October 4

Life of Black People in the US 1950: Brooklyn

 

Life of Black People in the US 1950: Brooklyn

In the US, in the 1950’s, post WWII, their was a large amount of discrimination and segregation against the blacks. A large group, was beginning to grow in the US, African-Americans, and even though they were fighting for equality for centuries, at this point, racism and segregation against black people has become a mainstream in the American life. Black people were put as a completely different class to the “powerful whites”. They were forced to always give their seats on the bus, which lead to the large protests, led by Rosa Parks, as well as, going to different schools, as all the white families, have pulled their children out of public schools in which black families had their children in and placed them in all white schools.

In addition, a large majority, were unable to get jobs in this time, and many of the blacks were servants to the whites. Almost 60% of African-American women, were servants for the whites. As you would expect this created protest, non-violent. However they worked, and in the next years, there were many rulings by the Supreme Court that favoured, blacks bringing equality back to them. In 1951, the Supreme Court ruled, unconstitutional to segregation against blacks in restaurants, the same for schooling in 1954, and transportation in 1956. This all finally led to the equality for blacks in the US. Furthermore, in this time, there were many immigrates migrating into the US, and there was indeed discrimination against them as well, not to the extent that the blacks faced but it was still a struggle. Many books were written to emphasise the struggle and explain to people how people had trouble in the US, due to race or nationality. One being “Brooklyn” written by Colm Tóibín.

Tóibín narrates the experience of an immigrant from Ireland coming into Brooklyn trying to settle in, in her “new home”. She is faced with many struggles , however she has already received the opportunity of a job and of a home, through Father Flood. This was an extremely privileged opportunity for her, especially in this time as there is a lot of racism going on in the US against immigrants.  Since, Ellis is white, during the 1950’s in the US it was easier for her to settle in, get a job and a place to stay. Blacks at this time, as mentioned before were discriminated against, which made it extremely hard for them unlike Ellis to settle in and sustain a stable and standard living.

 

 

 

October 4

Everyday Life for African Americans – 1950s

In the 1950’s, the United States of America was regarded as the greatest military power in the world, with a booming economy and luxurious lifestyle for its people. However, the 50’s also brought on an era of great conflict, particularly movements for civil rights and divisions in American society. An exponentially rising group in society speaking out for civil rights were African Americans, who had been fighting racism for centuries. The 1950’s were a time in which dealing with racial discrimination and segregation became everyday life for these people.

Though the times of slave markets were long over, African Americans still endured much prejudice until the 1950’s, when for the first time they fought side by side with white Americans as single units. Until change was demanded, African Americans were considered far more inferior by the whites, suffering physical and verbal abuse on a daily basis. The civil rights movements gained them equal opportunity in employment, housing, education, the right to vote and equal access to public facilities. Until the movement, African Americans had to endure a lack of all of these things due to racial discrimination. Things began to change for the better when African Americans were poised to make far-reaching demands to end racism. The campaign for their rights went forward in the late 1940’s – 50’s, when the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) attacked and resolved issues regarding restrictive housing covenants, segregation in public transportation and the use of recreational facilities. Due to the sheer number of members of the movement, the U.S Supreme Court was forced to take actions.

In 1950, the Supreme Court struck down segregation of all Americans in graduate and law schools. The case was first fought for by Thurgood Marshall, who used this as a building block to fight further doctrines separating African Americans as a class. In 1951, the case of Linda Brown was heard by the Supreme Court, sparking the ideas of abolishment of segregation in elementary schools. A major victory was that of the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, arguing that “separate but equal” schools were inherently unequal. One of the Court’s most significant rulings was taken into place, that decided on legally prohibiting school segregation, declaring it unconstitutional.

In Brooklyn, Colm Toibin is narrating the experience of an Irish immigrant. However, Eilis is treated far differently than other immigrants in Brooklyn. The Irish seem to be on much better terms with the Americans than the Italians, or even coloured races – perhaps even considered superior. This could well be because the Irish are particularly quiet in Brooklyn: they do not cause ruckus, and silently contribute to the society. Their culture could even be admired more than that of any other. For this reason, Eilis is offered far more opportunity for office work (even though she works in the store for the time being in the story) and an education, as she is offered a course in bookkeeping which is financed for her. Since the Irish have occupied Brooklyn for a long time, she is almost treated as one of their own by the Americans, given opportunities that other races may not be.

