African American History: A Close Up on Baptist Churches Essay

As you enter through the door on the first level of this San Francisco-based Baptist-rooted church, you become overwhelmed by the warm hug and kiss of Sister â€Å"What’s-her-name?† as she bold and kindly greets you, â€Å"Good morning! God bless you!† Walking up the stairs heading into the Worship Center, Brother and Sister â€Å"So and so† affectionately embrace you, just as an aunt or uncle would at a family function. In an instant, you are drawn in by the harmonious singing of the choir over the upbeat sounds of musicians playing the drums, keyboard, guitars, organ and tambourines. As you look around, you may not recognize everybody, but you sense a powerful family-like bondage. Although the love of Christ is all-inclusive to any and everyone, this non-exclusive church is predominantly African American in population. There is a noticeably implied bond which seems to be more genuine, the more melanin you contain. This tremendously impacts individuals within the congregational community. Why is it that the most segregated hour in America continues to be 11:00am Sunday morning? Research directs us towards clues on how church origins and U.S. history has and still is heavily influencing African Americans in the Modern Church of today. In James P. Eckman’s Exploring Church History he writes about the foundation of the church starting with the Apostolic Age, which began around 30 B.C. and immediately followed the death of Jesus Christ in the first century, through the modern church of the 21st century. Reviewing the timeline from the Apostolic Age (1st century) to the Church Fathers (95-300s), onto Ancient Church and Theology (4th century), following the Medieval Church (400-1500s), through the Reformation period and Catholic Church (16th century), to the Scientific Revolution (1600-1700s) onto the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century, we discover that many events influenced the building and forming of the â€Å"black church† in America. Tracing these events we can see a thread of the Christian Church trailing through European countries for several hundreds of years. In the latter of events above, we learn that Europeans began enslaving Africans and started to migrate over to a land that we now know as America. During the  developmental period of the first African American Churches in the 1700-1800s slavery was very prevalent in the United States. Henry H. Mitchell, author of Black Church Beginnings, predisposes how though enslaved Africans had their own religious traditions and practices, there were some overlooked factors that contributed to their fascination in Christianity which soon took route in the African American Society. He goes on to state that the typical West African town was a community of faith. The tribesmen generally assumed that if they lost a war to another tribe or nation, the god of the triumphant party ought to be included in their beliefs since the conquerors’ god was strong enough to grant them victory (Mitchell, page 33). He discusses how they found commonality between their expressive African culture and the unheard of, free expressiveness for whites in their churches. The Africans became more and more interested as they began interpreting the Bible for themselves and found parallels in traditional African religion. They were able to relate to the Old Testament stories [like the enslavement of Hebrews by the Egyptians] and saw hope in Moses and Jesus as mighty deliverers. The above mentioned were significant factors which ultimately led to African slaves placing their hope in â€Å"the white man’s† God and Bible: The Black church in America had its origins in the slave religion of the American South. Deprived of their identity, oppressed by their masters, and unable to establish their own institutions, many slaves turned to Christianity. Faith in Jesus Christ gave them hope for the future when His justice would right the wrongs done to them. (Eckman, page 98) Near the dawning of the formation of the original black churches in the 18th century, some slave masters allowed [or even required] slaves to attend church services with them. Others allowed monitored the worship services, however, they were plagued with fears of possible rebellion. Mitchell describes contrasts between liberal and oppressive slave masters. Some oppressive masters withheld knowledge of Christianity from slaves and beat or even killed those who began to worship God devotedly (Mitchell, page 33). Many, if not all, plantations held stealthy worship services in the woods, swamps or brushes. L. Maffly-Kipp describes, in her article â€Å"African American Religion in the Beginning†, how the slaves used symbolism that was not detectible by their captors. It’s as though Africans began to develop a secret society and reactively initiated exclusive churches. The underground services of worship were labeled as the â€Å"Invisible Institution† since they were invisibly held to the eyes of slave masters. Here the slaves began mixing the Christian faith with African rhythms and singing, which led to the formation of the Negro spirituals (Maffly-Kipp). Most spirituals contained two-folded meanings of worship and freedom. [From time to time, (especially in February or around January 15th) we’ll hear some of these old Negro spirituals in today’s predominantly black churches.] Maffly-Kipp infers as the