Knot, not to be confused with the word, “nought”, which means zero, nothing. A homonym, the same sounds, different meanings and different spellings. Knot is the fastening or securing made by tying, looping, weaving, lacing, twisting, braiding.
Use pure wool. To begin, your strands on the left hand side should be: one is up, two is down, three is up, four is down and the fifth strand is up. The strands on the right should be: one is down, two is up, three is down, four is up, five is down. When approaching the end of every row, pulling on the warp strand will adjust the tension. Then repeat the knots. Finishing the tails, braid the strands and tie a knot at the end. This is the basic construction of a single weave that has carried a presence throughout history by the Cherokee, one of the first peoples of America.
Weaving served as a form of cultural expression, both for artistic purposes and for the use of survival. This group of people, together, created the most tangible representation of unity, creating one coherent visual piece that began with many separate parts. With the final products, an entire community was able to amalgamate a life with food, land, culture and family.
This was unraveled in 1838. Carolyn Ross Johnston writes of the chaos and pain caused by the selfish needs of white settlers to occupy existing homelands and “civilize” the Native Americans in her book Cherokee Women in Crisis: Trail of Tears, Civil War, and Allotment, 1838-1907 ; “Feather beds dragged outside and ripped open… feathers flying in the wind, children hiding behind their mothers crying as their homes were burned, husbands and fathers shot before their eyes… livestock killed or taken… mile upon mile of refugees… The procession resembled the march of the Trail of Tears.”1 The vivid imagery of 1838 depicts the power of one
1. Carolyn Johnston, s Cherokee Women in Crisis: Trail of Tears, Civil War, and Allotment, 1838-190 (University of Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 2000), 81.
opposing force, one hateful force that can seperate a union that has been established. Diminishing the solidarity that once belonged to the Cherokees.
The knot connects many different parts, then transforms into a harmonious composition. The “melting pot” was an American term coined in 1908, by playwright, Israel Zangwill2, a metaphor for a society where different types of people, different races, different religious beliefs and different cultures could harmonize in one setting. Each group of peoples brings a heritage and cultural pride. Each ingredient of this “melting pot” has taken control of their background and manifested an identity.
The Black Panthers, a revolutionary black nationalist organization formed in the late 1960’s by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, formed to combat black oppression following the Civil Rights movement. This organization fought for equality and pride of their identity as African Americans. Today the need for racial equality has been amplified through media and caused awareness of America’s racism. With the many steps to push for progression, there is a constant tug of war between the opposing parties.
Racial injustice has made an impact in pop culture, politics, the economy. America is accredited to take pride in this aspect of our “free” country, citizens have grown to believe that the current condition of societal norms is simply normal. How “free” are Americans if there is an inability to exist in a parallel society, a lack of an existing place where people of all colors can live without prejudices? Perhaps the establishment of our country and the moves made toward expansion of settlers were made in many acquisitive notions, America’s first settlers in Jamestown, Virginia, looked toward a materialistic gain, gold.
2. Isreal Zangwill, The Melting Pot (New York: The Macmillan Company)
The idea of blending opposing backgrounds is a utopian circumstance, but the lack of gaining another’s perspective has converted to supremacy, created a hierarchical scale based on race, socioeconomic status, a person’s address, a language and led to oppression amongst the melting pot .
Tension.
The knot tightens. A frustration between two opposing forces.
November 9, 2016. Time magazine’s Tessa Berenson exclaims, “ Trump’s victory exposed real divisions and new fault lines in the American populace, as he was on track to win huge majorities of non-college educated whites, while winning less of college-educated whites, who are normally reliably Republican.”3 A frustration between two opposite political parties that are discerned by skin color and social status. A moment in America’s modern political history, citizens of color, sat helplessly, the wait began for a wall to be built, a symbol of segregation and a physical representation of America’s greed and neglect of neighbor countries, an exclusion of immigrants in hope for a more selfishly fulfilled life. America’s political attempts to unravel the unity has led to backlash, a fight back and a pursuit for rightful justice.
To tie a knot is to provide security.
Freddie Gray. Tamir Rice. Sandra Bland.
Deaths caused by federal government employed police officers, sources of security and safety have caused the most violent and unjustified murders of people of color. If the country cannot rely on the certain protection, there is a lack of connection between the citizens of
3. Tessa Berenson, “ Donald Trump Wins the 2016 Election” Time, November 9, 2016, http://time.com/4563685/donald-trump-wins/.
America, the trust and hope is lost. With the lack of trust comes actions that express indignant rage and frustration. The 2015 Baltimore Riots that followed the brutal murder of Freddie Gray depict chaos and anarchy, the anger of people who are tired. The over exhaustion derived from the pain African Americans have had to grow up with, an inherited pain that is suspended and taunts the mind.
Pain. The knot is tangled.
Today’s pop culture exercises America’s first amendment, artists have created and expressed their personal connections to the world’s political and societal upheaval. Through poetic lyrics, rich scripts, textured paintings, developed motion pictures and many more works that create a conversation between the public and current affairs.
The potentials. Untangling the knot.
Kendrick Lamar’s voice is layered within his records that tell the story of an ordinary person, from Oakland, California. A person with a voice and the need to shine attention on the needed growth of a progressive America, which has been influenced by his first-hand experiences with gang violence throughout his childhood. Lamar’s success has impacted the public both those that practice what is preached and those who negate the intended messages there is still a conversation that holds a heavy presence in the media.
Lin Manuel Miranda’s, Tony award winning, Hamilton , has taken America’s history and created a masterpiece that provides opportunity for equal representation in the entertainment industry, by limiting the cast to artists of color, which contrasts the lack of representation of people of color in the industry. The necessity for minority equality was epitomized in 2016’s
Academy Award nomination’s, the lack of inclusion shed light on the lagging presence of opportunity for minority artists to create.
