Have the shackles on African Americans ever been dropped? Throughout our class’s lesson we encountered five different situations stretching from the 1940s to now that shined the light on the injustice and discrimination inflicted on African Americans. Most of the incidents referred the skin color of African Americans and how a lighter tone makes them a “better” person and diminishes the amount of prejudice they receive. Henry Louis Gates is a remarkably intelligent man, a Yale graduate and the head of Harvard's African-American studies department was detained for trying to get into his house. The officer didn't believe his credentials or claims plainly because of the darker color of his skin and that African Americans couldn’t possibly be that
Being African American has never been easy. At birth, we are born with a target on our backs for simply being a different color and whites are born privileged. One would think that when slavery was abolished that the target would be removed but that isn’t so. King states in his article that “…white supremacy saturated public culture...”
While the formal abolition of slavery, on the 6th of December 1865 freed black Americans from their slave labour, they were still unequal to and discriminated by white Americans for the next century. This ‘freedom’, meant that black Americans ‘felt like a bird out of a cage’ , but this freedom from slavery did not equate to their complete liberty, rather they were kept in destitute through their economic, social, and political state.
For example, when slavery was ended and the slaves were emancipated, that did not end the connotation of racism in America. In order not to look like the slaves, the white farmers started to wear wool hats instead of their straw hats (107). This part in particular struck me as being exceptionally ridiculous. It is proof that the concept of racism was digging deeper and going much further than it had been even in the age of slavery. Now that the slaves were free, the American people came up with more excuses to discriminate against them. Jim Crow laws were put into place in the sixties, and they caused segregation and discrimination to become a common theme in America. African Americans could not attend school with the whites, nor could they live in neighborhoods or houses near the whites. This became another problem when social security came into play. According to the Social Security Board, “the number of Negroes to whom aid was granted… was low in proportion to the number who needed assistance” (178). Another atrocity of discrimination was associated with the housing segregation. The “redline” meant the “identifying of a neighborhood for unfavorable treatment” (182). The houses that were in the “redline” so to speak, went to people of a different race, such as the African Americans, or the Irish. Even today, African Americans are discriminated against in jobs. If they don’t want to work at backbreaking jobs, they are considered lazy, whereas they will be discriminated against and torn down if they do want the jobs
The constant efforts and struggles of African Americans against Jim Crow laws, hate groups, social injustice, and racial bias prevailed and led to the Civil Rights Movement that has shaped our contemporary world. The struggle of African Americans to gain equal rights in a society dominated by conservative, white culture and prejudice along with the endeavor of acquiring the constitutional right to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, can safely place Jim Crow laws in archive of American
African Americans who came to America to live the golden dream have been plagued with racism, discrimination and segregation throughout a long and complicated history of events that took place in the United States dating back to slavery to the civil rights movements. Today, African American history is celebrated annually in the United States during the month of February which is designated Black History Month. This paper will look back into history beginning in the late 1800’s through modern day America and describe specific events where African Americans have endured discrimination, segregation, racism and have progressively gained rights and freedoms by pushing civil rights movement across America.
After the emancipation of slaves in 1862, the status of African-Americans in post civil war America up until the beginning of the twentieth century did not go through a great deal of change. Much legislation was passed to help blacks in this period. The Civil Rights act of 1875 prohibited segregation in public facilities and various government amendments gave African-Americans even more guaranteed rights. Even with this government legislation, the newly dubbed 'freedmen' were still discriminated against by most people and, ironically, they were soon to be restricted and segregated once again under government rulings in important court cases of the era.
Colorism is described as discrimination based upon the tone of ones skin. Colorism is a global issue that affects an array of people around the world. Although colorism is a worldwide issue, it is unique to African Americans due to the experience of slavery and its long-term psychological effects. African American men and women both experience colorism but the psychological effects are more prominent in women. Women in the black community are greatly affected by colorism starting at a young age. This is due to the history of the European standard of beauty in North America which plays a big role in how it affects their self-image, self-esteem, social status and relationships, and opportunities;
The thought of African Americans being less than whites has carried on for years and was first challenged with the abolition of slavery in 1865 with the 13th Amendment (Our Documents). Abraham Lincoln gets credit for the freeing of the slaves because he was the president who fought to get these amendments. Although slavery was no longer aloud that did not change how people felt about the African Americans. Races with darker ski...
