With this knowledge in hand, was no reason to look down on blacks to start with. At the end of the Civil War, Blacks in America started to be viewed differently. With the signing of the emancipation proclamation, by President Abraham Lincoln, Black people became citizens of the United States of America. However, laws were soon passed to keep African Americans from having any real since of belonging. Black people did not have the right to vote and were not allowed in many places that white people were.
So they just kept holding the thought that black people were not deserved to be treated equally. Baldwin and his father, the first and second generation of freemen, was a typical example of discrimination in this time. Throughout this essay, Baldwin has explained his strained relationship with his father because of all the anger and paranoia his father expressed during his childhood. But also at the same time, he regretted that he did not get to know him better when he was alive since the moment Baldwin realized that his father was only trying to protect him from racism. By going through all the experiences that Baldwin and his father had earned by their skin color, he himself have learnt about what position he and Negroes in general were placed in by the society in that time and how he has figured a way out.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s letter “A Letter from Birmingham,” was a good example of a counter argument from “A Call to Unity” by eight white clergymen. His inspiration for writing the letter came from clergymen’s unjust proposals affecting African-Americans. Dr. King effectively created his argument by using logos, pathos and ethos. What also helped his case were his personal experiences. He lived during the time where segregation was everywhere in the United States, not as a white man, but as an African-American.
Malcolm X as an Activist During the 1960’s, there was one man who really stood out about expressing the hardships of being an African American. This man was Malcolm X. Ultimately, Malcolm X believed to the fullest extent, that African American’s could not reach their full potential in society because of white racism, and the historical events leading from slavery in the United States. However, due to the events that happened in his childhood, Malcolm X tries to reverse this feeling of victimization throughout his life and tries to become a positive activist for all African Americans. Throughout his life and up until the day he dies, Malcolm X tries to pursue this ultimate goal of seeing white racism in a positive light and making something good come out of the events that happened in his life.
The Black Panthers ‘Through its beliefs and actions did the Black Panther Party cause detriment to the Civil Rights Movement?’ From the early 1600’s African/American people were treated as an inferior race, enslaved, tortured, segregated from white Americans, treated like animals, murdered indifferently and were governed by different laws. By the mid 1950’s, black Americans were starting to seek some equality and put an end to discrimination and oppression at which time Martin Luther King became president of The Southern Christian leadership conference. Martin Luther King and his followers were determined to fight for equality of the blacks one step at a time and by peaceful means. The Black Panther Party was formed in California in 1966, by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. Initially formed to protect local communities from police brutality and racism, The Black Panthers believed that the non-violent campaign of Martin Luther King had failed and any promised changes to their lifestyle via the 'traditional' civil rights movement, would take too long to be implemented or simply not introduced.
Malcolm X's approach to attaining freedom for African Americans was almost impossible. He wanted to separate blacks from whites, and have African Americans be the first class citizens. He basically wanted a kind of elevated segregation. He demonstrates this in this quote "When white people are evenly divided, and black people have a bloc of votes of their own, it is left up to them to determine who's going to sit in the White House and who's going to be in the dog house. " Martin Luther King Jr. approach to attaining freedom for African Americans was through peaceful protest.
President Roosevelt, former governor of New York, did not believe in racial segregation of African-Americans and when African-Americans were hired to drive buses in Philadelphia during the war, some residents refused to ride the buses others threatened to burn the buses. Roosevelt sent troops to ride on the buses, eventually everyone realized that you need to catch the bus or else you would end up walking a long way so it was change even though it wasn’t much. No black pilots had ever been used before by the United States, one of the reasons is since in order to become a pilot, blacks had to achieve high-test scores and be college educated. However, in 1944 President Eisenhower supported integrated combat units and the air force began to let black Americans fly planes and even though they were only allowed to fly in segregated units it was a turning point. Overall, the Second World War was a turning point in the growth of the civil Rights of black Americans as it was a catalyst for change as it made black Americans more politically aware and feel that they had the right to demand change.
The laws were basically just a list of “could-nots”. In Richard Wright’s Black Boy, Wright explains his horrific experiences that occurred throughout his childhood. Even as a young child, he dealt with many beatings. Wright struggles to conform to his family’s rule. His family tried their best to mold him into a better man in order to survive the later years to come.
As “elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), he was often seen as a rival to the NAACP. (Royson)” Martin Luther later became part of the NAACP. It was an organization that would help colored people earn their civil rights. His protests were anti-violent, because he believed there was no win through a physical war. The only way to win was with the help of God, because he created man as equal.
The northern parts of the United States accepted African Americans, and many try to escape to the north to try to get employed and leave the racial segregation in the south. The south had state laws that prevented African Americans from doing what they believe are right. (265, packet) Even though it was said that, African Americans are equal to whites under the constitution, as long as part of the United States still have the segregation going on, then the African Americans do not have rights in the whole country. This was a huge obstacle to stop the racism and try to fit them into the society to live with whites. Women were part of the minorities along with the blacks because of the way they were treated.