The Second World War is a significant event in history. I believe that it made a small amount of difference to the lives of black Americans; it was able to change some of the attitudes of white Americans; it helped influence the passing of the Fair Employment Practices Commission (1941) and also helped reduce the unemployment figures of black Americans. Although it made a substational difference, things were still not perfect. Black Americans were still targeted by extremist members of the Ku Klux Klan and they were still treated as second-class citizens. In this essay, I will analyze the ways lives changed for black Americans after the Second World War, as well as this I will look at the ways they may not have changed.
Treatment of African Americans as second class citizens was still bad regarding economics in the north, but not as severe as in the south. For example, a mass migration of brought two million blacks to northern cities to seek out better economic opportunities. Also, unemployment in the north fell from almost one million to around 150000 by 1945. This was due to the creation of jobs in factories during World War 2, when it became easier for blacks to get jobs (although not as easy as it was for whites). In the
The failure of a common goal between African-American leaders did not help solve these issues, but it was not the main problem facing blacks and was not the most important factor preventing advancement of civil rights. Leaders like Booker T. Washington and W.E.B du Bois did have ideas about how to improve conditions for African Americans, but none of their ideas would have worked due to factors such as the lack of ambition from the Presidents during this period and how people in the South still were intolerant of blacks. The leadership towards equality was divided however, and at that time, it did make the idea of equality seem even more unreachable. The main example of division between the African-American leaders is with Booker T. Washington and W.E.B du Bois. They were both educated black men but came from very different social backgrounds.
The build up of these tenements led to the rise of gangs (Doc 1). These tenements were unhealthy for people to live in and very unsanitary, so only the poorest people lived there, which tended to be the people who would cause major violence (OI). Also the role of African Americans had changed because of industrialization and urbanization. According to W.E.B. Du Bois, African American should be trained in order to be leaders for their people (Doc 2).
For instance, even though the whites are clearly subordinate to the blacks in Edgewater, because of the “durability of racism in the United States,” the whites still believe that they are superior to the blacks, using “the word nigger routinely” (Bourgois & Schonberg 2009:30). Because of this false sense of supremacy, the whites tend to avoid interaction with the blacks and limit the time spent among them as much as possible. The irony of this was that the highest patron to the Edgewater homeless was an African American who provided a camper to sleep in when it rained heavily (Bourgois & Schonberg 2009). However, most of the Edgewater homeless tended to ignore this fact, making false assertions of various crimes, saying they were committed by the African Americans. There were still many instances in “Righteous Dopefiend” where many of the Edgewater homeless called the blacks no good thieves and scoundrels never to be trusted, even without any reason to do so.
Racism and socially unfair treatment to African Americans were very prominent during the nineteenth and twentieth century. African Americans were treated inferiorly compared to whites; who were treated superiorly. African Americans were not treated as citizens; therefore, respect, employments, and education were almost impossible to come across during this time. Had it not had been for the roles of black leadership in the black community, more than likely, this would have remained an issue for much longer than it did. One of the black men to take responsibility for the rest of his fellow people and participate in black leadership was William Edward Burghardt, "W. E.
The African Americans were not able to vote because the whites and the government disenfranchised the African Americans; until the 15th Amendment. The African Americans were considered illiterate to the Whites. The 15th amendment states that they could no longer discriminate based on race. Even though this amendment sounded like good news, the Whites still made literacy test and poll taxes that the African Americans had to do even before voting. The African Americans couldn’t run for office either, they still had Democrats and Republicans.
They were still not granted equal rights, but society was opening up new doors for them in order to have their labor done for them. The unfortunate part about the reconstruction period for the African Americans is they were still put at a disadvantage. Even though they were told to be given the opportunities to work, many of them wouldn’t get the jobs because they were uneducated or illiterate. Many white southerners noticed these disadvantages and came up with a social
If African Americans were truly mediocre and a threat to a happy life, then why would Dolphus go off and live with them? This question will eventually come up in Scout’s analysis of Mr. Raymond’s situation and possibly force her image of black people to become less intimidating and more acquainted with them. Aunt Alexandra’s recurrent stereotypes about Maycomb people also are opposing to Mr. Raymond’s life. He came from ancestors who lived with Maycomb tradition consistently. As far as we know, the Raymond’s do not have a drinking “streak” or a living with African-American people “streak”.
Some black males were not allowed to vote, while others lost employment opportunities. These harsh laws followed up underneath the Fugitive Slave Law. The constant undermining view of African Americans being inferior to white people in every way continued to spread throughout the northern states. During 1820-1860, the American society was very selfish. The average American focus was not on the inhumane treat against the black people but the competiveness that was caused because of the black people.