October 4

What life was like for black people in 1950s America

 

Today black people consider as equal person as white people so they have human rights, rights of consume and so on as white people do but in the 1950s black people life were so harsh. At the stores or other places which job that needs to face the customers most of people were the white people so black people didn’t have much job places to work in daily. There were many difficulties that black people faced in the past such as they couldn’t stay in the same living areas with white people, in the cinema they totally separated from the white people; the white people seats were in the first floor and the black people seats were in the second floor. There were only black people seats on the bus and train. These kind of racism discrimination continued after the death. The law banned to bury black people and white people same cemetery. In the 1950s Birmingham, they had new law that Birmingham Segregation Law so they banned to play sports such as baseball, football, basketball and so on with the white people.

Describe the prejudice they endured. How were things changing in a positive way?

Black people had to endured about white people’s prejudice such as the white people being mean to them at the store they had to be polite to the white people even they didn’t do anything wrong. People were staring at them with very strange and weird perspectives. They couldn’t resist it because in the 1950s the white people ruled the America and black people had no power to against the racism discrimination. They felt victimized and injustice everyday.  Today these things changed in a positive way, every person can have a proper human rights so we can respect each other and live well in each country. BUT  still there is a racism discrimination around the world.

What were some major victories in the Supreme Court during this time?

The major victories in the Supreme Court during this time:

In the 1950s Sweatt v. Painter and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regentsrulings
In the 1954s Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, ruling
In the 1955s Montgomery bus boycott

Martin Luther King Jr. was a preacher who gained prominence by leading Montgomery bus boycott in 1955; founded SCLC in 1957 to rally southern churches behind civil rights movement

Toibin is narrating the experience of an Irish immigrant, how might Eilis be treated differently than other immigrants in Brooklyn? What opportunities is she afforded that others might not be?

Eilis treated Toibin’s the experience of an Irish immigrant in a positive way so she can adapt the new environment around her and live well with the others in America. After hearing his experience Eilis got comfortable than before and had confident at herself. She afforded night classes in bookkeeping and accounting at Brooklyn college that others might not be because she was smart and interested at the bookkeeping and accounting. She had a passion of her work that’s why she got a offer of taking night classes in bookkeeping and accounting at Brooklyn college.

October 4

Racism in Brooklyn (historical context)

Describe the prejudice colored people endured. How were things changing in a positive way?

 

In America in the 1950s, racism was common and even encouraged. Blacks and whites were not allowed to go to the same schools, sit next to each other in a bus, work in the same places or even use the same drinking fountains. In the late 50s-60s, there were the beginnings of the civil rights movements. Protests and marches started happening and the segregation began to diminish. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr were the most famous civil rights icons, both of whom emerged during this time. In this way, life was getting better for black people- but they still faced heavy prejudice and discrimination by white people.

 

What were some victories in the supreme court at this time?

1954, Brown v Board of Education: ended segregation in public schools. This was a huge win for the civil rights movements and is viewed today as one of the most important cases, and as the spark for the civil rights movement to really take off.

1962, Baily v Patterson: ended racial segregation of transport facilities (gas stations, rest stops, etc)

How is Eilis’ tale as an Irish immigrant different to other immigrants?

Eilis is an Irish immigrant, and every immigrant has to go through various trials and hardships during their journey to a new land. However, Eilis’ journey is much different than other immigrants, especially from those of colored skin. Eilis is white, so she doesn’t get the type of immediate prejudice that blacks receive. Although some may be biased against Irish peop
le, they won’t really know that she’s Irish until after talking to her, whereas with black people they are judged as soon as they are seen. For instance, when a colored woman comes into Bartoccis, there is “a stillness… a fierce tension in the store, which lay heaviest around her counter.” Additionally, Eilis has the benefit of a priest who sponsors her- finds her a job, a place to live, and pays for her night classes. Other immigrants from other countries will not likely have that, and they don’t have those opportunities given to them.

 

October 4

Colored people in the 50s

In the 50’s a mass migration happened in the US, mostly whites from all over the world, but also some colored people and with that came Martin Luther king Jr’s movement to allow for equal rights between whites and the colored. His movement aided all blacks in the country and the world to live in a free world free of judgment due to their racial origin and color. While he was unable to succeed completely, he was able to make a difference, and has helped to create the society that we lie in today, where everyone is treated mostly equally, at least in the federal court. before this, they were critiqued and harassed nonstop for their racial origin.

