tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010086309974781816.post5588943066709496103..comments2013-05-14T17:38:17.881-07:00Comments on GW English 3810: 20th Century U.S. Black Freedom Movements Class Blog: Society of IndividualsElizabeth Pittmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257158252306308004noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010086309974781816.post-82776274235409205932013-02-17T14:13:19.362-08:002013-02-17T14:13:19.362-08:00Response by Denise Francis:
This post was thought ...Response by Denise Francis:<br />This post was thought provoking for me. Sometimes it is hard to set out of my experience and view the world from someone else’s eyes. I think that “Society of Individuals” describes this perfectly where everyone is trying to get ahead for themselves and not focusing on their communities and the people they come in contact with on a daily basis. <br />I also related this reading to the culture change of community service and what it means to give back to the community. Working in undergraduate admissions, I see applications where students “volunteer” places as a form or charity work and it holds no true value for them. I’m well aware that students often volunteer to just add it on their resume and college applications. It only services to make them better and not improve the life of someone else. It’s really sad to see and I hope that the culture shifts to bring back the importance of a community feel. <br />Elizabeth Pittmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15257158252306308004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9010086309974781816.post-25184884611326303352013-02-17T11:38:34.833-08:002013-02-17T11:38:34.833-08:00Response by Matthew Gennari:
I am doing my class p...Response by Matthew Gennari:<br />I am doing my class presentation in March on Marcus Garvey and the UNIA, and have been trying to figure out what the focus should be. I think Fanon’s theory of a society of individuals ties in well and might be a good place to start a discussion with the class. While Fanon proposed organizing for an armed revolution, Garvey was one of the first to advocate organizing around economic and capitalist collectivity amongst blacks. <br /><br />One of Garvey’s largest contributions was laying forth the groundwork for fighting capitalistic inequality through capitalistic methods of economic organization. He realized that capitalism must also be restrained, however, and also believed that black capitalism would at some point fail in America. This led to Garvey’s belief that eventually racial separation would be necessary to maintain equality as black enterprise grew because he did not believe they would ever have even stakes in American capitalism. <br /> <br />Garvey and The UNIA established the Black Star Line as an enterprise intended to provide a means for African Americans to return to Africa while also enabling black people around the Atlantic to exchange goods and services. “The colonized mind” you focus on from Fanon was still common amongst African-Americans in the beginning of the 20th century. This seems to have worked to the benefit of Garvey’s cause, as he recognized that their confidence was low, and basically like you reference to, they were losing their confidence because they were losing an increasingly competitive game where all individuals were fighting for themselves. <br />The UNIA sold stocks at their conventions, and through capitalism were able to promote world wide commerce amongst black communities world wide. The Black Star Line would have a short lived life unfortunately, and Garvey was actually exiled. It is not clear whether he was shut down by the Bureau of Investigation because he was a threat or if he actually made the economic mistakes and overpayments they claim he did. <br /><br />Du Bois would later dismiss Garvey’s plans as a failure. Part of this might be from Garvey’s allegiance to Booker T. Washington whose self-reliance and business ownership was greatly admired by Garvey. Regardless, Garvey’s economic theory and the U.N.I.A movement as a whole combined self-reliance with a united movement, and although Garvey’s Black Star Line failed he both inspired following generations to organize seek economic achievement and offered others a model in which people could learn from both his success and his failure. <br />Elizabeth Pittmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15257158252306308004noreply@blogger.com