Throughout history many African Americans have been treated cruelly. Slavery and Jim Crow Laws have really hurt African American families in the past. Many people today believe that the justice system is bias towards African Americans. Many people would say there is still racial inequality from: arrest rates, bailing acceptance, and sentencing of African Americans. African Americans are suffering from discrimination throughout America from the Criminal Justice System.
You will not replace us. You will not take my spot in this cast today, tomorrow, or ever in my life. I don't care about your money or your fame. Do you have any understanding that being black in America is a struggle in and out of itself? We have to live in neighborhoods that you wouldn't walk through, work jobs that you wouldn't even dare to think about in your nightmares. Understand this: now I'm one of the very few who are employed, and I can make a statement to the world about people like you and people like me. See, I wake up every morning thanking God that I'm not on the streets, waiting in those lines for hours upon hours. Just to arrive at the front of the line and get handed scraps to eat. I know, cause I've seen it. I'm used to things
Although African Americans were finally able to gain back their freedom; they did not gain equality in the eyes of their former oppressors. Resentful of the newfound freedom of African Americans, laws known as Jim Crow laws were established throughout the United Stated by states and local governments. These discriminatory laws worked to systematically oppress African Americans through segregation and violence. They were segregated from whites; forbidden to attend the same schools, eat in the same restaurants or intermarry. African Americans were treated as second class citizens; lesser beings that had no rights. “Blacks could not vote, sue whites, testify against them, raise their voice to them or even look them in the eye or stay on the sidewalk if they passed.” (BL p.98) The era of Jim Crow was a dangerous time where even a glance was enough for an African American to be murdered. But there was only so much abuse that would be withstood. The winds of change were beginning to stir and African Americans and their supporters were beginning to demand their equality.
I was fortunate to be able to attend Richard Rothsteins talk for his book The Color of Law. Richard Rothstein has worked as a Research Associate for places such as the Economic Policy Institute and Fellow for the Thurgood Marshall Institute. The book is about the forgotten history of how our government segregated America. As an African American female from the South, I do not live in a white privilege bubble so I am well aware of how our government separated and still separate’s America. I attended a de facto segregated all black high school in Georgia with resources not comparable to our neighboring predominantly white school which I could not attend because expertly drawn lines that made it so people whom lived in black neighborhoods could attend my
The Association of Black Psychologist (ABP) (2013) defines colorism as skin-color stratification. Colorism is described as “internalized racism” that is perceived to be a way of life for the group that it is accepted by (ABP 2013). Moreover, colorism is classified as a persistent problem within Black American. Colorism in the process of discriminatory privileges given to lighter-skinned individuals of color over their darker- skinned counterparts (Margret Hunter 2007). From a historical standpoint, colorism was a white constructed policy in order to create dissention among their slaves as to maintain order or obedience. Over the centuries, it seems that the original purpose of colorism remains. Why has this issue persisted? Blacks have been able to dismantle the barriers faced within the larger society of the United States. Yet, Blacks have failed to properly address the sins of the past within the ethnic group. As a consequence of this failure, colorism prevails. Through my research, I developed many questions: Is it right that this view remain? How does valuing an individual over another cause distribution to the mental health of the victims of colorism? More importantly, what are the solutions for colorism? Colorism, unfortunately, has had a persisted effect on the lives of Black Americans. It has become so internalized that one cannot differentiate between the view of ourselves that Black Americans adopted from slavery or a more personalized view developed from within the ethnicity. The consequences of this internalized view heightens the already exorbitant mental health concerns within the Black community, but the most unfortunate aspect of colorism is that there is contention on how the issue should be solved.
However, these African American citizens had remarkable courage to never stop, until these un-just laws were changed and they received what they had been fighting for all along, their inalienable rights as human beings and to be equal to all other human beings. Up until this very day there are still racial issues where some people feel supreme over other people due to race. That, however, is an issue that may never end. African Americans fought until the Jim Crow laws were taken out of effect, and they received equality for all people regardless of race. Along the way, there were many controversial court cases and important leaders who helped to take a stand against racial segregation.
Present day America has a problem with people who unfairly prejudice and discriminate against African Americans. Every day, African Americans are forced to face the challenges that modern day society brings them including a preconception that they aren’t as worthy or appreciated as other races. While African Americans used to be exploited for slavery in the 1800s, many still don’t benefit from many of the opportunities that whites see because of their skin color. Racism is a relevant issue in modern America due to the fact that African Americans have disadvantages in schools and they face many injustices in the legal system; one might claim that some cops aren’t racist and they are just biased which is not the case.