Extra Credit Assignment

 The moment I walked in to this course I was a bit skeptical, I did not know what I was getting myself into. I always saw language just as a simple way of communication. I did not take into consideration of how dear it was for many people. Throughout my high school years I was positive in saying that there is such English as “proper English”. I thought wrong and so did many out there. When listening to many student in my high school speak “slang” it would actually upset me, at one point it would actually upset me and cause me to go off on them, usually telling them that there a sort of way of speaking English. This course taught me that English is spoken different among many. It is influenced by your surrounding and where you are from. If one is from the south such as Alabama, compared to New York the language or accent will be completely different. By the accent you will most likely determine that the speaker is from the south.

 At one point in my life I began to believe that the Russian language was not necessary, it was just a thought going through my head. I figured I live in America why need another language other than English. The linguistics course made me think otherwise; as we went along in the semester I came to realize how each and every language is important. Beginning with English and going as far as the Chulym language which is a language that is in danger of extinction.  Watching videos throughout the course made me realize that many of the speakers throughout the world did not have the rights speak their native language, they would face consequences. I began to realize that these languages were so dear to them; it is a part of their culture. I must say it was very hurtful, I felt as if I was betraying my parents’ culture when I thought that I will no longer need the Russian language. Language is a part of everyone.

Watching the Amy Walker video was amazing, it actually gave me a sort of inspiration. An inspiration towards traveling across the U.S and of course throughout the entire world, learning different languages, although she spoke English throughout the video it was in entirely different accents. Accents from all over the world; each state and country has a certain spice to their figure of speech.

Learning that language can determine what class a person is from was an amazing experience, watching Labov’s experiment was a great example. He set out to department stores that are separated by class. He went to Macy’s, Kleins, and the upscale Saks Fifth Avenue. Within his experiment he attempted to figure out which store employees would pronounce the term “fourth floor” with (r) sound. He concluded that stores such as Macy’s and Kleins where the middle class people would shop would silence the (r), whereas Saks fifth Avenue employees would pronounce it.  

Language is a gift; at least I tend to look at it in this fashion. I have a way of communicating within the English language which makes people realize that I am here and I am the type of person who is not about to take anything from anybody, but it also informs people that I am both willing to answer and give help to anyone who needs it. My strength is within my language which is English and Russian and I am proud of it! I am proud to say that I am multilingual; it is a sort of honor.

Language can do so much; I am able to speak to the elderly people in the Russian language, considering the fact that I work in a law firm this is a huge plus. Language is not just a simple way of communication, it’s a tool; a tool that must be looked within in order to realize how powerful it is. Luckily this course changed my way of looking at language, in fact it encouraged me to pursue the Chinese language, it is said that the Chinese language may be the next most spoken language in the world, at the moment it is the second.

Knowing how to communicate in English has given me a place within American society and so far I am enjoying to its’ limits. And of course, I have come to the realization that there is no limit to what one could achieve by both learning and understanding different sorts of languages. 

Final Blog Post

Moisey Suleymanov

Prof: JrC

In this blog I will be focusing on the studies of Martin Luther king and incorporating it throughout the three classes I had this semester. I will be connecting to human rights in particular. Martin Luther King often mentioned Agape or loves; in order to promote his theory of non-violence. Within this cluster I was taking Linguistics class, throughout the semester we began to study how many languages are disappearing. Not as if they are just vanishing but people do not continue to speak the language of their culture. Many were not allowed to speak their language such as in Arizona, Native Americans were not allowed to speak their language. If a language other than English was spoken in school then there would be consequences that many would not want to imagine. Other languages such as Chulym just died throughout time. Chulym originated in northern Russia around Siberia, those who spoke Chulym, adapted to the Russian language overtime. In any case I can connect the issue in Arizona to Martin Luther King’s motive in acquiring rights for African Americans. If those who lived in Arizona promoted some sort of non-violent protest and showed the amount of love for their culture, their rights may have been respected by certain officials allowing them to practice their culture through their native language.

