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Hélène Josse / septembre 2006

TEXTE 4

NOTE IMPORTANTE Le questionnaire est en auto-correction. Seul l'exercice d'écriture doit être envoyé à la correction. Il doit parvenir à télé 3 avant le 30 novembre 2006. Mais avant de faire l'exercice d'écriture, corrigez votre questionnaire.

Pour comprendre le texte que vous allez lire, vous devez avoir des connaissances en histoire américaine. N'ayez crainte, je vous fournis une fiche de données (background information). Le but de ce travail est de vous montrer que plus on a de culture, mieux on comprend. Une fois de plus, comprendre est un texte, ce n'est pas comprendre les mots, c'est comprendre les idées. La culture sert à cela. Ce n'est pas un truc chic pour briller dans les cocktails mondains, ce n'est pas quelque chose qu'il FAUT avoir pour réussir ses études. C'est tout simplement un outil supplémentaire pour comprendre le monde qui nous entoure. Allons donc nous cultivez ! CONSIGNES DE LECTURE Dans un premier temps, ne lisez que le texte, pas la fiche de données rose (background information). Cette fiche de données ne se lit pas d'un coup. Ce serait trop indigeste. Le questionnaire y fera référence paragraphe par paragraphe. Laissez vous guider.

A1B58 – Lire et écrire

Hélène Josse / septembre 2006

The Independent, 26 October 2005

Rosa Parks: An American hero All she did was to refuse to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger. But Rosa Parks' stand was the spark that lit the fire of a nation's civil rights movement. Rupert Cornwell reports on the death of a woman who transformed American society Almost exactly half a century ago, a weary black seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a city bus. She was arrested and put in jail - and the rest, quite literally, is history. Strictly speaking, Rosa Parks' gesture of defiance on the evening of 1 December 1955 does not mark the beginning of the civil rights struggle that consumed 5 America for the subsequent decade. That distinction belongs to the 1954 Brown v Board of Education ruling, ordering the desegregation of schools. In fact, she was not even the first black woman to be arrested for refusing to surrender her seat on a bus. In March and October that same year, Claudette Colvin and Mary Louise Smith respectively were arrested and punished for doing 10 the same. But Ms Parks' arrest was different. She was a demure and modest woman, but possessed of a will of steel. She was also married to an activist in the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), the oldest and most venerable US civil rights movement, where she gained a reputation as a militant for her efforts to boost 15 black voter registration.

20

Her arrest gripped the country's imagination and galvanised the emerging civil rights movement. There followed a 380-day boycott of Montgomery buses by the city's blacks, organised in part by a young pastor newly arrived at the city's Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, named Martin Luther King. The eventual triumph came nine years later, when President Johnson signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act. But the small protest of Rosa Parks was the spark that lit the fire. On Monday, aged 92, she died, venerated as little less than a 20th century saint. "A true American hero," Senator Edward Kennedy called her. "She sat down in order that we all might stand up - and the walls of segregation came down," said Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader.

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30

35

Death was probably a merciful release. She was frail and suffering from dementia, and had hardly appeared in public for a decade. But her impact has been enduring; indeed it may be measured by the career trajectory of another black daughter of Alabama, who has risen to heights of which Rosa Parks could not have imagined 50 years ago. Three days before she died, Condoleezza Rice, the first black woman to become Secretary of State, returned to her home state and the city of Birmingham, 100 miles north of Montgomery, where she was born. Elegant and immaculate, she was feted at every stop like a rock star - or rather like an aspiring Presidential candidate that, despite repeated denials, some people are convinced she is. Ms Rice's message was diplomatic, as she repeatedly compared the struggle for democracy in Iraq with the long struggle of blacks to throw off Jim Crow. But it was also a conscious statement of what black Americans could accomplish, when given the chance. But that chance would never have been possible without the peaceful revolution inspired in part by Rosa Parks. /…/

A1B58 – Lire et écrire

Hélène Josse / septembre 2006

ROSA PARKS - BACKGROUND INFORMATION (ne pas lire pour l'instant – allez directement questionnaire) I- WHO WAS JIM CROW? The name Jim Crow is often used to describe the segregation laws, rules, and customs which arose after Reconstruction ended in 1877 and continued until the mid-1960s. How did the name become associated with these "Black Codes" which took away many of the rights which had been granted to Blacks through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments? "Come listen all you galls and boys, I'm going to sing a little song, My name is Jim Crow. Weel about and turn about and do jis so, Eb'ry time I weel about I jump Jim Crow." These words are from the song, "Jim Crow," as it appeared in a song written by Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice. /…/ Rice, a White man, was one of the first performers to wear blackface makeup in order to caricature and ridicule Blacks. His Jim Crow song-and-dance routine was an astounding success that took him from Louisville to Cincinnati to Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and finally to New York in 1832. He then performed to great acclaim in London and Dublin. /…/ By 1838, the term "Jim Crow" was being used as a collective racial epithet for Blacks, almost as offensive as "nigger". /…/ By the end of the 19th Century, the words "Jim Crow" were being used to describe laws and customs which oppressed Blacks. II- WHAT WAS JIM CROW? Jim Crow was the name of the racial system which operated primarily, but not exclusively in southern and border states, between 1877 and the mid-1960s. Jim Crow was more than a series of rigid anti-Black laws. It was a way of life. Under Jim Crow, African Americans were relegated to the status of second class citizens. Jim Crow represented the legitimization of anti-Black racism. Many Christian ministers and theologians taught that Whites were the Chosen people, Blacks were cursed to be servants, and God supported racial segregation. A- Summary of the " Jim Crow etiquette": a. A Black male could not shake hands with a White male because it implied being socially equal. Obviously, a Black male could not offer his hand or any other part of his body to a White woman, because he risked being accused of rape.

