Black Americans were discriminated against in many ways including socially through segregation, politically with vote registrations, economically with low income jobs and poverty and through prejudice; racism. Blacks were treated very harshly and unequally and many lived their lives in fear and misery. During 1954-1961, the Brown vs Board decision, the matter in Little Rock, Arkansas, Freedom Rides, Bus Boycotts, sit-ins, marches and demonstrations were steps that were taken in the Civil Rights Movement to end discrimination. Black Americans were discriminated against socially especially with segregation. They faced different issues related to segregation with one of the most important was the segregation to do with education.
Other states introduced literacy tests as criteria for voting. Literacy testes were not applied fairly and therefore even educated black people were disenfranchised. These were not explicitly racist, but both prevented black Americans from voting. These barriers, which prevented black Americans from voting, meant that black citizens no longer had a voice for their opinion to be heard. This affected how black people would still be treated as second-class citizens through white supremacy.
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’.
The segregation of schools was based on the belief of the intellectually inferior label associated with Blacks, and in an effort to maintain the majority white population’s educational experience. The segregation of minorities also had an effect on public transportation. Blacks were prohibited from sitting in the front of a public bus. Rosa Parks has been acknowledged for her refusal efforts to move herself from the front of the bus, after a long day at work. Many other Black minorities have attempted the same action in an effort to take a stand against segregation.
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.
Yet that chaos in not the same as now, therefore the constitution must be interpreted loosely in a way that it fits society nowadays. Loose construction is based on the idea that the Founding Fathers could not have foreseen what the world would be like in the 21st Century, and that the Constitution must be interpreted in light of historic and societal change. Loose construction allows the government to expand powers that are not specifically outlined in the Constitution as long as these powers are not specifically prohibited. Society changed from day to day and the country has to be ready for when changes are made. If powers are not outlined in the constitution, then it is up to the government (courts, judges, etc.)
The Achievement Gap: Urban vs. Suburban Schools The public school systems goal in the United States is to provide every child with equal education. Unfortunately somewhere along the lines the education system in our country has failed to provide this equal education to many of our children, especially minority. It isn’t that the education is not there, but many other things such as urban parents, teachers, and the urban society itself affect a child’s education. When looking at the mandatory test scores of minority inner city students, specifically African American students, they are significantly lower than White American suburban students, hence the achievement gap.
• Black and white people were divided by politics. • This meant that Black people were treated with less care whilst white people were cared for more. • Barriers were put into place so that Black people couldn’t vote for a new power due to their lack of education. • Tension amongst black and white people turned to hatred causing black people’s opinions and views to be irrelevant to any subject. • Southern school for blacks were poor standards which resulted in black people not being educated enough to vote or work for a living.
Though the desegregation of schools in North Carolina granted blacks access to better educational resources and wealthier scholastic opportunities, the resultant dilution and erosion of the black educational community devastated its resolve and essential coherence. These negative effects of integration are only somewhat less visible even today. Black-only schools operated under astounding inequity before integration. With white schools hogging state funds, black administrators turned to their communities for support. When George Miller was principal in Wilkes County, NC, the community struggled to support the schools with funds, equipment, and food for the cafeteria.# Still, communities could provide very little, so educators adjusted their educational focus.
Specifically for African Americans, the equality and desegregation under this act of education, the workplace, and voter’s registration has been tremendously empowering. One of the great things about America that many other countries do not have is free education. Under Plessy v. Ferguson, segregation of schools was legalized under the conditions that it was separate but equal. During that time, the schools were definitely separated, but unquestionably unequal. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 overturned Plessy V. Ferguson which not only led to African Americans having better schools, but also allowed them to learn with their Caucasian peers.