Africans made their appeals of justice unto God, they were also organizing and planning escapes. According to Melva Wilson Costen, author of African American Christian Worship, the first African American church of record, founded in 1758 in Luneberg, VA, was called Bluestone African Baptist Church —owned mostly by slaves. The number of African American churches grew throughout the U.S. between the years of 1750-1800 (over 20 churches of record). Bluestone and subsequent black founded congregations contained partial white populations where they were outnumbered by blacks however Euro-American preachers, as controlling moderators, oversaw these churches. African Americans were not encouraged to lead the congregations (though many were considerably powerful preachers and potential leaders) nor were they allowed any voting privileges. The African American Church continued to evolve in the South and dominant denominations of Baptist and Methodist expanded nationally from 1841-1865. Leadership began to change as did laws towards the end of the 19th century, post the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, 1865 Abolition of Slavery (13th Amendment), 1868 Civil Rights (14th Amendment) and 1870 Voting Rights (15th Amendment). The early Black Church played a significant role in social activism by oratorical pressing towards the abolitionist movement, assisting  in the Underground Railroad, ministration in civic and social responsibility, and through slave insurrections. As Mitchell put it, â€Å"in the root culture of African Americans, nothing is excludable from the design and will of God† (page 138). [This is noteworthy; we’re able to see a continuum of legislative struggle against Africans throughout American history, in a way which the church is affected and involved.] In 1894, a pride-filled, yet rare, exception for African Americans occurred when the pastor of the first African Baptist Church was elected Moderator and Preacher of the Philadelphia Baptist Association. While racial discrimination took many blows, one civil case in Louisiana devastated the progression towards its elimination. In 1896 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to enact the separate-but-equal principles in the famous Plessy v Ferguson case, disregarding equality while planting proliferate seeds of segregation throughout the nation (Records of Supreme Court). This ruling gravelly punctured the church as it promoted separation between Christians, which was contrary to the â€Å"Love thy neighbor as thyself† Christian teachings. As history reveals, for more than 50 years our national society was structured in such way to where the non-association between European Americans and minority races was the norm. After several years of social discomfort, the church began to take a stand against this legal inequality. In Rhetoric, Religion and the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965 by Davis Houck and David Dixon a passion-filled recording of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at a conference in Nashville, TN on April 25, 1957 is referenced (pages 217-224). We find Dr. King proclaiming his strong conviction of faith and declaring his hope in God for deliverance while attacking the moral issues of the Supreme Court’s decision made in the 1896 case. The revolutionary reverend, who led the Civil Rights Movement, charged the Christian Church with the responsibility of standing up against segregation and discrimination (Houck & Dixon, page 220), speaking to all Christians urging them to keep in mind that they answer to God and not the opinions of men. {In all my research, it was here that I saw the shift of focus from African American Christian Heritage to just Christian Heritage.} How difficult would it be for the masses to grasp this concept after hundreds of years of contradictory conditioning? We now live in an era postdating the Civil Rights Movement by more than 40 years; in a time where we [as a nation] elected our first African American president. In the most diverse area of the country (San Francisco), while we are starting to see more racially integrated churches in the Bay Area, 11:00am Sunday morning [for some reason] continues to be the most segregated hour across the U.S. Clearly these historical events continue to affect today’s African Americans within church communities and all people within congregational communities. What else can be concluded from this research? Old habits die hard. . Works Cited Ammerman, Nancy Tatom. Congregation & Community. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1997. Print Costen, Melva Wilson. African American Christian Worship. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993. Print. Eckman, James P. Exploring Church History. Wheaton: Crossway Books a division of Good News Publishers, 1996. Print. Houck, Davis W.; Dixon, David E. Rhetoric, Religion and the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2006. CityCat.Web. March 3, 2010. Maffly-Kipp, L.. â€Å"African American Religion In the Beginning. † Mississippi Link 4 Feb. 2010,Ethnic NewsWatch (ENW). ProQuest. Web. 3 Mar. 2010. Mitchell, Henry H. Black Chruch Beginnings: The Long-Hidden Realities of the First Years. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publising Company, 2004. Print. Records of the Supreme Court of the United States. â€Å"Plessy v Ferguson† OurDocuments.gov, May 18, 1896, Web. March 3, 2010