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Hélène Josse / septembre 2006

b. Blacks and Whites were not supposed to eat together. If they did eat together, Whites were to be served first, and some sort of partition was to be placed between them. c. Under no circumstance was a Black male to offer to light the cigarette of a White female -- that gesture implied intimacy. d. Blacks were not allowed to show public affection toward one another in public, especially kissing, because it offended Whites. e. Jim Crow etiquette prescribed that Blacks were introduced to Whites, never Whites to Blacks. For example: "Mr. Peters (the White person), this is Charlie (the Black person), that I spoke to you about." f. Whites did not use courtesy titles of respect when referring to Blacks, for example, Mr., Mrs., Miss., Sir, or Ma'am. Instead, Blacks were called by their first names. Blacks had to use courtesy titles when referring to Whites, and were not allowed to call them by their first names. g. If a Black person rode in a car driven by a White person, the Black person sat in the back seat, or the back of a truck. h. White motorists had the right-of-way at all intersections. B- A few "Jim Crow laws" (black codes): a. Barbers. No colored barber shall serve as a barber to white girls or women b. c.

d. e.

f.

h.

(Georgia). Burial. The officer in charge shall not bury any colored persons upon ground used for the burial of white persons (Georgia). Buses. All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have separate waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races (Alabama). Education. The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately (Florida). Libraries. The state librarian is directed to fit up and maintain a separate place for the use of the colored people who may come to the library for the purpose of reading books or periodicals (North Carolina). Mental Hospitals. The Board of Control shall see that proper and distinct apartments are arranged for said patients, so that in no case shall Negroes and white persons be together (Georgia). g. Nurses. No person or corporation shall require any White female nurse to nurse in wards or rooms in hospitals, either public or private, in which negro men are placed (Alabama). Prisons. The warden shall see that the white convicts shall have separate apartments for both eating and sleeping from the negro convicts (Mississippi).

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Hélène Josse / septembre 2006

Wine and Beer. All persons licensed to conduct the business of selling beer or wine...shall serve either white people exclusively or colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the same room at any time (Georgia).

III- BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION of Topeka, Kansas (1954) Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka was a landmark case of the United States Supreme Court which explicitly outlawed racial segregation of public education facilities on the grounds that the doctrine of "separate but equal" public education could never truly provide black Americans with facilities of the same standards available to white Americans.

IV- MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. (January 15, 1929 , Atlanta, Georgia– April 4, 1968) was an American Nobel Laureate, Baptist minister and black civil rights activist. He is one of the most significant leaders in U.S. history and in the modern history of nonviolence and is considered a hero, peacemaker and martyr by many people around the world. A decade and a half after his 1968 assassination, Martin Luther King Day, a U.S. holiday, was established in his honor.

V- REV. JESSE LOUIS JACKSON, SR. (born October 8, 1941) is a civil rights activist in the United States. He was born in a poor household in Greenville, South Carolina. He married Jacqueline Lavinia Brown on December 31, 1962. After attending the University of Illinois and North Carolina A&T University, he studied divinity at the Chicago Theological Seminary and began to organize in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under the influence of Martin Luther King, Jr.. He claims to have been at King's side in Memphis when King was assassinated, April 4, 1968. He was ordained as a Baptist minister later that year. In the 1980s he emerged as the most visible African American political figure, and became a spokesman for civil rights issues. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.

A1B58 – Lire et écrire

Hélène Josse / septembre 2006

PREMIÈRE LECTURE – COMPRÉHENSION GLOBALE Lisez le texte lentement 1 fois puis répondez aux questions suivantes 1- De quel type de texte s'agit-il? 2- Quel en est le sujet principal?

DEUXIÈME LECTURE – LA SÉGRÉGATION AUX USA Pour comprendre ce texte, vous devez avoir quelques connaissances en civilisation américaine, et plus particulièrement sur la période de la ségrégation. Le but de cette section est de vous aider à trouver une partie des ces informations dans le texte, et l'autre partie dans la fiche de données (fond rose) qui vous est fournie. 1- Qui? Où? Relisez le texte avec deux crayons de couleurs en main. - Soulignez tous les noms propres désignant une personne. - Soulignez tous les noms propres désignant un lieu. - Classez ces informations dans le tableau ci-dessous. Si vous avez un doute, mettez le nom au crayon papier. Vous reviendrez au tableau plus tard. Les personnes Militants noirs

Autres

Les lieux Villes

États

Pays

2- Les précurseurs de Rosa Brown Rosa Brown n'était pas la première à se rebeller. Relisez le troisième paragraphe puis expliquez qui sont ses prédécesseurs.

