African diaspora and Apartheid, like “Equal Rights,” “Downpressor Man,” and “Apartheid”

New Identity

Definition of Identity

• Dating back to the late 16th century (from Latin identitas and idem), “identity” is defined as:

• 1. “The fact of being who or what a person or thing is”

• 2. “A close similarity or affinity”

Barbados

Brief History of Barbados

• In 1200, it was settled by the Carib Indians

• Settled around 1623 by Amerindians

• 1625-1644, the English colonized Barbados

• Portuguese settled around 1846

Brief History of Barbados

• Under the English, slavery began in 1627

• First Slave Rebellion (1649)

• Second Slave Rebellion (1675)– Over 100 slaves arrested

and tortured; over 40 killed

• Third Slave Rebellion (1692)– 200 slaves arrested; over

90 executed

Brief History of Barbados

• The Bussa Rebellion (1816)– Bussa and Nanny Grigg

planned it– Hours of striking– About 1,000 killed, another

214 executed

• In 1825, the slaves of Barbados received some legal status

• Independence (1834), but full independence was not achieved until about 1966

Musical Genres in Barbados

• Calypso• Iron Band• Ragga-Soca• Reggae• Spouge• Tuk

Popular Musical Acts

• The Merrymen• Gabby• Irving Burgie• Grynner• Spice and Company

Irving Burgie

Barbadian Artists

• Fielding Babb (water color/oil)

• Annalee Davis (visual artist)

• Goldie Spieler (pottery)• Winston Kellman

(landscapes)

Barbadian Authors

• Kamau Brathwaite (novelist/playwright/poet/essayist)

• Austin Clarke (novelist/essayist)

• Frank Collymore (editor/author/poet/painter/etc.)

• George Lamming (novelist/essayist/poet)

• Geoffrey Drayton (novelist/poet)

• Paule Marshall (novelist)Poet/Playwright Derek Walcott and Frank Collymore

George Lamming

George Lamming Bio.

• Barbadian author George Lamming (1927-present)

• Mentored by another famous Barbadian artist Frank Collymore

• First novel In the Castle of my Skin was published in 1953 and won the Somerset Maugham Award

• Author of 7 books and winner of 10 literary awards

In the Castle of my Skin

• Lamming’s novel In the Castle of my Skin is a bildungsroman, or a coming of age story, that parallels the development of the main character G, his friends, their village, and their island home of Barbados. As the boys strive for self-awareness, the island around them engages in a strike and increased desire for independence

In the Castle of my Skin: Themes

• Race• Class• Gender• Colonialism• Exile• Independence• Community v Individual Consciousness

In the Castle of my Skin: Point of View

• 1. 3rd Person Limited as “G”• 2. 3rd Person Limited as “Old Man” and

“Old Woman”• 3. Omniscient

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 1• The Flood

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 2• Introduction to “Little

England”• Overseers• Landlord ride through

and mimicry

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 3• The School

Combermere School in Barbados

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 4• Mr. Slime founds the

Penny Bank

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 5• The villagers discuss a

strike and the eventual fading of empires

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 6• The boys discuss the

impending strike, racism, and history

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 7• The strike and riot

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 8• Ma and Pa discuss Mr.

Creighton and the boys

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 9• Fighting and police

attacks in the village

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 10• Ma and Pa reflect on

the riots

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 11• An older G reflects• A torpedo hits a ship off

the island

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 12• G says goodbye to Ma

and Pa

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 13 • The change in the

village

1966

In the Castle of my Skin: Summary

• Chapter 14• The Conclusion• The boys go their

separate ways

References

• “Identity.” Oxford English Dictionary. Web.• “Independence.” Oxford English Dictionary. Web.• Johnson, Linton Kwesi. “Inglan is a Bitch.”• “Hip Hop Music.” The Urban Dictionary. Web.• KRS-ONE. “Mumia.”• Lamming, George. In the Castle of my Skin. Print.• “Oppression.” Oxford English Dictionary. Web.• “Rap Music and its Violent Progeny: America’s Culture of

Violence in Context” by Jeanita W. Richardson and Kim A. Scott, Journal of Negro Education.

• Trice, Dawn Turner. “Rap Offers New Form to Old Tradition” 2014.