Juvenile Crime Statistics Essay

â€Å"In 2008, about one in ten murder victims were a juvenile,† (ncjrs.gov, 2009). When a child is harmed or obtain physical pain or injury, it is something that produces a reverberating sound with the community and it is something that is of growing concern. A juvenile that becomes a delinquent is considered to be a child and treated as such in a juvenile court until their habits goes beyond a level that is unacceptable and they are treated as adults. When this happens a juvenile child can be lost forever and sent into an adult system. In this paper we will look at some statistics as they relate to delinquency prevention and juvenile justice. It will talk about the total decrease in juvenile arrests. It will talk about the increase in simple assaults as well as drug offenses. This paper will mention the conclusion that can be drawn for juvenile females and members of racial and ethnic minorities. I will also discuss the low numbers of arrest in male juveniles for violent crimes as well as the increase in arrests of juvenile females. This paper will give an estimation of tracking juvenile arrests as a way of measuring the amount of and trends in juvenile crime. Between the year 2007 to 2008 the statistics show that there was a decrease of 3% in the amount of juveniles arrested. The statistic that is most astounding is how over the past decade how much the percent of juveniles that are arrested as dropped. Since 1999 to 2008 the amount of juveniles arrested per year has decreased 16%. That number is amazing if we consider that the 16% is based on the 2.1 million of juveniles that were arrested in 2008. The number of juveniles that are being arrested continues to decrease and this is something that the juvenile justice system should be happy with and we as a community should be as well (ncjrs.gov, 2009). In 2008 the amount of simple assaults in males decreased 6% however it increased an amazing 12% in females. This is a stark comparison to a more serious crime of aggravated assault, which decreased 22% for males, and 17% for females. What does this imply about society? Potentially two things: juveniles are not being charged with serious crimes or juveniles are choosing not to commit serious crimes. This is a good thing. 2008 also showed another decline in another serious and dangerous crime. It showed a 7% decrease in the amount of juveniles arrested for drug violations. It has been a common thread that the juvenile and criminal justice system is one that is biased toward people of ethnic and minority decent. The statistics would seem to imply this as well based on the larger and skewed amounts of ethnic and minorities that are arrested in comparison to non-minorities. What this does not take into account is that the minorities that are generally arrested come from heavily populated areas that are occupied by minorities. The numbers are larger based on this but in an area that is occupied by one specific ethnic group or people they will be the ones that are arrested most regardless of their race. It is a matter of population. Another statistic that is alarming is the amount of female juveniles that are being arrested. The number has increased dramatically since 1999 and it would appear that female juveniles are becoming increasingly more violent. In 2008 females accounted for 30% of the arrests of juveniles. This is startling because the number for juvenile females arrested has increased and the number of male juveniles has decreased (ojjdp.gov). Is it possible to measure trends in juvenile crimes based on the statistics of their arrests? It is possible to observe what is taking place and because we are able to see who is getting arrested and for what then we can most definitely observe trends. A trend that is taking place now is that female juveniles are becoming increasingly more violent and are being arrested for their actions. This may be a cause for the decrease in male juvenile arrests or it is a side effect of the juvenile female behavior. Is old data and statistics a good measure to locate these trends? No. Old data is not a way to predict trends it is just a means that allows us to measure and compare to what is changing within the system and the juvenile that have been arrested and have been in the juvenile justice system. Reference: Champion, D. J. (2010). The juvenile justice system: Delinquency, processing, and the law. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Internet Reference, http://www.lawyershop.com/practice-areas/criminal-law/juvenile-law/crimes, retrieved on November 26, 2012 Internet Reference, https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/228479.pdf, retrieved on November 23, 2012. Internet Reference, http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/default.asp, retrieved on November 26, 2012