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Hélène Josse / septembre 2006

3- Militants célèbres a- Le texte mentionne deux activists célèbres : Martin L. King & Jesse Jackson. Dites en quelques mots ce que vous savez deux (vivants ou morts? Pourquoi sont(ils célèbres? Quel est leur travail?) b- Lisez la section IV et V de la fiches de donnée rose ("background information") puis remplissez le tableau suivant de la manière la plus complète possible: Points communs

Différences

c- Relisez le 5ème paragraphe autour de la ligne 20 puis dites pourquoi Martin L. King est mentionné. Quel est le rapport avec l'histoire de Rosa Parks? 4- Brown Vous avez sans doute relevé le nom "Brown", ligne 6. Mais savez-vous de qui il s'agit? Lisez la section III de la "background information sheet". C'est assez difficile à comprendre. Appuyez-vous sur les mots soulignés et sur le verbe en gras. C'est lui qui organise la phrase. Puis expliquez en français qui était Brown, s'il a gagné ou perdu, ce à quoi le procès a mis fin. Vous pourrez ensuite placer Brown dans le tableau de la question 1. 5- Jim Crow Avez-vous déjà entendu parler de Jim Crow? Si oui, expliquez en termes clairs ce dont il s'agit puis affinez votre réponse en faisant les exercices qui suivent. Si non, passez directement aux exercices qui suivent. a- Travail de déduction à partir du texte Relisez le dernier paragraphe. G. Rice compare la guerre en Iraq avec "the long struggle of blacks to throw off Jim Crow", l. 34. A partir de cette phrase, diriezvous que Jim Crow représente quelque chose de positif ou de négatif? Diriezvous que Jim Crow est blanc ou noir?

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Hélène Josse / septembre 2006

b- Travail de déduction à partir du mot Cherchez dans le dictionnaire ce que signifie "crow". Qu'en déduisez-vous sur la couleur probable de Jim Crow? c- Pour affiner votre analyse, lisez la section I & II de la "background information sheet". Expliquez ensuite en quelques lignes ce qu'est Jim Crow. d- Quel est le rapport entre les "Jim Crow Laws" et Rosa Parks? 6- Condoleezza Rice Relisez les deux derniers paragraphes puis répondez aux questions qui suivent : a- Condoleezza Rice est-elle une militante noire? b- Comment utilise-t-elle le mouvement des droits civils? c- Faites un tableau comparatif de Rosa Parks et de Condoleezza Rice

TROISIÈME LECTURE : LES FAITS 1- Instructions de lecture Les articles de journaux s'organisent rarement en suivant le déroulement chronologique des événements. Par exemple, dans une nécrologie, on commence toujours par la mort de la personne. On passe à sa vie plus tard. Il est important que vous soyez capable de vous appuyer sur les dates et les compléments de temps présents dans le texte pour vous repasser le film dans l'ordre. Relisez le texte avec un crayon de couleur à la main et entourez les dates ainsi que les groupes de mots faisant clairement référence au temps. 2- Enchaînement chronologique 1913

Naissance de Rosa (Il fallait utiliser sa calculette)

1954

Monsieur Brown gagne son procès contre la ségrégation dans les écoles

1955

- Mars : Claudette Colvin refuse de laisser son siège à un passager blanc

IV – WRITING (à envoyer à la correction) Write your own obituary. (voir les conseils sur la page suivante)

A1B58 – Lire et écrire

Hélène Josse / septembre 2006

QUELQUES CONSEILS - Commencez par lire le corrigé du questionnaire que vous venez de faire. - Ne vous lancer pas tête baissée sans réfléchir. Vous devez respecter certaines contraintes et ordonner sur un brouillon les idées qui vous viennent. Voici quelques jalons pour préparer votre travail : - Qui êtes-vous? Vous pouvez soit partir de qui vous êtes vraiment, soit inventer complètement votre personnage. Pour que votre nom apparaisse dans une nécrologie, il faut que vous ayez fait quelque chose d'hors du commun. Inventez vous une vie certes exceptionnelle mais cohérente, en adéquation avec votre psychologie. - Choisissez votre journal de publication en fonction de qui vous étiez. (Si vous êtes un footballeur célèbre, mieux vaut un tabloïd. Si vous êtes un chanteur d'opéra, préférez Time out. Si vous êtes un homme politique de droite ou un businessman: the Times. Si vous êtes plutôt à gauche, The Guardian ou the Independent …) - Vous devez respecter le ton de l'éloge funèbre. Pour cela, faites une analyse rapide du ton de l'article sur Rosa Parks. Voyez comment sont utilisées les citations par exemple. N'hésitez pas à citer des personnages célèbres. C'est excellent pour l'effet de réel. - Vous devez aussi respecter la structure typique des articles de journaux (nous en savons souvent parlé) et le paratexte qui va avec (date, source de publication, présentation en paragraphe, photos …). - Enfin, et comme toujours, merci de ne pas tenir de propos choquants. Pensez que vous êtes corrigé par un prof de fac. Respectez sa pudeur!