Oral Anglais Lieux et Formes de Pouvoir

Places and Forms of Power

Introduction

“I was just tired of giving up” said Rosa Parks. I talk about the notion of Places and Forms of Power. First, I would like to give a definition: The power is a force exerted. It can be exerted by Justice, high political authorities or the media. In class we studied The Black Resistance in America. So how black Americans achieved recognition? At first we can see the American Ideals and Paradoxes then the Brocken dreams and finally we can see the resistance for recognition.

I American Ideals and Paradoxes

In 1776, The USA proclaim the Declaration of Independence. This declaration puts the foundations of the country and his citizens: All men are equals, they all have the same right Life Liberty, the pursuit of Happiness, they had the same creator. This is very positive. But, it’s quite important to notice that there’s a paradox in America Society right from the creation of the nation. Indeed, Black People and Natives were not really considered as citizens. The paradox comes between the federal laws and some state laws. Even after the abolition of slavery in 1863. For example, there was the Black Codes in Mississippi in 1865 who forbade inter-racial marriage or were else The Jim Crow Laws in 1876 in Southern States: People were separated in public places.

II The Brocken Dream

The Jim Crow laws represent the American Brocken Dream. “Separate but equals” is the key word of these laws. These signs saying that white people and coloured people were to be separated in public places in Southern states. It extended to schools, buses, libraries, restaurants. Black People couldn’t shake hands of white people, black and white were not supposed to eat together. This is everyday life in Southern States: Everyday discrimination. Usually, the discrimination went farther. Indeed, The KKK hung black people on trees and burnt them and their houses. The intimidation and lynching were used against Black People.

III The resistant for recognition

The first blow against this oppression was the trial Brown vs Board of Education by which it’s unconstitutional to segregate Black and White in school. So in 1954 Civil Right movement begin, led by Martin Luther King. The resistance was also past by art. To quote only one from it: The music with the jazz blues rock and now the rap. Strange fruit for example by Billie Holliday. She denouncing the KKK. “strange fruit” is a metaphor of bodies which hang on trees as fruits, it adds to the horror of the scene: gasping for breath the last breath. The Jim Crow Law is considered as unconstitutional and illegal not before the 1960 s. This was a way of achieving recognition.

Conclusion

After a white domination, Black and White are totally equal in the eyes of the law but are to be changed sometimes again. It is another long fight to be led. This perfect union was to be perfected overtime trough the Civil War and the civil disobedience to try to narrow the gap between the promise of our ideals and reality of their times said Obama. The time does not allow us to speak of all the figures of the resistance but they all played a big role in the recognition of Black American.

...