The experiments involving women in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birth Essay

The experiments involving women in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birth Mark and Rapaccini's Daughter using as foil The Oval Por - Essay Example Hawthorne build a formidable relationship with women characters, in which case he had to inspire many who appear in his fiction, and he had a relationship with women who had some influence in his life, which includes Margaret Fuller among others. Therefore, Hawthorne plays a crucial role in having to think about women and their confronting of the American men and society. Therefore, this paper will embark on the experiments that involve women in Nathaniels Hawthorne, â€Å"the birth mark† and the â€Å"Rapaccini’s daughter† (Wright). A substance analysis of Hawthorne’s women from the many tales demonstrates the way the Hawthorne uses the women as the objects of warning about the consequences of the fear of men. Analyzing the â€Å"The Birth Mark†, Hawthorne tries to introduce the Georgina character, in which case her sole flaw is the birthmark that was on her face. Everything else is perfect, but the flaw that existed was this only birthmark. The hu sband of Aylmer likes science, and he goes on to suggest that he should try to remove the birthmark. When he was through with the experiment, he goes ahead to announce that the experiment was successful. Having done this, Georgina, in which case she had some characteristics of evil possession, dies because her husband had the insistence on trying to deform nature. Aylmer also has the evil flaw, in which case he is persistence to get rid of the birthmark (Wright). Hawthorne has had to create characters with malevolent or the evil characteristics to the reader an allegorical meaning. To some extent, he may be targeting the women without the justification. Plainly, Hawthorne has had to target the women and the men equally in his works. For instance, in his works of, â€Å"Rappaccini’s daughter†, Hawthorne uses Beatrice to be the carrier of deadly poison, in which case men is in use in transmitting the evil. Then men in use have their own flaws, in which case it contribute s to the mistakes of women in their works. II. A There is the possibility of interpreting the Georgiana’s sexuality when interpreting the birthmark because Hawthorne works seem to have sexual undercurrent. In the hallmark, Georgiana tries to consider Aylmer to be his master, which is why she is caring about Aylmer’s opinion of her. Aylmer considers the imperfection in the Georgiana’s face and has the confidence of the nature due to his likes of science he plans to remove the imperfection from her face. He persuades her to remove the imperfection in order that they feel happy together. Aylmer then guides Georgiana into the laboratory, in which case it includes beautiful rooms and Aylmer finally succeeds in removing the imperfections. However, Georgiana, in which case she has had to dream, dies. From the two characters, Georgiana and Aylmer, it is quite clear that the birthmark epitomizes natural beauty containing imperfection and explores the hubris of science an d art in an attempt to perfect what the nature offers. In addition, there is the revelation of discomfort and fascination with the power of women’s sexuality, in which case it can make a man pursue anything, including endangering a woman’s life, diminishing it (Wright). Aylmer aims at removing the birthmark in Georgiana’s face that made her imperfect. Aylmer wanted to make her to be perfect in order that they

