Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude Brown Manchild in the Promised Land is indeed one of the most remarkable autobiographies of This thinly fictionalized account of Claude Brown's childhood as a hardened,streetwise criminal trying to survive the toughest streets of Harlem has been heralded asthe definitive account of everyday life for the first generation of African Americans raisedin the Northern ghettos of the 1940s and 1950s. When the book was first published in1965, it was praised for its realistic portrayal of Harlem -- the children, young people,hardworking parents; the hustlers, drug dealers, prostitutes, and numbers runners; thepolice; the violence, sex, and humor. The book continues to resonate generations later, notonly because of its fierce and dignified anger, not only because the struggles of urbanyouth are as deeply felt today as they were in Brown's time, but also because the book isaffirmative and inspiring. Here is the story about the one who "made it," the boy who keptlanding on his feet and became a man. In Manchild in the Promised Land, Claude Brown reflects upon the differences andtensions between the "Civil Rights" and "Black Power" approaches to the problems ofRace in the U.S. of the 1950s and early 1960s. In your essay, describe and analyze whatBrown has to say about these two movements. What does each approach have to offer tothe people of the urban ghetto? How does each movement hope to reach the goal, whichthey share, of African-American liberation and empowerment? Finally, how does Brown'sbook illluminate, expand upon, or even challenge the other material about race that we areencountering in this course?As you think about Civil Rights and Black Power, you will want to consider theirrespective tactics, strengths and limitations, as well as the similarities and differencesbetween them. In doing so, you'll also want to pay particular attention to informationcontained in the following readings other than...
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