Education is the Practice of Freedom
Education is the Practice of FreedomWhen you're fifty-eight and seeking to obtain your first Master's Degree, the reality of bell hooks statement that "education is the practice of freedom" is easy to embrace. While there is no true comparison between the plight of a white woman who has the responsibilities of being a single parent, and the black woman who is denied the right of passage to the halls of academia, the results are strikingly the same in that there is an innate hunger for knowledge.........a quest to realize "education as the practice of freedom!" To avoid minimizing the critical message regarding the African-American's struggle for the freedom, I will explore the issues, culture and experiences, which influenced the attitudes of bell hooks. In doing so, I hope to arouse the same passion in you that I have developed while researching the Harlem Renaissance through Postmodern years; that is, a passion to give back to Black Americans their spot in the text with those who had an impact on the history of America.From the end of World War I through the middle of the 1930's Depression, the period which became know as the Harlem Renaissance, there was a tremendous body of literature produced in the form of p
In her Essay on "Postmodern Blackness," she states that for African-Americans "postmodern conditions are characterized by continued displacement, profound alienation and despair," Further as she relates to the work of Cornel West, she states that our plight now is a collective one: "there is an increasing class division and differentiation and the overall impact is that many other groups now share with black folks a sense of deep alienation, despair, uncertainty, loss of a sense of grounding which crosses the boundaries of class, gender and race". It would have been impossible to escape the renewed black liberation struggle. Granted, many of the codes that restricted the rights of the newly freed slaves were enacted, but white dominance was alive and well through the Ku Klux Klan. "(5)bell hooks is a product of a heritage and culture in which she cannot escape the reality of what is ---- a system that is yet to include my belief that "there is only one race, the human race. Most could see that the nation was "moving toward two societies, one black, one white - separate and unequal. In 1962, violence erupted at the University of Mississippi as James H. " But what happened in our "American History" story with "education" that might have affected the community where bell hooks grew up? I suspect that she is a product of the household in which she grew up; remember, bell hooks was born in 1952. hooks is five years of age, and starting in public school. She openly admits that her mind continues to be molded by the experience and culture in which she lives for as she so clearly states: "While I work in a predominantly white institution, I remain intimately and passionately engaged with black communities". The "Civil Rights" movement was, as Martin Luther King, Jr. Most importantly, we need to embrace the dream of "education as the practice of freedom" for ALL Americans.
Common topics in this essay:
King Jr,
Black American,
Master's Degree,
Cornel West,
Harlem Renaissance,
Rock Arkansas,
American History,
African American,
Gloria Watkins,
Rights Act,
bell hooks,
practice freedom,
education practice freedom,
education practice,
ms hooks,
harlem renaissance,
luther king jr,
civil rights,
luther king,
martin luther,
american history,
gender race,
martin luther king,
harlem renaissance postmodern,
|
Acceptance Essays