                As for my law and human rights class, the name speaks for itself. There were many major issues that we came across throughout the class that Martin Luther King came across throughout his lifetime fighting for the freedom of African Americans. We came across the issue of genocide, the Hutu and the Tootsie came across our class numerous times. The government divided people of Africa into two separate groups based upon social class. It was basically segregation one group had more rights than the other. During the time that the government had power they uplifted the Hutu people putting the Tootsies down.  I believe if the Tootsie people would have gathered together and stood up for who they are, nonviolently of course. Showing that the people of Africa are one by expressing love for one another, once again not the love that many may think of, such as romantic. Rather it was just a sort of love where you hug your enemy, love your enemy the way that God loves you.

The language of human rights is infinite, there millions of ways of expressing one self. The language of human rights may be interpreted in many ways. It can be from something as small as love that Martin Luther King used, another may be religion.  The love that King spoke of derived from the Christian religion. However today many conflicts are sparked by religion; which King used in a completely opposite way in order to put an end against hate and violence.  King used language to succeed in what he set out to do, the figure of speech that he used was strong, and it had a person in a completely different mental state of mind. Language has no limits; the sky is not even the limit. Although many cannot see the effectiveness of language, they do not realize that it is not their physical strength that promotes their ideas it is the strength of language.  If the all the nations throughout the world incorporated Agape to their conflicts bringing all the people together, religious conflicts would no longer exist.

In the beginning of the semester it was tough to see the connection between the classes within the cluster, however as we progressed through each class I began to realize that the connections are not going to be right in front of me in bold black letters. I worked around and realized that if we were to incorporate everything that we learned in English 101 with King then the world may have not been where it is today, with extinction of language, and genocide.

LIB 110- The dream of America

The dream of America                            

This story is dedicated to the immigrants who strive for the best, those who do not sleep well in the night to provide for their family.

The name that was given to me on the 16 of July 1993 was Moisey, in other words Moses. I was born in the former Soviet Union in the country of Turkmenistan, which is very rich with oil. I came to the states at the age of two; however my older brother was born in the U.S. Many people that listen to the story of my life never really understood how I was born in Turkmenistan where as my older brother was born in the states..I continuously come across the question “wait what?” This is how it all began…the story of my life; the story of a family seeking to live the American dream. When my parents moved to the U.S in the 90's it was tough for them to adapt to the new lifestyle. It was very difficult for them to find a job, considering the fact that they could not speak a word of English.  Without a job they could not support an average family of four, what hope what there? My parents would ask themselves what in the world is the American Dream? Is this what this is? Without any hope in the U.S in addition to my mother being pregnant with me, my parents decided to move back to the old country... back to what they called life. A life where every neighbor would know come over unexpectedly for some tea, as if they were family; a life where sheep and cows were considered investments. As time went by my parents felt as if they were in a sort of depression in the U.S and they claimed that was the main reason that they moved back to the old country. Of course someone would be forced to feel depressed without any sort of support, no job, and no hope in the land of "opportunity". In many cases people back in the country spoke about America so highly, calling it the land of opportunity. My parents were able to live the spoken theory. In about 96 my parents decided to give it another try, see what the land of opportunity throws at them this time...My father is a brother of five others. Two older sisters, two older brothers and then comes the little guy who I favored most; my uncle Joseph. As my father came to the states for the second time with a hundred dollars in his pocket, he came with an open mind. My uncle offered him a business proposition... establishing a car service business. Keep in mind my father had a hundred dollars in his pocket. His older brother applied most of his money to the business.

