The recently freed African Americans plead to receive citizenship and equal rights, they expected to be treated as any other human being. After many years of slavery, the African Americans were finally freed from slavery by president Lincoln. Many of them were granted freedom for serving loyally in the Union army, along with certain rights, such as the right to buy land. The freed slaves were then allowed to purchase land, and received help from the government in the form of establishments such as Freedman’s Bureau and Freedmen’s Aid Society. The former slaves were now allowed to attend certain churches, schools, and were also allowed to socialize in public, although only in certain places.
In Chapter 1 and 2 of “Creating Black Americans,” author Nell Irvin Painter addresses an imperative issue in which African history and the lives of Africans are often dismissed (2) and continue to be perceived in a negative light (1). This book gives the author the chance to revive the history of Africa, being this a sacred place to provide readers with a “history of their own.” (Painter 4) The issue that Africans were depicted in a negative light impacted various artworks and educational settings in the 19th and early 20th century. For instance, in educational settings, many students were exposed to the Eurocentric Western learning which its depiction of Africa were not only biased, but racist as well.
"How has the NAACP and Civil Rights Movement affected America" No one will ever forget the Baltimore riots. Freddie Gray, the young man killed by Baltimore police, became the symbol for the brutality facing young Black men. As a young Black man, it was hard for me to stay off of social media during these incidents. The riots raged on and many non-Blacks sought to remind our population of what we’re not allowed to do. Many social media posts focused on the March on Washington, Selma, and peaceful sit-ins, and captioned their posts with the statement: “Why can’t Blacks be peaceful like the Civil Rights Movement.”
During WWII in the US, US citizens were involved in racial aggression. Just before this US citizens were attacking minority groups. However now, minority groups got attacked much more than before due to WWII. Additionally, the minority groups saw this as an opportunity to prove themselves as equals. Although the US was a savior in WWII with its minority groups helping the war effort, behind the scenes the minorities were treated very poorly due to racism, hysteria, and discrimination.
Is it fair that an African American man is sentenced up to life in prison for possession of drugs when Brock Turner is sentenced to only 14 years, later to be reduced to six months for sexually assaulting an unconscious women. The judiciary system are believed to have a high african american incarceration rate as a result of discrimination. At a presidential debate on Martin Luther King Day, President Barack Obama said that “Blacks and whites are arrested at very different rates, are convicted at very different rates, and receive very different sentences… for the same crime.” Hillary Clinton said the “disgrace of a criminal-justice system that incarcerates so many more african americans proportionately than whites.”
They had many more rights than they had before however they still experienced a large amount of hate. African Americans migrated during the Great Migration due to poor living conditions and treatment in the Southeast of the United States (Phillips 33) . “For many blacks, their departure from the South was a response to, and a defiance of, the coercions used to keep them bound to segregation” (Phillips 39). In the 1920’s, treatment of African Americans was different, blacks were able to do more such as getting a job however, some felt as though the hate they would get for it wasn 't worth it. Although, there would always be challenges that African Americans would have to face such as landowners supporting the passing of laws meant to control the mobility of blacks, limit their wages, and minimize their chance to purchase and own land (Phillips 33).
The problems of the Great Depression affected every group of Americans. In 1933 the unemployment rate in the U.S. was over twenty-five percent. At the same time, unemployment rates for a variety of American minorities exceeded up to 50 percent. (Race During the Great Depression) As much as the Great Depression caused suffering for white Americans, the hardships skyrocketed for racial minorities, including African Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans.
The Civil War that stretched across America from 1861 to 1865 activated the violent decades of the division between the North and South regions. Economically and Politically different, the North heavily depended on free labor and industrial economy, whereas the South revolved around and agricultural economy that benefited from slave labor. These differencing opinions that developed throughout the Civil War had a deep impact on the divide in American during Reconstruction. After the Civil War ended there was a million questions as to what to do with all the recently freed slaves. There were an abundant of opposing ideas as to how to treat these newly freed slaves and the loosing white southerners of the Confederacy.
In the nine years following the Civil War, former Confederate states were embroiled in multiple changes to their way of life. Federal troops occupied the South in an effort to protect former slaves and to control the states until the economic and political situations stabilized. Southerners resented blacks, and, used violence and vigilantism in an attempt to return to their comfortable prewar society. Frustrations lead whites to band together in lawless groups. As the political and military avenues to save their way of life failed, these groups resorted to violence and terrorism.
In the years of the Civil War, African Americans played an important role in contributing to the Union Army and the confederate army. A great deal of African American men volunteered to join the Union Army but only after they gained freedom did they participate in fighting the war. Besides the Union Army, there was the confederate army which consisted of slave labor whom were forced to aid the confederacy following their masters. Later in the war, the Confederacy ran short on men and were in need to supply soldiers, leaving no choice but to enlist the colored men. Not only were African American men impacted from the war, but African American women also served to supply and aid in the war.
Post Civil War, African Americans started to gain rights to gain rights, and soon gain rights equal to whites. While there were some people/things standing in their way (KKK, Black Codes), in the end they got what they needed; Equality. Many acts and laws were passed to aid the new rights now held by African Americans, as well as the numerous people willing to help. New Amendments were added to give African Americans rights after the war, all giving them some equal rights to whites. The first of the three added was the Thirteenth Amendment, it gave African Americans freedom from slave owners, and stated that no one could be kept as a slave in the U.S..
How much of American history do you know? Black history is a part of America’s history, but why is it not deeply taught in schools? In schools we often talk about white American leaders or wars America has won, but not much history of other cultures in America. We may hear a little information about certain minority leaders who fought for a change, but not much facts. If today’s youth aren’t being taught about the thing’s their ancestors have gone through and all the things that has happened and why, many will grow up ignorant.
The Fight Against Colorism in African American Communities Colorism is defined as a practice of discrimination among African Americans against other African Americans because of their skin complexion, for instance being too light or too dark. Colorism plays a large role in the low self-esteem in the African American community, from individuals, relationships, and employment. Colorism can cause psychological effects. Children are more affected because skin biased develops at a younger age.
I am an African American female whom is a descendent from the African Slave and a native American refugee. My culture runs deep in my veins and I am a product of the strength of my mother and father. While growing up I understood we were on the poverty line. My family lived in a small home with 3 bedrooms and occupied 7 people. I grew up in a small southeast Georgian town named Statesboro.
African American women have been among the many races in America that were forced to do slavery and struggles for their rights for many years; although they have made much progress they do still have people who mistreat them simply for being another race. Although the civil rights movement began in 1954, the first recorded slave revolt was back in 1663 proving that all African Americans have been working for centuries in order to get the same rights as white people have. Luckily, all their hard work caused all slaves to be freed in 1865 then the The Civil Rights Act of 1964 which ended segregation of people based on their ethnic background. But, unfortunately, African American women still do deal with major issue simply based on their race. With stress of racism being a possible cause for a high mortality rate in African American mothers, slurs still be frequently thrown around due to it being “just a word”, and we still even have neo-nazis/white supremacists marching around and claiming to be above all non-white people.