In the novel Brooklyn, we meet Eilis, an Irish immigrant who manages to settle herself somewhat comfortably in Brooklyn, but sadly that wasn’t the case with many colored immigrants. Due to Eilis racial origin, she was given many more opportunities than those that a colored person would be aver to get. An example would be her Housing, while Mrs Kehoe does not directly speak out against the blacks, she does show signs of racism against Italians and Jews, so why would it be any different for the blacks? She would probably not allow for anyone of colored origin to live with her even if she had nothing against them except for their color. Also, Eilis’s workspace is only made of white people, not a single colored person is allowed to work there. So overall whites had a much better chance of settling down in the busy city of Brooklyn if they immigrated looking for a better future.

September 28

1950’s racism as explored in Brooklyn

In the Brooklyn, racism is one of the big themes. Toibin doesn’t use this theme for just let readers emphasize with Eilis’s immigrant experience. It is a historical fiction, the book published at 2009 but it passes at the 1950s therefore, to be able to give the taste of the 1950s, Toibin uses the themes that created conflicts at that time period. Racism is one of them and actually, it comes with the immigrant experience. In the part of the book, it clearly stated that white people don’t like black people. They think black people will come and steal their job and life. As I researched and understood, the situation was exactly like that, it was actually harsher but in a nutshell, I think Toibin is right.

I found out the situation was poor -compared to now, but the African American community also had been doing better economically, largely due to wider trends of the United States. I can’t say the same for the racism though… Racism was much more open and the sharp competition for the lucrative manufacturing jobs often led to street violence among migrant blacks and other immigrant groups. As we can understand, the situation was not so bright. Right now, if the cops are shooting unarmed people now when they know they are on camera, I can’t imagine what they were like to blacks before the dawn of phone cameras and the Internet like in the 50s.

Speaking of racism, there were two (actually more) iconic victories in the supreme court. One of them is Brown Vs. Board of Education Topeka (1954). This was an iconic and landmark court cases that reflected on the future of blacks for education. This court case declared the laws of segregating black and white schools to be unconstitutional. The second one was, Sweatt vs. Painters (1950). Hemen Marion Sweatt was declined access to school in the University of Texas. The university didn’t want any blacks or mixed to be a part of the district. In Travis County, the state court issued a school only for black students in Houston Texas.

If we look at the book, we can see Eilish is different from the other immigrants. She treated differently and in my estimation, this is because of the Father Flood. As we talked about in the class, the religion is very critical in those days. Eilis would have never gotten to America without him. He went to school thanks to him, and she has some legit immigration papers -and it is arduous to get at those days. Probably in the future, those papers will help her about job or wedding. Other immigrants might not get a proper job, but she can and she did in the book.

People changed a lot. Racism is still a major problem in the worldwide but people started to unite. I still believe we have a long way to the worldwide peace but we made some pretty big steps towards to light. Especially new education systems like IB and AP, show how to be the one for the world, not for a nation or a skin color. The news is easily around of the world now, a photograph, a video can change a person’s mindset. It affects the world both ways but we can’t ignore the positive ways.

September 20

The loneliness of the immigrant experience

At the beginning of the book, Eilis did not want to go the United States and leave everything she knows so well behind so she could start a new life. At that point the only thing she had known was Ireland and the traditions and customs that applied to her town/area. Albeit she has probably visited places around the U.K., she had not been anywhere across the ocean, and this is evident because of the way she did not know about the sickness she would endure on the ship if she ate as much food as she did. “She was nobody here. It was not just that she had no friends and family; it was rather that she was a ghost in this room, in the streets on the way to work, on the shop floor. Nothing meant anything.” This quote is a great example of how she thought of herself after she got to America and she felt alone and that her being there had no value to those around her, and how everything around her meant very little as well. Another great example is “I wish that I could stop feeling that I want to be an Irish girl in Ireland.” which very clearly projects the homesickness she feels at the start of her time in the U.S. She felt out of place and like she didn’t belong, and this idea is quite prominent throughout the book. Throughout various stages of the book she would  feel like she was not in the right place. After she started dating Tony, however, she felt like she had more of a connection to the people, and this helped her settle in.

September 20

Eilis’ Guilt

Brooklyn is a coming of age story for a young Irish girl named Eilis. At the time, especially for younger generations growing up in rural areas, the prospect of shifting to a far away, foreign land could be too much to accept. When Eilis is offered the opportunity to move to America and begin life anew, with a stable work and income, it isn’t just the thought of leaving abroad for a place that she may never return from – or truly feel at home at – that disturbs her: she feels an ample amount of guilt for leaving her mother, and sister, Rose, behind.