 As my father was working, my mother was a stay home mom. Typical Russian wife, taking care of the kids and cooking. It was time for my older brother to begin elementary school, as my mother was preparing him for school dressing him up,  I had the most joy. I could not wait for him to return home with all the news, in fact my mother would tell me I would cry because I wanted to begin elementary school so bad. (Sometimes I think to myself boy what was I thinking?!) No I’m only joking; education is the key to success! That is where my parents began to experience the rights that the government provided them with, the right to a free education. Unfortunately my brother was not doing well. My mother being a very smart and determined woman could not find the skill to aid my brother...she was not familiar with the English language. This led to my parents hiring a tutor, Ms. Koval..She was recommended by one of the counselor's in school. Ms.Koval was a great woman who was a great help to my family in every way. In fact I would say that she was the reason that my family experienced a major change in our life. She was aware that my mother was not able to speak English well; in fact she did not know how to speak at all, just a few words here and there. Ms. Koval offered my mother to apply to Long Island University, my mother was surprised. Without knowing any English she went ahead and applied. Her hope in living the American Dream rose, but were quickly brought down. She was denied; luckily she was determined and applied for the spring semester. ACCEPTED! However she was a bit intimidated, knowing that she could not speak English.  Language was a major issue that my family came across. As she was accepted, she had barely any sleep for the next seven years. She would have a school book and a dictionary on the side, defining each and every word. Soon she became one of the best students in class, and chose to major in Pharmacy. Her determination pulled her through pharmacy school, and has made her a successful pharmacist today. I must say it was not easy. I remember looking into my mother’s eyes as she was preparing me for school. I was looking into the eyes of the strongest woman; a woman I am proud to call my mother. As I would look into her eyes all I would see was happiness and determination, both my Mother and Father wanted the best for their children. As for my father, he is somebody I look up to. He sacrificed everything he had in the old country in order to establish a new lifestyle for his family, for us. It was difficult, I did not see my father often during the day, and he would come home late in the evening extremely tired. It was not easy growing up as an immigrant, but it’s what made me what I am today. Appreciate everything you have. Many would do anything to step foot on the land of opportunity.

Rights were not really taken from my parents, my father had the opportunity of working at the same time my mother was provided a great education. They came to the states to attempt to live the American dream. We as people were granted our rights, and allowed the opportunity to get an education.

As for me language came pretty easy, although I was not born in the states, the English language was introduced to me pretty quickly. I would say that it is much easier for a young individual to learn a new language. Yet it was not always easy, I would always speak Russian at home and it would throw me off from learning the English language. I would say that I am grateful that my parents moved to New York. It made me who I am today. I really can't imagine how my life would have been if I was to be raised in Turkmenistan. I look through my father’s childhood pictures asking myself what if... What if I was to grow up in a different country? I would just imagine. How would life be without a computer? I would ask my parents, the answer was very simple. They were all family oriented, spending quality time with one another. At times I want to visit the old country, many say that there is nothing to see out there, just endless roads without any pavement. I insist on visiting perhaps one day. I feel as if I am missing something if I do not visit. I feel as if it is part of me.

As I touched up on this writing around 2:10 Am on 12/03/11, my life was flashing through my eyes. Every word I typed brought some sort of memory; memory that will stay with me forever, and passed down generations. Before I began to touch up my writing I was over my aunt’s house, along with my brother Sal and my cousin Ruben. We looked at photo albums which brought back the most amazing memories. Every single detail in each photo down to a plant brought back memories. After all memories are all we have. Appreciate every moment.  As the time approached I realized that I completely forgot to complete my writing, I rushed to my phone and quickly dialed 4 ones car service. I use cabs very frequently, so I’m not so use to them. As my brother and I sat into the cab, the driver turned around examined us for about thirty seconds and then in a deep voice asked “where are we going?” we both at once told him the address. As he was driving he was dispatched another job which he was really upset about. He was told to go from one part of the Queens Boulevard to the complete opposite. I felt as if he was taking all of his anger out on the gas pedal..wasn’t a pleasant ride. That was beside the point, his tone of voice changed and he said in a sad hopeless voice, “guy’s make sure you stay in school alright, study now and fuck around later….get an education”. I came to think that this guy is a parent, or maybe he just looked at us as children who he wanted to attempt to experience the American Dream. I quickly asked him where he was from; all he said was “Greek”. That is how our conversation ended. Memories, my father rushed through my head. They were both men who sacrificed for their children or some sort of loved ones. Working hard, late at night hoping they find some sort of opportunity. 

