At the start of the 1920s, African Americans were struggling to overcome racial barriers. W.E.B. DuBois and Marcus Garvey were two influential black political leaders of that time. The two men came from separate backgrounds, which consequently led to their differing outlooks on the destiny of the African American race. Their ideas often differed from other black leaders.
In the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Langston Hughes establishes the existence of the black people in America. He makes the analogy between the black people’s presence in America, to the existence of rivers in the world. He writes how the black people have left their mark on America, just as rivers have left their imprint on the earth. DuBois also writes about a similar topic, where he tells how the blacks as a people aren’t a new people and have been around
African Americans were segregated from the whites and also Women had no rights because Men were seen as the alpha male. The obstacles of the two would probably fit into the race and gender of how America was back in the twentieth century. African Americans were always hard to be put in society in the 1900’s because of slavery. Even though slavery had ended in the 1950’s, they were still not accepted into society. 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.
Many of these facilities were, education, healthcare, transport, cinemas, restaurants and churches and even housing and estates were segregated. This shows the extent white went to separate them from the ‘inferior’ race. Jim Crow laws limited black Americans from having a better way of life as they were made poorer, didn’t have the opportunity to managerial roles as they were only allowed the low paying jobs and weren’t equal to white people increasing poor conditions, also, led to unequal or no voting rights in coloured communities. Under the Fifteenth Amendment black people had legal rights to vote across America. However, many southern states found ways around the laws to disenfranchise the black populations.
Although the end of the American civil war marked the end of slavery for African Americans, it did not mark their acceptance and equality with white people. Many southern states resented losing their slaves and were determined to keep African Americans as second class citizens. In 1950 segregation was in full force, meaning African Americans had separate churches, public transport, theatres, schools, hotels, swimming pools and many other facilities to white people. Segregation also applied to where people lived, so African Americans could only live in certain areas separate from white people, with these areas being much worse than the white suburbs, despite the separate but equal principle. Even when this was challenged in the Plessy vs Ferguson Supreme Court case the separate but equal principle was found to be constitutional.
The question is not how to allow blacks to become part of the the educated class. The objective is to allow blacks to live NORMAL lives in a white society. To make them a respected part of society will take much longer, and is far more difficult. They can only become ordinary citizens when they are no longer hated by the whites. W.E.B DuBois was hated by the majority of the white population as he was viewed as a trouble maker.
• Southern school for blacks were poor standards which resulted in black people not being educated enough to vote or work for a living. • Southerners and northerners refused to work alongside one another due to the stress and havoc of the Civil War • The plantation southern belle’s morals and beliefs had all changed so the social class fell. • Racism continued to increase in the southern rather than decrease causing backlash amongst the black citizens. • Black people began to blend in with social classes as they were not trapped anymore and were ‘free’. • Even though slavery was illegal, sly and unofficial slavery took place in order for black people to survive and live in both the south and north of America.
c.) The varying interpretations indicate the use of “presentism” throughout the periods in which the affair has been analyzed. During the civil rights movement, use of the term “blacks” to describe the slave population was seen as one of the main points of insensitivity, because African Americans of the time had such little cultural footing in America. After the 60s, students began to reflect on Jefferson’s unwillingness to see integration as an option, because African Americans were still struggling to integrate after the civil rights movements. Modern day, the concern lies in Jefferson’s blatant stereotyping of slaves as lesser and even as “musical”. These all reflect the current ideals of the time in
Being of African American decent and raising three African American men can be difficult. Today, African American still encounter segregation, discrimination and isolation. However, encounters today are not as horrific as earlier years. Equal rights for African-Americans have been contentious, and fought for decades. African-Americans have fought to impede ethnic discrimination, and gain equal opportunity and their civil rights since slavery in the 1600's.
Black Men in Public Places Does the media portray African Americans in a negative light and do statistics support these beliefs? Many people view blacks as threatening, menacing or even as criminals. From the first puritans to settle in America, black people were viewed as inferior to whites. This image, through the media, has evolved into a fear of the black race, especially black men. The essay “Black Men in Public Spaces,” written by Brent Staples illustrates the view from the black man perspective, but may also add to the stereotype.