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

English - Essay Example Trying to reduce her sentiments into the confined language of Imagism would have lost a great deal of the subtext of her poems, which is where a great deal of her meaning resides. It is through these devices that the life of the poet emerges, making statements of alienation, isolation and frustration even while discussing something as innocuous seeming as the moon. Not scrimping on the use of extended metaphors to express her ideas, Bishop is a master of the lyrical phrase. By looking at poems such as â€Å"The Man-Moth,† â€Å"The Fish,† â€Å"Filling Station† and â€Å"Pink Dog,† one can get a sense of how the use of adjectives within her poetry provides Bishop with the power to capture overwhelming life experiences in allegorical settings. Inspiration for many of Bishop’s poems starts with the experience of emotional reaction, such as the sudden and unexpected delights of daily life. â€Å"The Man-Moth† is actually a poem that arose out of a misprint in the New York Times for the word â€Å"mammoth.† (Rzepka, 2001). For Bishop, this was a perfect example of the New York persona and an irresistible opportunity to poke a little fun at The Big Apple. Despite the teasing tone of the piece, with such phrases as â€Å"when the Man-Moth / pays his rare, although occasional, visits to the surface† (9-10) and â€Å"The Man-Moth always seats himself facing the wrong way / and the train starts at once at its full, terrible speed† (29-30), this poem provides a glimpse into the postmodern feelings of isolation and alienation that had become associated with the big cities of the modern world. Here, the Man-Moth â€Å"cannot tell the rate at which he travels backwards† (32) and â€Å"does n ot dare look out the window† (36). Through this descriptive language, she indicates that the motion of individuals trapped within the city’s subways and patterns are not traveling forward, yet are not exactly

Mary Seacole Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mary Seacole - Research Paper Example Because historians did not begin to study this great women until 1970s, a lot of the information regarding her life was lost with time. All the work done on Mary Seacole, whether in academic papers or in popular media can be dated to within the last 30-40 years. But, even at this late date, historians have dug enough to give us a pretty accurate picture of Mary Seacole's life from her birth to her death. Through the dedicated work of several writers over the past few decades, we know a lot more about Seacole today than we did even twenty-five years ago. Yet, there remain a number of gaps in our knowledge regarding Mary Seacole and as a result of the fact that her life and achievements were completely ignored after her death and hence lost in the mist of time, there is little hope of scholars and historians learning much more about this forgotten heroine. Of the hundreds of books and articles written on Seacole, this essay has shortlisted two books and an article to discuss Seacole's contribution to history. Robinson has done a thorough job of researching Seacole's life and the various influences on it. Her book is much more complete since Robinson takes the pains of putting together bits and pieces of information from various sources to come to conclusions that help us better understand Seacole. Ramdin too analyzes Seacole's life. However, he is almost entirely dependent on her autobiography and as result, Ramdin's book is more a retelling of the Seacole story and does not add much to the canonical information available about Seacole. Since very limited information is available about Seacole, mostly because of lack of interest in her life, it is normal to ask why Seacole's story was lost in time while Nightingale became the inspiration of nurses around the world. Seaton attempts to answer this question and look at the various attempts made in the last few decades to restore her memory. The historians working on Mary Seacole have a tough time finding and validat ing information related to this heroine of the Crimean War. Almost everything that we know today about her life is through her autobiography, "Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole". But historians like Robinson have been able to glean a wealth of information from other primary things "reported in transcripts...[of] a court case, recorded in her will, and printed in letters published in Punch and The Times." (Robinson 7). For example, Seacole does not mention her maiden name or her father's name anywhere in her autobiography. But based on her will, records of army personal posted in Jamaica around the time Seacole was born and "an entry Kingston Registers of Death of a spinster, Louisa Grant",(10) Robinson was able to deduce to that Seacole's father was named James Grant. Similarly, even though Seacole never mentions the year of her birth, and her birth was never registered, her death certificate helps Robinson place her birth around the year 1805. The first chapter of Robinson's boo k also discusses the presence and influence of several other people in her life including her mother, and a grandmotherly lady who is not identified by name. Robinson also takes pains to explain Seacole's social status in the little Jamaican island as well as in Britain, which she apparently visited as a teenagers. All these details are extremely important in an introductory chapter about a women who