LIB 110

The name that was given to me on the 16 of July 1993 was Moisey, in other words Moses. I was born in the former Soviet Union in the country of Turkmenistan, which is very rich with oil. I came to the states at the age of two; however my older brother was born in the U.S. When my parents moved to the U.S in the 90's it was tough for them to adapt to the new lifestyle. It was very difficult for them to find a job, without a job they could not support an average family of four. Without any hope in the U.S in addition to my mother being pregnant with me, my parents decided to move back to the old country... back to what they called life. As time went by my parents felt as if they were in a sort of depression in the U.S and they claimed that was the main reason that they moved back to the old country. Of course someone would be forced to feel depressed without any sort of support, no job, and no hope in the land of "opportunity". In many cases people back in the country spoke about America so highly, calling it the land of opportunity. My parents were able to live the spoken theory. In about 96 my parents decided to give it another try, see what the land of opportunity throws at them this time..My father is a brother of five others. Two older sisters, two older brothers and then comes the little guy who I favored most; my uncle Joseph. As my father came to the states for the second time with a hundred dollars in his pocket, my uncle offered him a business proposition... establishing a car service business. Keep in mind my father had a hundred dollars in his pocket. His older brother applied most of his money to the business.

 As my father was working, my mother was a stay home mom. Typical Russian wife, taking care of the kids and cooking. It was time for my older brother to begin elementary school unfortunately he was not doing well. My mother being a very smart and determined woman could not find the skill to aid my brother...she was not familiar with the English language. This led to my parents hiring a tutor, Ms. Koval..she was recommended by one of the counselor's in school. Ms.Koval was a great woman who was a great help to my family in every way. She was aware that my mother was not able to speak English well; in fact she did not know how to speak at all, just a few words here and there. Ms. Koval offered my mother to apply to Long Island University, my mother was surprised. Without knowing any English she went ahead and applied. Her hope in living the American Dream rose, but were quickly brought down. She was denied; luckily she was determined and applied for the spring semester. ACCEPTED! However she was a bit intimidated, knowing that she could not speak English. As she was accepted, she had barely any sleep for the next seven years. She would have a school book and a dictionary on the side, defining each and every word. Soon she became one of the best students in class, and chose to major in Pharmacy. Her determination pulled her through pharmacy school, and has made her a successful pharmacist today.

Rights were not really taken from my parents, my father had the opportunity of working at the same time my mother was provided a great education. They came to the states to attempt to live the American dream. We as people were granted our rights, and allowed the opportunity to get an education. Language was a major issue that my family came across.

As for me language came pretty easy, although I was not born in the states, the English language was introduced to me pretty quickly. I would say that it is much easier for a young individual to learn a new language. Yet it was not always easy, I would always speak Russian at home and it would throw me off from learning the English language. I would say that I am grateful that my parents moved to New York. It made me who I am today. I really can't imagine how my life would have been if I was to be raised in Russia. I look through my father’s childhood pictures asking myself what if... What if I was to grow up in a different country? I would just imagine. How would life be without a computer? I would ask my parents, the answer was very simple. They were all family oriented, spending quality time with one another. At times I want to visit the old country, many say that there is nothing to see out there, just endless roads without any pavement. I insist on visiting perhaps one day. I feel as if I am missing something if I do not visit. I feel as if it is part of me.

Book for LIB 110

As for myself language came pretty easy, although I was not born in the states, the English language was introduced to me pretty quickly. I would say that it is much easier for a young individual to learn a new language. Yet it was not always easy, I would always speak Russian at home and it would throw me off from learning the English language. I would say that I am grateful that my parents moved to New York. It made me who I am today. I really can't imagine how my life would have been if I was to be raised in Russia. I look through my fathers childhood pictures asking myself what if... What if I was to grow up in a different country? I would just imagine. How would life be without a computer? I would ask my parents, the answer was very simple. They were all family oriented, spending quality time with one another. At times I want to visit the old country, many say that there is nothing to see out there, just endless roads without any pavement. I insist on visiting perhaps one day. I feel as if I am missing something if I do not visit. I feel as if it is part of me.

