Racial Discrimination in the United States After 1929

1265 Words6 Pages
Racial Discrimination in the United States After 1929 Racism is “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism). Some people think that they are better than others based on the color of skin, religion, where they are from, and other cultural factors. In this paper, I will be focusing mostly on racism that took place against African American men and women after 1929, different acts of discrimination that were carried out, and people that tried to create solutions and take a stand against it. One incident that comes to mind happened in 1931. It was the case of the Scottsboro boys in Alabama. The youngest defendant in this case was only 9 years old (class notes, 11/6/2012). “The 1931 trial in Scottsboro, Alabama, of nine black youths accused of raping two white women became a symbol of the injustices African Americans faced in the South’s legal system. Denied access to an attorney, the defendants were found guilty after a three-day trial, and eight were sentenced to death” (Henretta, [pg. 714]). Communists during this time supported civil rights and white lawyers from the party took over this specific case. In 1932, the case was acquitted and those who were involved did not receive the death penalty (class notes, 11/6/2012). During World War II, there was racism that was taking place but “among African Americans, a new mood of militancy prevailed” (Henretta, [pg. 737]). “Even before Pearl Harbor, black labor activism was on the rise. In 1940, only 240 of the nation’s 100,000 aircraft workers were black, and most of them were janitors. African American leaders demanded that the government require defense contractors to hire more blacks. When Washington took no action, A. Philip Randolph, head

More about Racial Discrimination in the United States After 1929

Open Document