Racism in the 1930's

1138 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Racial discrimination and judicial

Racism in the 1930's The 1930's was a time of change for the blacks of the United States of America. However, this change was not all for the better. The main change for blacks during this period was that many of them migrated to the North, which in turn, caused many other situations, which included the election of President Roosevelt. This was a positive, as was the improvement from the de jure segregation, when laws allow segregation, of the South to the less harsh segregation of the North. The blacks made advancements during this time, yet there were still many more to make. Before and during some of the thirties, America was a completely segregated society, which was supported by both the law and the police who enforced it. Everything was segregated, including the bathrooms, cemeteries, colleges, restaurants and even elevators, which again was allowed by the courts, following the motto "separate but equal" (Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 5). This was all de jure segregation, yet there was also de facto segregation, when segregation occurs because of social code, political acts, economic circumstances or public policy, which still occurs today somewhat. The blacks would also try to vote those into office who would not support these segregation laws. However, most were deterred from this by the Ku Klux Klan, who would use fear and violence tactics to convince the blacks not to vote. The extreme violence of lynch mobs can also never be forgotten These groups usually murdered those blacks who had committed some crime, yet, they also killed those who had committed some social violation. These were painful deaths, using either the hanging or burning method. These atrocities to the black society lead to the "great migr... ... middle of paper ... .... They grew up with the thought that they, the whites, were better than the blacks, and most didn't have the strength, courage or intelligence to think for themselves, and realize that the only true difference between the two was the color of their skin. They needed a past situation they could look back on, and plainly see the discrimination in, in order to realize what atrocity they were committing. Unfortunately for them, they lost the privilege of realizing how wonderful and beneficial it is to have a diverse society, but lucky for us, we have realized it for years. Although there may still be some discriminatory practices in our world today, we just need time, time to become comfortable with our diversity and time to make us realize even more how lucky we are to be surrounded in this country by the people that give us the spice in life: the African Americans.

Show More
Related

  • Jim Crow Laws Essay

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    To wrap it up, African Americans lived an unfair past in the south, such as Alabama, during the 1930s because of discrimination and the misleading thoughts towards them. The Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow Laws and the way they were generally treated in southern states all exemplify this merciless time period of the behavior towards them. They were not given the same respect, impression, and prospect as the rest of the citizens of America, and instead they were tortured. Therefore, one group should be never singled out and should be given the same first intuition as the rest of the people, and should never be judged by color, but instead by character.

    Read More

  • The Life and Achievemets of Ida B. Wells

    2595 Words  | 6 Pages

    By the end of the 19th century, lynching was clearly the most notorious and feared means of depriving Bl...

    Read More

  • African American´s Limitations from 1865-1900s

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    The population of African Americans from 1865 to 1900 had limited social freedom. Social limitations are limitations that relate “…to society and the way people interact with each other,” as defined by the lesson. One example of a social limitation African Americans experienced at the time is the white supremacy terrorist group, the Ku Klux Klan or the KKK. The KKK started as a social club formed by former confederate soldiers, which rapidly became a domestic terrorist organization. The KKK members were white supremacists who’s objective was to ward off African Americans from using their new political power. In an attempts to achieve their objective, Klansmen would burn African American schools, scare and threaten voters, destroy the homes of African Americans and also the homes of whites who supported African American rights. The greatest terror the KKK imposed was that of lynching. Lynching may be defined via the lesson as, “…public hanging for an alleged offense without benefit of trial.” As one can imagine these tactics struck fear into African Americans and the KKK was achiev...

    Read More

  • Jim Crow Era: A Nightmare of Racial Discrimination

    2275 Words  | 5 Pages

    The social conditions throughout the era were extremely poor. Legal discrimination was around and African Americans were denied democratic rights and freedoms. The southern states would pass strict laws to normalize interactions between white people and African Americans. For example, Jim Crow signs were placed above regularly visited places by everyone, such as water fountains, public facilities, door entrances and exits, etc. Even the most basic rights such as drinking from a water fountain was taken away from African Americans. They would also have separate buildings for African

    Read More

  • Jim Crow Law Essay

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    Does the name Jim Crow ring a bell? Neither singer nor actor, but actually the name for the Separate but Equal (Jim Crow) Laws of the 1900s. Separate but Equal Laws stated that businesses and public places had to have separate, but equal, facilities for minorities and Caucasian people. Unfortunately, they usually had different levels of maintenance or quality. Lasting hatred from the civil war, and anger towards minorities because they took jobs in the north probably set the foundation for these laws, but it has become difficult to prove. In this essay, I will explain how the Separate but Equal Laws of twentieth century America crippled minorities of that time period forever.

