However, even after its abolishment, blacks were still kept in slavery and were treated poorly and unequal to other, white Americans. This abuse was much more common in the Southern states due to the more racist nature of the white people who lived there and the fact that the Southern states had originally fought to keep Black Slavery legal. Soon after the Civil War was won by the Northern States, the 13th, 14th and 15th amendment were brought into congress. The thirteenth amendment stated that all Slavery must end in America; the fourteenth amendment stated that everyone living on American soil should gain citizenship and the fifteenth amendment stated that all citizens should gain the right to vote. These amendments could be considered as vital moves towards black equalities, if they had worked.
Subba-1 Hari Subba Ms. Nicole, Stanbury English 2010 Literary Analysis Response “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]” “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” (Dr. King) In 1963 Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saw injustice and segregation for black people. His nonviolent campaign convinced his people that you have to fight for your rights and your freedom. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter describes many injustices that the black community endured. Unfortunately, inequality still exists all over the world in many forms. The struggle for civil rights is a familiar story(Moore 2) After I read the first paragraph of second page, I was very uncomfortable.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee incorporates the theme, prejudice, to portray the feelings and thoughts that people had during the time period of the Great Depression; this was described in the Trial where Tom Robinson fought for his life. throughout the 1930's, most people were raised with prejudice beliefs in the South. Whites were taught from generations before them that african americans do not deserve respect. Therefore, it should not be brought to them. Most whites believed that African Americans were to do what they were told, by them.
Race Relations after the Civil War 3 The way white Southerners made it difficult on former slaves in the South was to create what was called “Black Codes”. These codes were laws made by southern states to try to ensure their way of life could not be infringed on in the wake of the passing of the 13th amendment which outlawed slavery. Examples of such codes varied from state to state. However, the message was clear to the former slaves that they were still unequal. Examples of these laws are as follows: 1.
In the South segregation was supported by the Jim Crow laws that made it legal. All public institutions in the South were separated according to skin colour, the ones for blacks being inferior in quality. In the north, where segregation wasn’t imposed by law, the blacks were forced to move into ghettos, because of discrimination by the whites. As well as that, there was also economic inequality. It was much harder for blacks to get a job, and there employment position could be described as ‘the last to be hired, the first to be fired’.
To understand the racism in this novel, we must first understand this novel illustrates the mistreatment, hatred and injustice towards African Americans in 1930’s. I will use examples from the novel to demonstrate these situations and examine culture in which they were acceptable. The beginning of black racism started when white people went to Africa and took captives and sold them in the southern U.S. Africa American started as possessions like animals—slaves. In the next 200-300 years, they suffered a life which a mankind can not bear anymore. They were forced to work without any payment.
the black people in America suffered from the police interference in their lives and were even imprisoned even though they were not guilty. It is obvious that every human being has dreams. Martin Luther King had a dream too, which was seeing the world in peace and having equality rule the world. He dreamt about having brotherhood and seeing black and whites “sit down together at the tale of brotherhood”. To conclude, black people all over the world, wherever they live were for a long time victim of racism for their skin color.
Jim Crow Law was used to keep blacks separate from whites. “Connection between segregation and white fears of black aggression and social equality; demands of the white South for black subordination, which was expressed through intimidation and outright terror.”(Litwack, Leon F.) Whites had their own facilities and blacks had their own facilities. African American homes, schools, and dining places were in terrible condition. African Americans were forced to live in terrible places. Most places were infested with rats and bugs etc.
Even after slavery ended, most citizens and leaders in the country believed that African Americans were inferior and made laws specifically to repress African American rights. Even more recently, after the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II, the United States government placed many Japanese-Americans into internment camps where they were often malnourished and mistreated. Undoubtedly, most citizens within these groups must have a complex view of the flag that isn’t positive or unifying. How can the American government expect the Native American peoples, African Americans, or the Japanese-Americans to respect the American flag and its hypocritical ideals? The answer should obviously be that the government cannot, the ideals being hypocritical due to the United States taking control over these groups more extremely than Great Britain ever had
In Harper Lee’s compellingly poignant novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ we witness various forms of racism and injustice. As the protagonist, Scout exposes the bigotry present in Maycomb County and what the characters endured because of it, particularly the African Americans. We also observe the discrimination that certain characters, such as Atticus Finch and Mr. Dolphus endure because of the racial stereotypes who couldn’t comprehend their belief for justice for all. Racism in Maycomb was the norm. Most of the people of Maycomb were unjust and ignorant when it came to the most basic rights of the African Americans.