Those who Diced with Death

The document under study is the trailer for a TV series entitled “Underground”. It is about the Underground Railroad. We could see white characters who were the slave masters, some had guns, they were the slave catchers. We could also see a big house, the house of the slave master and its plantation of cotton with slaves working on it. Moreover, we could see the two main characters Rosalie, who is a house slave working in the big house and Noah, a slave who works outside on the plantation. They both planned to escape and to run away from their plantation thanks to the Underground Railroad. Furthermore, we can also see a couple of white people, who are station masters and abolitionists, helping fugitive slaves to escape. They are working with a free black man. It is interesting to note that fleeing the plantation is not an easy decision to take because it is often the slaves that are left behind that would pay the price.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 Commonwealth Day

The document under study is a video about Commonwealth Day, published in March 2024. We have learned that the Commonwealth is composed of 56 nations with 2.5 billion citizens. Commonwealth Day happens every year on the second Monday of March. The main ceremony takes place at Westminster Abbey in London, UK. At the same time, there are other ceremonies across the world including The Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Oceania, The Pacific, the Americas and Europe.

The goal of Commonwealth Day is to promote unity, diversity, resilience and democracy. Moreover, despite the different cultures and traditions, the aim is to create one common bright future as it was the theme for Commonwealth Day in March 2024: “One Resilient Common Future”.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

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Moreover, he mentions the defiance of Malcom X, the soulfulness (passion) and the moral strength of Martin Luther King and the strength of Mohamed Ali as great inspirations for him to pursue his ambitions.

However, with all his travels overseas, he realized that race relations problems were not only an American issue. Indeed, he noticed that it is actually a human problem as people naturally divide themselves in their daily lives (working places, schools, churches…). As a result, they create assumptions and beliefs in stereotypes leading to tensions between communities.

To conclude, by willing to become the first African-American president his goal was to unite people and to convince them that differences can actually be enriching and empowering for everyone no matter the ethnic group they belong to.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

The Making of a Black President

The document under study is an interview of former President Barack Obama broadcast by the Atlantic in 2016. It is about his childhood experiences and feelings and thoughts when he decided to run for the White House. We have learned that Obama never doubted to get white support to win the presidency because he grew up being surrounded by his mother’s side of the family that were mainly white people. Therefore, he never though that people could judge him based on his skin color as a mixed-race person. Indeed, he did not feel that he had to prove anything to anyone. However, his only concern to be able to win the presidency was his age as he was a very young candidate.

In this interview, he mentions his family members: we learn that his father was a black man from Kenya and his mother an American from Kansas. He mainly grew up with his grandparents from his mother’s side. He also mentions his wife, Michelle, who mainly grew up in a black community that made her have a completely different perception of relationships with white people than the one Barack has.

 Homework: Learn the lesson.

The Making of a Black President

The document under study is an interview for The Atlantic of former President, Barack Obama in 2016. He shares about his personal background and his feelings and doubts when he decided to run for the White House as a young African-American candidate. We have learned that he never doubted to get white support to win the presidency as he grew up with his mother’s side of the family that were white people who lived and appreciated him as who he was. When he would meet other white people on the workspace, he would picture his grandparents, therefore he felt that he did not have anything to prove.

In this interview, he mentions his parents: his father was a black man from Kenya and his mother was an American from Kansas.

Moreover, he also mentions his wife, Michelle to contrast their respective childhoods and their experiences with white people as Barack had always felt at ease among white people contrary to Michelle as being African American growing up in        a mainly black community.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

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Nelson Mandela and FW De Klerk both were awarded of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 because they fought together to put an end to Apartheid.

To conclude, South Africa is nicknamed the “Rainbow Nation” because a rainbow is an arch of various colors that appears after the rain when the sun shines bright again. For South Africa, after Apartheid, everyone gained the same rights and unity came to the country among the different communities. Moreover, this new situation would lead to a brighter future for South Africans no matter the color of their skins. Furthermore, a rainbow is like a bridge that connects two places; for South Africa it is a metaphor to illustrate the fact that it connects two communities, the Blacks and the Whites to live in peace and in hope of a better future.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

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The Nobel Peace Prize 1993 was awarded to both Nelson Mandela and FW De Klerk because they both worked for the end of Apartheid and made South Africa a democratic country.

To conclude, South Africa is nicknamed the “Rainbow nation” because it is a metaphor with the word “rainbow” with its different colors and it is linked to unity between people from different communities. With the end of Apartheid, South Africa gained this nickname to symbolize the end of this difficult period. It is to symbolize peace and a bright future for all whatever their color of skins.

Homework: Learn the lesson.