    Read More

  • The Reconstruction-Era

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Reconstruction-era was an extremely rough period for the African-Americans as well as many white settlers. The African-Americans endured numerous hardships and losses as a result of the white settlers' frustrations. Although the African-Americans' losses were great during this time, the progress made throughout that period is amazing. Many of them were sent off with nothing, to live on their own and a number of them managed to meet success. Their largest success came when the Reconstruction-era ended. African-Americans fought and struggled for their freedom, rights, and equality, for years, and although it took them a long time, they accomplished what they set out to do.

    Read More

  • Essay On The 15th Amendment

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...r right to vote. Social and economic segregation were added to the black American’s loss of political power. In some cases, to keep white supremacy, a group called “Ku Klux Klan” would intimidate black males who had voted or who tried to vote. The Ku Klux Klan along with other groups would often burn their homes, churches, and schools down. Some even resorted to murder. A number of these blacks were killed while attempting to defend their right to vote.

    Read More

  • A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    While we all would agree that racism is immoral and has no place in a modern society, that was not the case in the U.S. in the 1940s. At the time African Americans were treated as second-class citizens, it was made near-impossible for them to vote, and they were discriminated in many ways including in education, socially and in employment. It was a time in which segregation and racism perforated the laws and society, a time in which African Americans were “separate but equal,” segregation was legal and in full force. Apartheid was also everywhere from the books to in society. Blacks were not truly seen as equal as they were seen the the lesser of the two and it very much felt that way. Blacks were oppressed in many ways including having unreachable requirements to vote, such regulations included literacy tests, poll taxes, and elaborate registration systems, but it only started there.

    Read More

  • The Scottsboro Boys

    1829 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although abolition of slavery in the South coincided with the conclusion of the Civil War, a century of institutionalized racism was widespread in the former Confederacy. This institutionalized racism came in the form of the Jim Crow laws. It was a social norm to look at African Americans as inferior or even harmful to the White population. Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan roamed around "defending" the white population from the African Americans. This defense came in the form of public executions (lynching) or intimidation.

    Read More

  • African American Hardships

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... middle of paper ... ... Most blacks did not care about the issues of the war.

    Read More

  • Inequality for African Americans

    1853 Words  | 4 Pages

    Prior to World War I there was much social, economic, and political inequality for African Americans. This made it difficult for African Americans to accept their own ethnicity and integrate with the rest of American society. By the end of World War II however African Americans had made great strides towards reaching complete equality, developing their culture, securing basic rights, and incorporating into American society.

    Read More

  • Racism Has Changed Between The 1930's And Today

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    If we treated African Americans the same way starting in the 1930’s, we wouldn’t have had so much commotion that we have today. In “Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry” the blacks were so segregated that they had to go to different schools, and they didn’t even have a bus to walk to schools, which took an hour there and back. Another reason why racism has changed since the 1900’s is from the movie “Ernest Green” (which took place in the 1960’s) from Little Rock Nine, where nine black students in Little Rock, Alabama were allowed to attend white schools. These students were physically abused and emotionally attacked. This shows that racism has changed (at least enough to let African Americans go to white schools), even though African Americans were still being discriminated against.

    Read More

  • Racism Exposed in Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... During the late 1940s and early 1950s, many African Americans were subjected to racism in America. Blacks during this time had few opportunities and were constantly ridiculed by whites based on the color of their skin. Numerous blacks ridiculed themselves and their own race based on the color of their skin.

    Read More

  • The Struggle for Freedom Among African American Citizens

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    It wasn’t easy being an African American, back then they had to fight in order to achieve where they are today, from slavery and discrimination, there was a very slim chance of hope for freedom or even citizenship. This longing for hope began to shift around the 1950’s. During the Civil Rights Movement, where discrimination still took place, it was the time when African Americans started to defend their rights and honor to become freemen like every other citizen of the United States. African Americans were beginning to gain recognition after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, which declared all people born natural in the United States and included the slaves that were previously declared free. However, this didn’t prevent the people from disputing against the constitutional law, especially the people in the South who continued to retaliate against African Americans and the idea of integration in white schools....

    Read More

  • Political Developments In The 19th Century

    1145 Words  | 3 Pages

    The era of the Civil War brought a multitude of changes that would impact the lives of all Americans. After the conclusion of what would be the bloodiest war of the 19th century, several constitutional and social developments were brought into effect. Such constitutional developments included the Emancipation Proclamation and the Radical Reconstruction of Andrew Johnson. To a similar extent, the passage of the 15th Amendment guaranteed all African American males the right to vote, regardless of any previous condition of servitude. However, in spite of many positive constitutional developments that arose during this era, a combination of legal developments such as Black Codes and Poll taxes, combined with negative social developments such as the Rise of the Ku Klux Klan and White Supremacy resulted in an unstable

    Read More

More about Racism in the 1930's

Open Document