Breaking Language: The Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement in LiteratureMain MenuIntroduction: How was the Civil Rights Movement fought in language?Pre-Civil Rights Era Uses of Language: Epistemic Violence and Legal RestrictionsJames Brown, "Too Funky in Here" (1979)Builder Levy, I AM a Man (1968)Builder Levy, I Am a Man/Union Justice Now, Memphis, TN, 1968. From the series Civil Rights and Peace. Gelatin Silver print
13 1/16 × 8 13/16. artsy.net.Builder Levy, Harlem Peace March 1967Builder Levy, Anti-War ProtestBuilder Levy, Harlem Peace March to End Racial Oppression, April 27, 1967. The statement "No black man ever called me chink: support the black struggle for existence" was taken from boxer/activist Muhammad Ali's original statement about his refusal to participate in the Vietnam War, "Ain't no Vietcong ever called me nigger." Amitage Digital Resources, Columbia University.Dykes on Bikes: Headlining SF Pride Parade since 1977Malcolm X's Repudiation of a Slave NameMalcolm X: Language Play and Caustic IronyAudre Lorde: "You cannot dismantle the master's house with the master's tools" (1984)Adrienne Rich "Diving into the Wreck" (1973)James Baldwin: Deconstructing the Language of RacismConclusion: Language as a Medium for Activism and LiberationCreative Commons LicenseResourcestest of radial viewvisualization of contentCathy Kroll0c0427ebd621fb54b22b23c07748d7202fcfe9c8
Daisy Bates Takes a Walk
12016-11-07T23:50:30-08:00Cathy Kroll0c0427ebd621fb54b22b23c07748d7202fcfe9c898661Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. "Daisy Bates takes a walk - Activist Daisy Bates picketing with placard: "Jailing our youth will not solve the problem in Little Rock. We are only asking for full citizenship rights."" The New York Public Library Digital Collections.plain2016-11-07T23:50:30-08:00Cathy Kroll0c0427ebd621fb54b22b23c07748d7202fcfe9c8
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12016-11-07T23:41:31-08:00Conclusion: Language as a Medium for Liberation5plain2016-11-07T23:58:16-08:00 We have looked closely at a few ways in which the Civil Rights Movement was fought not only in the streets and in the courtrooms, but also at the level of language. The reality is that language encoded oppression in the 60s and 70s--with racist slurs, inequitable laws, rumor, and journalistic propaganda--but language was also a medium for liberation. Writers, poets, clergymen, and political leaders used language to lead the way through uncertain, but exhilarating times.
This project is ongoing and is intended to be collaborative. If you are interested in helping to work on it, let me know! kroll [at] sonoma [dot] edu or [at] krollschen.