Lily Taylor

In 1934, Zora Neale Hurston wrote the novel Jonah’s Gourd Vine. This book depicts Reverend John Buddy Pearson as a Christian leader who is not without flaws. The people in Sanford, Florida view him as an exciting addition to their community but also worry that he may pose a danger to their morals.

Through the years, hip hop has evolved not just as a popular music genre but as an emergent subculture in American society.  Although it may be considered by many as a combination of other cultural forms, most of these are of purely African and Caribbean origins, the ultimate result of such melding cannot be argued […]

During the 19th century, the United States of America had distinct characteristics compared to its present state. Infrastructure, buildings, and highways varied significantly. Technological advancements such as fast cars and the concept of cyberspace were absent. However, a notable feature that set this period apart was the prevalent presence of slavery in society and economy.

African tribal masks are true archeological treasures as they represent specific culture, customs and traditions. Tribal masks help scientists and researchers to understand better African culture and to reveal mysterious rituals and ceremonies.

Politics is defined as the interaction between the state and the society, public and private institutions in such a way as to ensure development. However, politics is not autonomous of the society, nor the society simply made up of organized interest groups. Instead, informal institutions, unregulated behavior and differences in culture are some of the […]

Analyzing male-female relationships in African literature enables a better understanding of how African writers view the gender roles including the application of religious aspects, marriage and identity, midwives and slave women, nationalism, and migration. In earlier works, the female gender was often perceived as “the Queen Mother.”

What might be good for one person might be bad for others and what might be bad for one might be good for others. This and more were my realizations while reading the novel  Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe (1958/ 1992).

The dialect called African American Vernacular English, also known as Black English, Black Vernacular, and Black English Vernacular, is certainly one of the most popular vernacular dialects of U. S. English. Very few controversies about language are capable of producing the kind of heat, enthusiasm, and even outright anger brought about by discussions of AAVE, […]

One of the most famous observations written about this sport and the connection between its practitioners and their forefathers first appeared in 1956 in the introduction of a book of collected essays on then-modern day pugilism: “The sweet science is joined onto the past like a man’s arm is to his shoulder.”

Racial and class identities bear a tremendous influence on how literature is written and read. The influence of racial and class identity on literature is exemplified in the works of authors Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen, two prominent poets during the Harlem Renaissance.

The rise of industrialization during the twentieth century has been a time of immense transformation in almost every facet of human life, especially in the West. Thus, family and marriage life has been affected dramatically as well. In her article “African American Marriage in the 29th Century,” Elaine P. Pinterhughes provides the underlying issues through […]

The main focus of Zora Neale Hurston’s short story Sweat is the difficult life of Delia, an African-American woman who suffers due to her demanding job and abusive husband. Delia supports her family by doing laundry for white people, while Sykes relies on her financially but constantly undermines her. The story primarily explores the theme […]

Langston Hughes’ essay, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” explores how young African American artists strive to distance themselves from their own identity. They do so by refraining from addressing racism and avoiding themes that highlight the distinctions between black and white individuals. In paragraph 12, Hughes asserts that these young artists hold the […]

The horse industries have been lucrative, especially for wealthy individuals, including African-American horse enthusiasts. Owning a racehorse represents membership in an upper social class, although it is also seen as a hobby. Nevertheless, the African-American community had to work hard to establish themselves as successful participants in horse racing.

Researchers have conducted multiple studies to comprehend the graduation crisis among African American students in the United States. These investigations reveal that African American students exhibit notably lower graduation rates compared to those reported by the Texas Education Agency. Different statistics emphasize this inconsistency, prompting efforts to tackle these disparities.

The essay of Alice Walker titled, “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens’ focuses on the creativity of African-American women in the South during the period of post-reconstruction South.  More than anything else, the essay chronicles the struggle of African-American women to keep creativity intact in the face of oppression.

 In this paper I will explore the problem of African American Female Entrepreneurship. I will provide some statistic data on this problem, analyze a number of literature sources, review the main problems African American women face when starting their own business.

In his book There Is a River (1980), Vincent Harding effectively utilizes the metaphor of a vast body of water with wayward arteries and streams to depict the history of Black America. Through this metaphor, Harding documents how Africans reacted to the difficulties faced during their abduction and enslavement, as well as enduring Jim Crow […]

The second chapter of Patricia Hill Collins’ book “Black Sexual Politics” addresses the idea of “new racism,” which does not suggest any novel or groundbreaking features of racism. The portrayal of racism, both in the book and in real-life scenarios, includes familiar elements that have been present for centuries. These elements consist of three essential […]

Ray Kurzweil’s The Age Of Spiritual Machines is a commentary which looks into the instance of humanity’s existence alongside machines which, over the decades have grown to transcend more than intelligence and acquire, much as the title of the book connotes, a degree of spirituality, inherent to humans, and not generally attributed or associated with […]

Ageism refers to any type of abuse, prejudice and discrimination against the elderly. This term was introduced in sociology in 1968 by Dr. Robert Butler, an American advocate for the rights and needs of the elderly.

The Harlem Renaissance was an era of African-American social philosophy and ethnicity based on the African-American society that was generated in Harlem in New York City. The period, expanding from around 1920s to 1940s, was conveyed through each cultural means such as poetry, music, theater, dance, literature, visual arts, politics and history.