Essay 3

Violence was not the key source that King used in his movements. In fact he did not believe in violence, he believed in love. King used many skills while speaking in front of hundreds of people. He used questions in many of his speeches; questions that made the African American people feel confident. He repeated himself numerous times using different sorts of hand gestures as well. The tone of his voice was a main factor towards changing the psychological state of the African American people. He spoke with confidence. Confidence is what many were seeking, king offered it to them. Emphasis was a sign of confidence within king's speeches. King used speech as power, he did not have to use violence his words were strong enough. Speech was the ultimate weapon, at least in Martin Luther king’s view. His speech was powerful to the extent where it was the cause of his death.

King simply had the people stand and speak their mind with confidence and love. Although violent actions were taken against them; African Americans did not retaliate. They would not fight back, their power was their speech and a smile. King had influenced the African American people into a completely new psychological state. They would protest with smiles, when king was found guilty of the Montgomery Bus Boycott on March 26^th 1956 he walked out from court with a smile.

Blog 5 the power of speech

This blog will focus on Martin Luther king and the power of his speeches.
King used many skills while speaking in front of hundreds of people. He used questions in many of his speeches, questions that made the African American people feel confident. He repeated himself numerous times using different sorts of hand gestures as well. The tone ofnhis voiced was a main factor towards changing the psychological state of the African American people. He spoke with confidence. Confidencene is what many were seeking, king offered it to them. Emphasis was a sign of confidencen within king's speeches. King used speech as power, he did not have to use violence his words were strong enough. Speech was the ultimate weapon, at least in Martin luther kings view. His speech was powerful to the extent where it was the cause of his death.

Non-violence and racial justice- Non-Violent Theory-King

Following the presentaions my classmates had made, I came to the conclusion that King always focused on Non Violent theory. King would continuoulsy mention love, not the love that you are thinking of. He focused on the love that derived from the Christian religion. It may have seemed as if King attempted to make the black people look weak however it was the complete opposite, "Do not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent" (King 8) what king focused on was reverse psychology, if he would not humiliate or attemp to defeat the opponent, rather he would set out to hug him. He would force the opponent to "think". Questions would arise that would be best answered by the Christian religion. Love is mentioned throughout the presentaion many times, King would focus on to win the opponents friendship and understanding, he would beat them mentally rather than physically.

LIB 110

I will be contribuiting my bio towards the project. It will be based on the life of my family and what they had to overcome throughout the experince in America. I have not yet completed the project, many revisions must be made. Since my final project will consist of my bio, I would not say that I hae completed the bio. I will continue to work on the critical reflection...I would like my reader to focus on grammatical errors as well as letting me know if I do not focus on the assignment, if they see a relation to human rights.

Blog 4

Throughout out the course, the question of what is human rights? Appeared several times. I have noticed it in two of my classes of which are Law and Human Rights and English 101. In Law and human rights we are familiarized with rightsw that we have as being human beings, where as in English 101 we have the opportunity of experiencing the life of those whose rights were clearly taken from them. The life of an African American slave. Linguistics gives us the opportunity to see how language was used to describe human rights, and how language was used to take human rights from human beings. It's a great learning experience to be in such a culturally diverse class, I myself am a Russian Jew all I have noticed it that we have so many different cultures in our class. I am fascinated to see how every culture is different, once again it is a great learning experience. I have learned an enormous amount of information about my classmates in LIB 110, many students hesitated to write about themselves on their blog...however as we progressed we came to a valid conclusion. Nobody is perfect, those around us may seem as if they are perfect, however once we have the opportunity to sit down and speak to one another culture nor religion comes into play. We are one. We realize that we are so close, we experience very similar issues. The most important part is that we do not hesitate to open up to one another, didn't you forget we are only human. It is natural for all to have some sort of issue, we are not perfect. As you can see I have learned quite a lot within this cluster. I am fine with the direction the cluster is leading to, the studies only bring us as humans closer to one another as well as giving us knowledge that will be necessary to live our every day life as civilized human beings. LIB 110 gives us the opportunity to express ourselves, rights that may have been taken from us or an individual that may be close to us....so don't hesitate to share...if you made it this far you are fine! We are only human and we are not perfect!