In part 1 of the story, when she is preparing to leave and Rose is helping her to pack her belongings, Eilis feels a strong guilt toward the position that she is in when thinking of her sister. She believes that Rose would have been more capable of living to her full potential in America; essentially living up to the “American Dream”, and that the opportunities that Rose had turned down were for Eilis to live a better life. She feels guilty, as if she is somehow taking a future of opportunities from Rose, and depriving her of what she is really capable of. We learn this is somewhat true in part 1 of the story, that Rose prefers a simple life with her family and golf rather than living up to her true potential. We learn that Rose is somewhat selfless, and wants her sister to have these opportunities instead.

“It occurred to her also, as she tried on some earrings, that Rose knew all this too, knew that either she or Eilis would have to leave, and had decided to let Eilis go.” (Page 32)

Eilis is and has always been thankful toward Rose – she looks up to her as a role model. However, knowing that Rose has sacrificed a potentially rich future for Eilis impacts her self-esteem greatly, to the point where she is wishing that she would not have to leave, and go through with the guilt, that Rose could take her place instead.

Eilis’ guilt is also directed toward leaving her already dissipating family behind. We know from part 1 of the book that her brothers are all off working in the U.K, her father having passed away before the beginning of the story. Eilis is very reluctant to leave her fragile mother behind, as she is characterised as close to her family members, showing a softer side to the people she loves. This guilt originates from having to leave the responsibility of taking care of her aging mother, and their home, and somewhat forcing it upon Rose. Furthermore, when the tragic news arrives from her home in Ireland, Eilis feels even more guilty for not staying to take care of her family, instead of seeking fortune and a new life in a foreign land.

 

Image result for brooklyn colm toibin

 

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September 17

Eilis’ Guilt

Eilis is an Irish girl who has lived her whole life in a small village in Ireland.  She gets a job offer working for Miss Kelly at her store, but only on Sundays, and for minimal pay.

One evening, while a priest by the name Father Flood is visiting,  he hears about Eilis’ job and pay and is shocked at how low it was. Father Flood offers Eilis a job in Brooklyn, which she is hesitant to accept as it would mean leaving her mother and sister. Eilis’ sister on the other hand got all the documents organized for Eilis.

As the departure date gets closer, Eilis gets more nervous, ex: “Now, she felt that she was being singled out for something for which she was not in any way prepared, and this, despite the fear it carried with it, gave her a feeling, or more a set of feelings, she thought she might experience in the days before her wedding” (pg. 29)

Eilis, while Rose, her sister, has her trying different jewellery, realizes that her going, meant that Rose would never be able to leave, ex: “Eilis’ going, which Rose had organized so precisely, would mean that Rose would not be able to marry. Rose, she realized, in making it easy for her to go, was giving up any real prospect of leaving this house herself and having her own family” (pg. 32)

Eilis feels guilty for taking away any possibility of Rose leaving, and for Rose being the only person there to take care of their mother. Eilis also feels guilty for leaving her mother, who already had her three boys leave for England, as her mother would feel the pain of losing yet another child to a different country, but this time much further away.

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September 16

Guilt of an Immigrant

When immigrating to a new land, it can be easy to feel guilt. You are leaving behind everyone you know in order to create a better life for yourself. Eilis feels this guilt strongly as she prepares to leave for America. All three of her brothers have already left their village in Ireland to work in England, so once Eilis leaves her mother will be left with only Rose to keep her company. Eilis has seen how upset her mother was when the other children left. Additionally, her father has recently died, leaving her mother even more alone, so she knows that her departure will have a great effect. On page 30, Eilis gets her first real look at just how great that effect will be.

“Oh, it’ll kill me when she goes,” her mother said. Her face wore a dark strained look that Eilis had not seen since the months after their fathers death…. It was clear to Eilis that she was going to cry.”

From this moment the guilt hits her. Even though she knows how good this opportunity will be for her future, she can’t help but feel bad about leaving her mother alone. She also feels guilt in leaving her sister Rose behind. “Rose, she realized… was giving up any real prospect of leaving this house herself and having her own family.” Eilis and Rose both know that if Eilis leaves, Rose will have to stay and take care of her mother for the rest of their lives. Eilis can’t help but feel as though it is unfair that she will get the chance of a lifetime to live and work in America while her sister is stuck at home. These two aspects of guilt greatly effect her journey as an immigrant and as a girl coming of age.

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