Hamilton , defies the unfortunate truths of the entertainment industry with the inclusion of an all person of color cast, the heavy influence of hip hop music, a genre that holds a strong cultural impact in African American culture.
The slow, slow, slow growth towards integration is seen in Oak Cliff, Texas. My hometown. Gentrification. Old and new. Poor and rich.
The knot is a reconnection.
Oak Cliff, located south of the Trinity River was originally established in 1887.4 Oak
Cliff has recently began developing into a hub of residential homes that carry rich Texas history on each willowy street intertwined with the historic, Texas theatre, small businesses and developing commercial establishments. The people of this area in Dallas have a strong presence in the decisions that are made by the city’s government, the neighborhood is packed with creatives and advocates for the preservation of the region’s rich history. A local paper, Observer, states, “But a new idea is afoot in West Dallas, the city’s latest gentrification battleground. In this scheme, the poor neighborhood surrounding the gentrification would be stabilized instead of displaced. All kinds of people would wind up occupying the same region in peace and prosperity.”5
4. William L. McDonald, Dallas Rediscovered: A Photographic Chronicle of Urban Expansion, 1870–1925 (Dallas: Dallas County Historical Society, 1978). Bill Minutaglio and Holly Williams, The Hidden City: Oak Cliff, Texas (Dallas: Old Oak Cliff Conservation League, 1990). 5 Jim Schutze, “ Gentrification Threatens West Dallas. Maybe It Can Save the Neighborhood Instead,” Dallas Observer, January 4, 2017, http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/corinth-police-stymied-after-unt-student-found-murdered-i n-her-car-10098011
Throughout many processes of gentrification within cities, there is a division between social classes to achieve one goal: money.
Oak Cliff has been a home to my grandparents, immigrants from Mexico, residing in our home for 46 years. Living in Oak Cliff illustrates an evolving neighborhood that creates an integration between old and new.
The knot is tied.
Annotated Bibliography
Bajaras, Joshua. “Why Kendrick Lamar’s New Album is Preoccupied with Fox News.” PBS
News Hour. Apr 14, 2017. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/kendrick-lamars-new-album-preoccupied-fox-news
In this relevant source, Joshua Bajaras, dissects pop culture’s icon, Kendrick Lamar’s grammy-award winning album, Damn, which explores Lamar’s voice on the harsh realities for African Americans. This source pulls from Lamar’s artistic history and explains the impact of this record. This article may benefit and inform an audience that is captivated by the genial lyrics and their relevance to current events.
Fisher, Marc. “ Considering what America’s choice of Donald Trump really means.” The Washington Post. November 9, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/considering-what-americas-choice-of-donald-trump-re ally-means/2016/11/09/294e824a-a1ff-11e6-8d63-3e0a660f1f04_story.html?utm_term=.c97bf9b c7b74.
In this period source, Marc Fisher writes on the impact and future potentials after Donald Trump’s presidential win the day following the presidential elections. This source derives from the Washington Post, an American daily newspaper that is known to have liberal values. Within the article, there are subtle negations stated in relation to Donald Trump. This article provides general knowledge and inferences made that can be attached to my essay.
Rankine, Claudia. “A New Grammar for Blackness.” Aperture. https://aperture.org/blog/new-grammar-blackness/.
Aperture’s, a digital source of connection between art and an audience, award-winning poet, Claudia Rankine, reflects of the intricate and detailed portraits, by Toyin Oijh Odutola. With direct analyzaitons with images of the works, Rankine explains the process and the importance of the mediums, the intricate details and repetition of the line work represent the complications of identities of African Americans. This article will benefit one who is interested in modern art and its relevance to current social issues.
Schutze, Jim. “ Gentrification Threatens West Dallas. Maybe It Can Save the Neighborhood Instead.” Dallas Observer. http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/corinth-police-stymied-after-unt-student-found-murdered-i n-her-car-10098011.p.
In this relevant and recent article, I utilized the points made to structure my conclusion. Dallas Observer’s Jim Schutze writes on the progress and process of, Dallas neighborhood, Oak Cliff’s gentrification. This source will benefit locals who are looking to be informed of their local issues, I found this source as a great connection for an idea that explores unity and respect between old and new. This source is helpful because I have the ability to relate my arguments to a personal connection.
Warren, Honaberger,. “The Threads Of Culture.” The Santa Fe New Mexican, September 09, 2002, https://login.libproxy.newschool.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.libproxy.newschool. edu/docview/331565680?accountid=12261
This newspaper source is an article by Warren Honaberger, that digs deep into a local Santa Fe weaving shop. He introduces the people behind the weavings and as the reader continues, they get a better sense as to who these people are and their values in their own cultural identity. One major point in the essay is centered on the idea of connections within cultures that compose one’s identity, this source provides real life examples. As a more literal definiton of knot this source will assist in exploring the art form of weaving that is associated with knot.
Yang, Stephen. “Baltimore Riots.” Stephen Yang Photography. November 30, 2017. http://www.stephenyangphoto.com/865004006353/
This culturally relevant source is a website dedicated to photographs taken by Stephen Yang, a photojournalist that covers domestic and international news events. The photographs captured the horror during the 2015 Baltimore riots that followed the death of Freddie Gray. Yang’s photographs depict the pain and chaos of this moment in America’s history. This source served great purpose, the photos enhanced the imagery in my essay. The information that is pulled from this source can be interpreted in different ways that are dependent on the audience. With the inclusion of art, I feel as though I can create a stronger and more powerful point, due to the relevance of America’s current events.