Conlusion DRAFT

Africans Americans may have felt as if they were at home while living in a slave regime. When someone is used to a certain lifestyle it is extremely difficult to adapt to a new life. Depression may play a major role. After following the same routine over and over every day, it was difficult to wake up one morning free and thinking what the day will bring them. After all many slaves predicted what may have happened throughout the average day on the plantation.  

Pre and Post Civil War -JRC

Pre and post-civil war lifestyle for African Americans did not have many differences. In fact some African Americans, who had something to offer during slavery, may have been safer pre civil war rather than post-civil war. Their masters favored them. However when it came to the uneducated African Americans who were only able to do physical work on the plantation were beaten severely, to the point where they may have been able to see death coming for them.  When it comes to violence pre and post-civil war, African Americans may have had some sort of hope. But a message was quickly sent to them, they have more horror to come.  It was once known as slavery where African Americans were being tortured and used, however post-civil war life quickly changed to African American being killed, with the use of lynching in other words hung. At one point whites looked at African Americans as something that can be useful, they were not even looked at as humans. However they have some sort of use in the average white family. As soon as the civil war ended it was quickly noted that these “things” no longer had any use in society. There was nothing they were good for. Now that they were granted the right to vote white supremacist set out on a hunting spree, accusing many African American males of rape and without any sort of mercy killing them in front hundreds of people. What was once a slave society was quickly turned into a sadist lifestyle, where white men, women and children experienced pleasure watching an African American suffer from pain.

Book for Prof: B & Jerskey

The name that was given to me on the 16 of July 1993 was Moisey. In other words Moses. I was born in the former soviet union in the country of Turkmenistan, which is very rich with oil. I came to the states at the age of two, however my older brother was born in the U.S. When my parents moved to the U.S in the 90's it was tough for them to adapt to the new lifestyle. It was very difficult for them to find a job, without a job they could not support an average family of four. Without any hope in the U.S in addition to my mother being pregnant with me, my parents decided to move back to the old country... back to what they called life. As time went by my parents felt as if they were in a sort of depression in the U.S and they claimed that was the main reason that they moved back to the old country. Of course someone would be forced to feel depressed without any sort of support, no job, no hope in the land of "opportunity". In many cases people back in the country spoke about America so highly, calling it the land of opportunity. My parents were able to live the spoken theory. In about 96 my parents decided to give it another try, see what the land of opportunity throws at them this time.. my father is a brother of five others. Two older sisters, two older brothers and then comes the little guy who I favored most. My uncle Joseph. As my father came to the states for the second time with a hundred dollars in his pocket, my uncle offered him a business proposition... establishing a car service business. Keep in mind my father had a hundred dollars in his pocket. His older brother applied most of his money to the business.

 As my father was working, my mother was a stay home mom. Typical Russian wife, taking care of the kids and cooking. It was time for my older brother to begin elementary school unfortunately he was not doing well. My mother being a very smart and determined woman could not find the skill to aid my brother...she was not familiar with the English language. This led to my parents hiring a tutor, Ms. Koval..she was recommended by one of the counselor's in school. Ms.Koval was a great woman who was a great help to my family in every way. She was aware that my mother was not able to speak English well, in fact she did not know how to speak at all.. just a few words here and there. Ms. Koval offered my mother to apply to Long Island University, my mother was surprised. Without knowing any English she went ahead and applied. Her hope in living the American Dream rose, but were quickly brought down. She was denied, luckily she was determined and applied for the spring semester. ACCEPTED! However she was a bit intimidated, knowing that she could not speak English. As she was accepted, she had barely any sleep for the next seven years. She would have a school book and a dictionary on the side, defining each and every word. Soon she became one of the best students in class, and chose to major in Pharmacy.. Her determination pulled her through pharmacy school, and has made her a successful pharmacist.

