“Boyz N the Hood” Film and “Black Freedom Fighters in Steel” by Needleman Essay

Introduction

Boyz N the Hood and Black Freedom Fighters in Steel make emphatic statements on the impact of race on the Black experience. While the former provides social commentary on gentrification and the challenges of inner-city living, the latter highlights the accomplishments of Black union leaders in a racially divided steel industry. The individuals depicted in both narratives work towards the achievement of specific objectives. They are not deterred by the fact that institutions and systems are designed to deny them the agency they require to access meaningful opportunities. Despite the contextual differences, the theme of ambition permeates Boyz N the Hood and Black Freedom Fighters in Steel, as evidenced by the main characters’ determination to overcome the odds.

Boyz N the Hood by John Singleton

Boyz N the Hood is a film about the hardships that characterize the Black experience. The film by John Singleton, which was released on the 12^th of July 1991, is essentially the story of three friends and their upbringing in South-Central Los Angeles (Ware, 2021). It focuses on Tre, his best friend Ricky and Ricky’s half-brother Doughy. The film highlights how White supremacy created conditions that facilitated the growth of crime and violence. For instance, the police force, which is supposed to protect and serve citizens, is intent on keeping Black people in line. This is evident in the film when an officer points a gun at Tre during a routine traffic stop (Ware, 2021). Despite the challenges, the characters demonstrate a willingness to achieve success. Even though there are a variety of themes that are evident in the film, ambition in the context of overwhelming odds is perhaps the most dominant.

The film’s opening scene provides a preview of the social justice issues that Black communities have to deal with in the United States. The lead actor, Tre, is introduced to the audience in one of his numerous classroom challenges. In a teleconference with Tre’s mother, his elementary school teacher highlights the fact that while Tre has an extensive vocabulary, he has a bad temper. The Caucasian teacher proceeds to make a variety of discriminatory assertions while inquiring about Tre’s home life and his parents’ occupations. The instructor is shocked to learn that Tre’s father plays a critical role in his upbringing and that Reva, his mother, is focused on her graduate studies. Tre relocates to live with his father, and his exposure to the true nature of the challenges faced by African Americans begins. Exposure to the harsh environment allows the young Black man to develop the skills he requires to navigate the skewed socio-economic terrain in the quest for success.

Black Freedom Fighters in Steel by Ruth Needleman

Black Freedom Fighters in Steel is a story of ambition in an environment riddled with racism and inequity. The book by Ruth Needleman gives a comprehensive account of the experiences of five Black union activists who took it upon themselves to advocate for better working conditions in the steel industry (Kelly, 2021). The author interviews each of the individuals and offers accurate historical context to effectively relate the personal narratives to the union movement. Ruth Needleman provides a detailed overview of the struggles Black steelworkers had to contend with in the face of overtly segregated hiring practices. In the end, the ambitious individual efforts improved conditions for all steelworkers in the United States.

Black Freedom Fighters in Steel presents compelling short biographies as well as a detailed analysis of civil rights policies. The author also examines changes in the American economy as well as the steel industry and how they impacted workers’ lives. The labor struggles that the men in the book undergo underpin the text’s core message. The political and social changes that defined their lives, such as the deeply entrenched racism in the steel industry, motivated them to change the cultures from the inside. The author presents the unionists’ struggles with the establishment, including the sacrifices they had to make to improve working conditions. It is worth noting that each of the people interviewed in the text had a different approach to the challenges they faced. They included ideas such as the creation of an independent Black caucus within the steel industry union and the inclusion of White leadership in efforts to end discrimination. Despite their different strategies, each of the unionists expressed a great deal of ambition as they addressed their community’s plight.

Comparing the Theme of Ambition

Ambition is viewed as the aspiration to achieve a set objective through dedication and perseverance. While Boyz N the Hood and Black Freedom Fighters in Steel offer contextually different stories, the characters’ desire to realize specific goals in the context of overwhelming odds is evident. Both stories depict a society in which racial discrimination is dominant, and the rights and freedoms of minorities are subverted in favor of the White majority. All of the main characters are dedicated to their quest to improve their living conditions despite the prevalence of systemic racism.

Ambition is best demonstrated in Boyz N the Hood through Tre’s father’s explication of the community’s need to own properties to overcome gentrification. The deliberate provision of guns, drugs, and alcohol as well as the limited provision of real resources to make a living in Tre’s community are designed to lower the value of houses. Such communities are then denied the opportunities for upward mobility, opening up the properties for purchase by firms and banks which use them to speculate. The previously mentioned entities, most of which are owned by whites, then sell the land at higher prices once the original inhabitants have been evicted. The degradation of the quality of life and standards of living in Black neighborhoods is a means for white-owned superstructures to profit from their control of the well-orchestrated self-destruction of Black communities. It is worth noting that Tre is devoted to his studies and is determined to join college, while Ricky works hard in his attempts to get an athletic scholarship. Doughboy has embraced the gangster lifestyle and is determined to climb the crime ladder. The highlighted challenges notwithstanding, Tre and his friends are ambitious in their quest for a better life.

The theme of ambition is evident in numerous scenarios in Black Freedom Fighters in Steel. For instance, after recognizing the need to improve the hellish conditions in Indiana’s tin mills, George Kimberly became the first Black employee to sign a union card (Needleman, 2003). His ambition was further demonstrated by successful attempts at recruiting other Black workers to unionize. Bill Young’s experiences at the steel mill were horrendous at best. The lack of worker protections and excessive cruelty prompted the young man to join United Steel Works (USW) Local 1010, and he promptly issued every worker he met with a union card (Kelly, 2021). The vicious attacks by the police during the 1937 Memorial Day Massacre in Chicago prompted Young to become the inaugural African American chairperson of a steel union committee (Kelly, 2021). Despite John Howard’s struggles through the Great Depression, he fought against the eviction of workers and later became the USW Local 1014 vice president between 1945 and 1954 (Needleman, 2003). All these individuals demonstrated a desire to serve their communities by improving the people’s working conditions.

Further evidence of ambition in Ruth Needleman’s book is demonstrated by Curtis Strong’s actions. After witnessing the overt discrimination against Black steel workers in Gary, Indiana, he advocated for the formation of a Black-run organization that would bargain on behalf of African American workers (Kelly, 2021). Jonathan Comer was an avid advocate for equality within the military at the peak of World War II (Kelly, 2021). He also learned how to prompt the union to prioritize concessions that benefitted Black steelworkers, and subsequently became the first African American to be elected as the local president of a local steel union (Kelly, 2021). Sheer determination prompted each of the aforementioned individuals to change the prevailing conditions.

Conclusion

Boyz N the Hood and Black Freedom Fighters in Steel highlight the Black community’s determination in the face of overwhelming odds. The ambition of specific characters serves to educate the populace and improve living and working conditions. The desire to achieve specific goals through dedication and perseverance is evident in both narratives. The contextual differences between the two accounts do not detract from the fact that the people depicted in the stories are resolute in their pursuit of improved living conditions and opportunities for growth.

References

Kelly, M. (2021). ‘Black Freedom Fighters in Steel’ — A book review. Workers World.

Needleman, R. (2003). Black freedom fighters in steel: The struggle for democratic unionism. NY: Cornell University Press.

Ware, L. (2021). ‘Boyz N the Hood’ at 30: A vivid examination of racism at work. The New York Times.