User:Petermendoza6293/sandbox

Historical Figures of Racial Equality[edit]

The article Racial Equality on Wikipedia included a handful of information about Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. The article illustrated that were many different significant historical figures that had a huge impact on racial equality. They mentioned Martin Luther King performed major acts that played a massive role in the movement for Racial Equality. This quote, mentions MLK's achievements, "Moreover, he played many roles in society and won an award for the movement he conducted"[1], (Racial Equality "Wikipedia"). This quote from the Wikipedia article shows that MLK was a treasured historical figure with many achievements surrounding his activism on Racial Equality. The article’s part on Rosa Parks mentioned how Rosa Parks was treated by White individuals. Because of the color of her skin, she was treated poorly and inhumanely. In the article, it says, “Parks had taken the bus home from work when all of a sudden she was forced to give up her seat for a White male”[2], (Racial Inequality Wikipedia). This shows the events that not only Rosa Parks went through but also many more Black individuals during that time period. The article only has a selected amount of people that have contributed to the events of racial inequality. To address changes, it should talk about more historical figures that have added to the racial inequality movement to make the article more complete. The article should not necessarily have an added new section, but add more information on significant figures like Malcolm X, Katherine Johnson, and even Elvis Presley.

Malcolm X had a huge impact on racial equality and was an African American leader in the Civil Rights movement. Regarding Rosa Parks’s experiences with white aggression, Malcolm X’s main goal was to urge his fellow African Americans to protect themselves from White Aggression. In the article about Malcolm X in Britannica, it mentions, “The most important issues were Black identity, integrity, and independence”[3], (Britannica). This shows the main focus on what Malcolm X was mainly focusing his goals on. Katherine Johson was an African American mathematician and physicist that worked for NASA during the beginning stages of the American space program. Katherine Johnson’s quest for education helped break the idea of segregation in schools because of this, johnson then desegregated West Virginia University. Katherine Johnson was a significant figure since she helped with early important NASA missions such as getting the first man to orbit space and also getting the first man on the moon. The article “The New York Times”, mentions that Johnson “calculated the precise trajectories that would let Apollo 11 land on the moon in 1969 and, after Neil Armstrong’s history-making moonwalk, let it return to Earth”[4] (Katherine Johnson New York Times). This shows how much Katherine Johnson helped aid NASA through her tremendous academic work. Johnson did not only visualize the future of America by being a Black woman working for important missions surrounding NASA but also NASA itself by letting her work for them without judging the color of her skin. The article “The New York Times”, mentions what Katherine said in an interview regarding NASA. “NASA was a very professional organization,” Mrs. Johnson told The Observer of Fayetteville, N.C., in 2010. “They didn’t have time to be concerned about what color I was.” (Katherine Johnson New York Times). This shows how the world back then was truly under great segregation regarding a race of an individual. Elvis Presley was another figure that helped aid racial inequality. Elvis Presley’s combination of “black music” and energetic performances was extremely important in helping to start a new counter-cultural revolution. The article “Elvis Australia” illustrates that Black and White music was much different starting out in the early 1900s. “There is a belief, among both blacks and whites, that black music is for blacks and any white man playing is guilty of some terrible misappropriation, and that this misappropriation is an outgrowth of the horrible sins committed against blacks by whites throughout our nation's history. There's no reason to 'debunk' this argument, because it is transparently foolish and absolutely racist, on both sides”[4], (Elvis Australia). This shows the significant approach Elvis had to music in the time period.

References[edit]

“Final Years and Legacy.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Accessed October 25, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Malcolm-X/Final-years-and-legacy. Fox, Margalit. “Katherine Johnson Dies at 101; Mathematician Broke Barriers at NASA.” The New York Times. The New York Times, February 24, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/science/katherine-johnson-dead.html. Williams, Stereo. “The Truth about Elvis and the History of Racism in Rock.” The Daily Beast. The Daily Beast Company, July 12, 2017. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-truth-about-elvis-and-the-history-of-racism-in-rock.