Rights were not really taken from my parents, my father had the opportunity of working at the same time my mother was provided a great education. They came to the states to attempt to live the American dream. We as people were granted our rights, and allowed the opportuity to get an education. Language was a major issue that my family came across.

Joy wouldn't feel so good if it wasn't for pain

In the book, A Red Record, by Ida B. Wells, she describes many ways that African Americans were neglected...however they were a sort of "pleasure". We can look into page 77 in A Red Record, Wells describes the idea of sadism, anarchy however both connect to constitutional equality. White men felt a sort of pleasure in both watching African American's getting hurt and sometimes killed and inflicting pain on them. White men did feel joy nor pleasure if they had not experienced an African American experiencing pain. At the time when lynching was taking place, a significant amount of African Americans were killed by the use a rope. The government neglected the voice of African Americans, it was as if the government did not exist when African Americans were being killed. We can look into page 78 to see examples of anarchy. Both sadism and anarchy are linked to constitutional equality, we can look into page 77. Constitution says we are legal in rights and should be protected regardless of race color social rank or sex.

BLOG 3 Cry of rape is made..."Find a black man for me!"

In the book southern Horrors by Ida B. Wells as well as edited by Jacqueline Jones Royster, many stories of slave life are shared. In 1892 a survey was released. This survey showed the amount of people lynched throughout the past three years. As of a result 728 African Americans were lynched for various reasons. Within an eight year period 728 people were killed used the same technique...these African Americans not only shared a similar lifestyle as a slave they shared the same death. Will Lewis a young boy was a young boy who was accused of being drunk in about 1891. A couple of white folks accused him of being drunk and "sassy" to them. Was he really drunk? Alcohol may just have had the best of him, when supposedly acting "sassy". "A white woman's word was taken as absolutely in this case when the cry of  rape is made, and he was freed" (Royster 60). This quote clearly applies to Will Lewis' case, the government took the white mans word for the African American being drunk and "sassy" in other words they believed he was acting recklessly towards the white folks. Now keep in mind that slavery was just abolished and society was in radical reconstruction. Many whites were unhappy with the newly found freedom of African Americans, therefore they took matters into their own hands. Moreover forming their own government or law, in other words they though this was a justification for their violent acts against African Americans such as lynching. It was clear that every white had the intention of having every African American hung, in other words lynched. It is safe to say that many stories on the white individuals behalf have been falsely told. At the time a white man was considered more important as to any African American.

Assignment number two: Pre & Post Civil War

                Slavery, it wasn’t just hard work. Slavery was combined with forced labor and abuse. During the forced labor regime of white supremacists, slaves were considered property . They may have been compared to a bird, sitting in a cage waiting for the right moment for someone to open the cage and quickly fly away into the open.  Some slaves stated that their life with the white people wasn’t as bad as others. They were treated with respect; in fact they believed that they were family. When looking into specific passages from When I was a slave narratives, edited by Norman R. Yetman, we notice that many slaves had different sorts of labor, or “forced labor”.

Pre-civil war work culture, we can look into an interview which took place in Baltimore, Maryland. Mrs. M.S Fayman was interviewed by an individual whose first name was not provided, however we do have a last name; Rogers. Fayman was eighty seven years of age.  Fayman was a kidnapped slave. She was kidnapped from private school. Fayman states she was never considered a slave by her master; she was not forced to live in a forced labor regime. In fact he saw her more of a teacher rather than a slave. She taught the French language to the children of her master.  If Fayman did not see herself as a slave, does not mean that she did not live under the white supremacist culture. She had no other choice. If slavery was not practiced she would have never been teaching the French language to the children of her master. In fact she would probably have had a job where she was paid for what she had to offer.  

                During her life as a slave, she had most privileges of the household. However she was never permitted to leave the plantation. “ I had all privileges of the household accorded to me with the exception of one- I never was taken off nor permitted to leave the plantation”(Yetman 37). This quote clearly describes that throughout slavery, slaves were living under the white supremacist culture. They were not family. They were property.  The civil war began in 1861 it stretched throughout 1865.  Fayman waited seven years after the civil war to visit the plantation where she was once a slave.