Billie Holiday is one of the most influential jazz singers of her time. Her attitude, determination and most of all her music inspired artists throughout time and inspired major social change. Throughout her lifetime she explored the world of jazz, her identity, and how far the limits of her talent would take her. She exchanged her poor life, full of drugs and scandal for a life of performing the arts and showcasing her talents and abilities. Her incredible determination led her to do what she loved regardless of what anyone thought , which led to her inciting major social exchange; moving black suffering into white consciousness.
Although slavery was declared over after the passing of the thirteenth amendment, African Americans were not being treated with the respect or equality they deserved. Socially, politically and economically, African American people were not being given equal opportunities as white people. They had certain laws directed at them, which held them back from being equal to their white peers. They also had certain requirements, making it difficult for many African Americans to participate in the opportunity to vote for government leaders. Although they were freed from slavery, there was still a long way to go for equality through America’s reconstruction plan.
They represented the interests of all African Americans, and they started to make decisions based on ones which would make their lives better, because they still faced many hard ships even though they were now equal to whites. African Americans greatly shaped the outcome and consequences of the Civil War. They were the cause of it, they played a key role in the battles, and they effected the political make up regarding African Americans, of not only the South, but the whole country. If the African Americans had not played a role in the war, the north may have still won because of their size, but the odds are that there would still be slavery and or segregation in the United States
“Long, hot summers” of rioting arose and many supporters of the African American movement were assassinated. However, these movements that mused stay ingrained in America’s history and pave way for an issue that continues to be the center of
The blacks were forced to vote for republicans, the blacks were looked at as free but not as equals in the south, the most powerful people lawyers, doctors and dentists who could make a difference were members of the Ku Klux Klan, who were against reconstruction. The southern leaders of the government only wanted white people in power, the north pulled out all its soldiers from the south, making it even more difficult for the freedmen to be free and equal. The South had a lot of violence, The KKK held responsibility for most of the violence in the south because not one person tried to stop them. The KKK is a
African Americans face a struggle with racism which has been present in our country before the Civil War began in 1861. America still faces racism today however, around the 1920’s the daily life of an African American slowly began to improve. Thus, this time period was known by many, as the “Negro Fad” (O’Neill). The quality of life and freedom of African Americans that lived in the United States was constantly evolving and never completely considered ‘equal’. From being enslaved, to fighting for their freedom, African Americans were greatly changing the status quo and beginning to make their mark in the United States.
It brought the continuous mistreatment of African Americans once again apparent. It also devastated many states in economic and personal ways. Homes and businesses were destroyed, loved ones were lost and
There were the Jim Crow Laws which supported discrimination & racial segregation. African Americans were poverty stricken and this was a global issue in the South, newly freed blacks had no economic opportunities and very little jobs being offered. Although reconstruction failed there was a success with the school systems, segregated yes, but there was still an attempt made to educate blacks. Also created a functioning, government in which blacks and whites could participate so African Americans were able to hold office. The ability to vote as an African American was definitely one great result because although there were attempts to place fear to not vote by the Ku Klux Klan there was still the right to have that voice.
This including the electing of Abraham Lincoln made the southern states feel like they were going to lose control of the political choices in the southern territories, which would have lead to them not having control over their area in general (American Civil War History). These events are all effects where the underlying problem was the conflict of slavery that was between the north and south states. Showing how much of a factor it was during the civil war era. Making it one of the largest causes of why the civil war broke
Many of the social changes involved the South because the Union had been fighting for emancipation of slaves, so the social changes weren’t as drastic. Meanwhile, in the ex-confederacy, they were still fighting to keep slavery alive and still viewed blacks as property. Near the end of the Civil War, when it looked like confederates were losing anti-black groups started forming. In fact, in Harper’s Weekly in 1874, an image was featured and it depicted two people, one from the kkk and one from the white league, holding a banner that had black in fear and said worse than slavery. Their audience were those who agreed with emancipation, and more specifically blacks who had just been free.
The Great Migration and/in the Congregation The Great Migration was the migration occurred within the United States between 1910 and 1970 which saw the displacement of about seven million African Americans from the southern states to those in the North, Midwest and West. The reasons that led thousands of African Americans to leave the southern states and move to the northern industrial cities were both economic and social, related to racism, job opportunities in the industrial cities and the search of better lives, the attempts to escape racism and the Jim Crow Laws that took them away the right to vote. As every social phenomena, the Great Migration had both positive and negative effects; in my opinion the Great Migration can be considered a negative development in the short and medium term, but, if we analyze the benefits brought to the African-American communities in the long term, their fight for integration has shaped the history of the United States in its progress to democracy and civil rights.
The importance of the steps made by the African-American community were vital so the building of stepping stones for our nation's future could happen. Thanks to the Great Migration we as a country have a vibrant new culture
Post Civil War, African Americans started to gain rights to gain rights, and soon gain rights equal to whites. While there were some people/things standing in their way (KKK, Black Codes), in the end they got what they needed; Equality. Many acts and laws were passed to aid the new rights now held by African Americans, as well as the numerous people willing to help. New Amendments were added to give African Americans rights after the war, all giving them some equal rights to whites. The first of the three added was the Thirteenth Amendment, it gave African Americans freedom from slave owners, and stated that no one could be kept as a slave in the U.S..
Between that time, African American Families moved from the South to the North and to the West. Following the Civil War, many African Americans had packed up and migrated to urbanized areas like Chicago and New York. By 1920, almost 300,000 African Americans had moved away from the south, Harlem being a very popular destination for the traveling families. New arrivals found jobs in slaughterhouses, factories and foundries, but working conditions were strenuous to their bodies and sometimes dangerous. Many didn 't consider the amounts of people that would be migrating to New York and that made competition for living space harder.
The African – American 's Assimilation into White America America is often considered the land of opportunities, a place where people can have a fresh start, a clean slate. America is a land that is made up of immigrants. Over the centuries America has been a place where people dream to live in, however the American dream wasn 't as perfect as believed; there were issues of race inferiority, slavery and social inequality amongst other problems. When a person arrives into a new society he has a difficult task ahead of him- to assimilate into that new society- which includes the economical, cultural, political and social aspects. In the following paper I will discuss how the African American, who came as slaves to America, has fought over the centuries to achieve equality in a white society that discriminated them.