Early American History from 1790 to 1877 Term Paper

Early American History from 1790 to 1877 - Term Paper Example Just 14 years after the founding of our nation in 1790, many changes were already in the works, and America had already been one year under its first President, George Washington, who served as a general against the British in the Revolutionary War. During the second of his eight years in office, the Bill of Rights was drafted (in 1791), adding 10 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution ? which outlined the freedoms enjoyed by citizens, including the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms (Nussbaum 2006). Also during this term, the rivaling Federalist and Republican political parties were formed – the former pressing for a strong central government and banking system with good ties to England, with the latter wanting an economy based in agriculture with weakening ties to Great Britain (Ibid.). After the turn of the century, America continued to want to expand its borders, and made the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, paying France $15 million for 800,000 square miles of land from Louisiana to Montana, doubling the nation’s size (Klose and Jones 1994, 130). ... This was followed by the Missouri Compromise of 1820, where the existing southern slave states agreed with the northern free states that Missouri would become a slave state if Maine became a free state (Nussbaum 2006). Just three years later, a treaty devised by President James Monroe, known as the Monroe Doctrine, was reached between the U.S. and European nations, where both sides agreed not to interfere with each other’s (including Spain’s) colonizing interests, guaranteeing safety to all (Klose and Jones 1994, 154). However, all conflict was not avoided, as Mexico’s General Santa Anna Stormed the Alamo in Texas and defeated American Colonel William Travis in a two-week battle in 1836, but the long battle gave the U.S. time to eventually defeat Santa Anna’s army in another showdown to make Texas independent and later become the 28th state (Nussbaum 2006). As populations swelled in the eastern U.S., European Americans sought to displace the occupying Indi ans in Georgia, and 7,000 troops forced 15,000 Cherokees to Oklahoma under grueling conditions in 1838 – an exodus known as the Trail of Tears, where 4,000 Native Americans perished (Ibid.). America was growing, and there was not much that could get in the way. This expansionist frenzy would stop no time soon. A concept known as Manifest Destiny soon became the term used to spread the belief that it was America’s fate to occupy and claim land across the continent, from coast to coast, and many routes ? including the Oregon, California, Mormon, and Santa Fe Trails ? were traveled during this time to inhabit the far west (Baker 2006, 7). This expansion was not uncontested, however, as the Mexican-American War ending in 1848 resulted in a costly victory – in money and casualties – for the U.S., which

Critically evaluate the status of Offender profiling as a Essay

Critically evaluate the status of Offender profiling as a psychologically - underpinned technique - Essay Example an either be â€Å"proactive or reactive.† Investigators use reactive profiling when solving crimes that have already happened while proactive profiling involves an attempt to interdict and foil crime before it happens. Profiling provides the police investigators with a personality snapshot or typology helpful in identifying and apprehending a suspect. It assists the police with a set of unique behavioural habits and personality characteristics. Alison and Canter (1999) say that profiling almost always takes place after a crime scene has been examined. Dr. Canter’s studies related to the link between Action versus Characteristics ( A v C ) of the offender including his criminal history, background and relationships to others has become known as the ‘profiling equations’ and has given rise to criminal behaviour identification which is crucial to models of inference related to investigations. Unlike detective fiction, these inference models operate at the thematic level. To collect information and test hypothesis for inductive reasoning; is at the heart of empirical science and investigative psychology where a wide range of empirical studies aims at providing objective bases for investigative inferences. Studies related to inference are slowly beginning to provide a basis for a general theory of offender consistency. But it would be unwise to rule out the possibility, that if the offender is intelligent, he’ll often alter his M.O. (Modus Operandi or method of operation) to avoid detection as in the case of Yorkshire Ripper; who used a screwdriver in his early killings and later changed to using a ligature. To help the police generate detailed information, psychologists have developed processes and guidelines for ‘cognitive interviews’ but to measure their precise relevance and accuracy, varies between situations. Similarly, psychologists are involved in studies and procedures to help reconstruct faces from memory. They have also contributed to the