The injustice that King described was the discrimination and segregation of colored people. King fought to break the racial barriers that prevented colored people from living peaceful lives. The only people who benefitted from these conditions of segregation were the Caucasians, because they were treated superiorly compared to colored people, and their lives were easier. King’s use of rhetorical devices strengthened the true depth and damage that discrimination and segregation caused on society. “One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination (1).” In this quote, King compares segregation and discrimination to the manacles and chains because they both held something down.
The south states now controlled transport, education and most importantly the police, prejudice and separation was thus introduced. This followed on through until 1929, even with the introduction of new rights for blacks, such as literacy qualifications in 1890 for voting. This segregation of African Americans appeared in most places for example it could be seen on trains to restaurants and churches to parks, it was endless. The discrimination put on the blacks in the southern states clearly affected their rise to real freedom quite dramatically. As the black vote was so limited it meant they really had no voice.
She makes the case that when proponents of this racial caste system are in a position of power; they make every attempt to bolster inequality through implementation of discriminatory laws. Also, Alexander furthers her discussion by stating that such systems ultimately fail, but only following widespread mass movements. For example, she states that, at the outset of America’s founding, racial control was achieved through slavery. It took a civil war for the institution to be abolished, and the racists retreated for a while. However, they returned with a new weapon and a modernized system to impose racial oppression: the Jim Crow laws.
Brenda Fernandez Jack Johnson After the Civil War southern whites sought to maintain power over African Americans by whatever means necessary. The end of slavery also meant the end to hierarchical racial order for White America. White Americans could not bear the mental conception of African Americans being equal to their society. They were considered lower class individuals, incapable of being independent, ignorant, and animalistic. Many southerners sought for ways to limit the economical and social status of Blacks.
Probably the most significant impact caused by World War II in advancing Civil Right for Blacks was revealing the horrors that could be caused if racism ‘went on too far’ because this sudden realisation caused many White Americans to begin opposing all racism at all circumstances. Revealing that Hitler exterminated over six million Jews due to their race caused many people to think twice about their racist attitudes. World War II also gave Blacks more self esteem and confidence. Black soldiers were appalled to know they were fighting a racist opponent yet being treated as second hand citizens and receiving prejudice treatment back home, so the ‘Double V’ campaign was launched to gain victory against overseas
After reconstruction in the late nineteenth century, there were many types of class differences such as rich verses poor, Citizens verses immigrants and last but not least worker verses capitalist. These differences were mostly among blacks and whites. African Americans still dealt with hatred and opposition from whites. They felt like victims because of how the laws constrained them from their civil rights. This made them continue fighting to have equality.
The slave owners knew the potential that the slaves had, however they possessed the missing ingredient, which was mind control. If you can control a slave’s mind by making them hate each other instead of loving each other, you have completely won the battle. Light skinned slaves were put against dark skinned slaves, and males were put against females. This was done while distracting them from what really mattered, which is called black unity. In the paragraph “Let’s Make a Slave,” it was focusing on the process of man breaking and slave making.
The whites, therefore, should not be solely responsible. This is particularly seen when the black attacked fellow black conservatives who were not members of the Union League. According to the document; Lucy McMillan, A former slave in South Carolina, testifies about the white violence, 1871, in the book, Major Problems in American History, Vol 3, black people appear to be submissive and weak while the whites tend to be the villains in the story. In my opinion, that is misleading. The misconception that only the whites were violent is disproved according to Steven Hahn’s essay in the same book, which portrays a contrary position.
This further encouraged former Confederates to adopt certain laws that would limit the freedom of the African Americans. This was further called the Black Codes. The Black Codes were a lot like pre-Civil War slave codes, causing less freedom for the African Americans which ensued in their rage against the Whites. The Black Codes were different from state-to-state but everywhere it was all about
Therefore, the analogy between the book “The Chrysalids” and the real life racism towards “Black people” would have be that, people who looked different may be treated inequitably; it shows that visible minorities would always be the outcasts of those who think they have a higher reasoning capability. Does that seem just? In the early 1600’s, the European settlers transported thousands of African Black people... [Whom they had enslaved].The “Blacks” who were brought to North America were treated badly. This paralleled the discrimination shown in the story “The Chrysalids”. For example, after the post nuclear holocaust, the Waknuk community were “afraid” of the change in the community, so they treated badly anyone who looked different.