Dear Diary,
I have decided to start writing in a diary so I can allow myself to get my thoughts out. No one will listen to what I have to say. The government could care less about how I am treated. I am a former slave. I thought that after I was freed my life would be dramatically different. I would finally live how I had dreamed. The way I thought was impossible. In some ways, it still is. I may not be enslaved anymore, but I am by no means free. I do not have the rights that I was promised. I am still finding it harder to survive.
My family and I have decided to move north. The North looks more promising for freedom than the South. I would just like for the government to follow through on what they promised. The government said that African Americans would have rights. There are little to no rights for African Americans in American society. There are little rights for individuals other than white males for that matter. The white men rule everything. African Americans have no say as to who is elected into office. We do not have the right to vote. The government makes all these promises to the country but does not have it apply to everyone.
I hope I can move my family to the North because I am scared every day that they will be tortured. There is a lot of violence in the South towards African Americans. Lynching has become very popular. The accusations for lynching are not fair either. Even a petty little rumor will get an African American hanged in the South. I am terrified every day that someone will start a rumor about one of my friends, family members, or even me. I do not know how I would be able to go on if I lost any one of the people I love. I have been separated from them for so long. People in our community have been killed left and right. I would love for my family and me to live someone where we do not have constant fear. I pray that the day where my sons can grow up differently than I did is not too far away.
Some members of my community have composed a newspaper called The Chicago Defender, which defends the rights of African Americans. Chicago is an amazing place. It is much different than where I grew up in the south. African Americans are treated more like regular people up north than in the south. There is still discrimination but it is not nearly as bad. I hope the newspaper will open the eyes of some people. African Americans are smart, strong, and intellectual people. My brother lives in Chicago. He was always the smartest of all us boys. He had heard about the freedom in the north and moved himself and his family there as soon as he could. He always writes me and tells me about everything that is going on up there.
There is a man that goes by the name of Marcus Garvey. Mr. Garvey thinks that all African Americans in the United States should move back to Africa. He is very upset that the Americans captured us from our homeland against our will and we deserve the right to go back and live the life we were supposed to have. I couldn’t disagree more. I love America. I do not like what is going on right now, but I love America. I want to enjoy the freedoms that America claims to have. America is a country where dreams can come true. I just wish that I could live in America with the rights that I know I deserve.
Many other people have radical ideas about what African Americans should be doing for their rights. A lot of African Americans are now embracing their heritage. For the longest time, the white man has made us ashamed of who we are and where we come from. My brother, the one from Chicago, told me about these folks who are calling themselves “The New Negros”. They are standing up for all of us. They are not ashamed of where they come from. They are also doing big things in entertainment. Some of them have been playing music their whole lives, they’re real talented. Would you believe that some white men are paying to see “some negros” play? I sure have a hard time believing it, but I know my brother doesn’t lie.
Many white men are getting mad at the fact that black people are not ashamed of who they are anymore. They still feel like they are superior and we should be punished for... Well, anything and everything. The new KKK has done some horrible things in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Rosewood. You would not believe the stories I hear people telling of the violence in those parts. White people will just make up reasons for black people to be punished. The strange thing is, everyone will believe it. I just don’t understand the way people think sometimes.
I will keep you updated with what goes on from time to time. I hope I will be able to write more positive things in here next entry.
Until then,
Franklin Cooper
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Awesome letter, you managed to cover all the points discussed in class, while still remaining creative. It's obvious you put thought into this.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kereen, it is obvious that you put a lot of thought into this by seeing how many facts you were able to get into this entry. It is clear what Franklin is having to go through in his day to day life and his desire to get away from it all. Good job!
ReplyDeleteAlain Locke says "The days of 'aunties.' 'uncles,' and mammies' is equally gone." because he is trying to say that the stereotypes of the negro in the past are gone. He is trying to live up to what the New Negro should be. He wanted to get rid of what the people of his past went through and how they acted. He does not want to live the same life his aunties, uncles and mammies lived. He wanted to reinvent the African American culture. Alain Locke's "The New Negro" is all about what an African American should be from now on. He is saying that the old negro would be put down by society and wouldn't stand up for himself. He is encouraging new negros to take a stand for their rights. He was trying to instill a new philosophy in them. He wanted African Americans to realize they were equal to the whites and they did not deserve the way they had been treated in the past.
ReplyDelete