African Americans Failures

“We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society” (“Famous Angela Davis quotes - We have to talk about ….). Angela Davis no longer accepted the philosophies or ideas she could not modify within others, but worked to change the beliefs she could no longer accept. Davis aimed for her voice to be heard, so that her perspectives would perceive and taken into account by society. Davis is best known as a profound African-American educator, extremist for civil rights, and other advocate of other social issues. She realized about racial prejudice from her experiences with discrimination growing up in Birmingham, Alabama.

Black women have been apart of social movements for over a hundred years. Black feminist have made efforts to work with organizations as well as create organizations to improve the life and liberty, and pursuit of happiness for African American women in America. Black feminist participated in these movements in hopes of helping with nationalism, racial and ethnic struggles, also to broaden humanistic and nurturing problems, finally to protect women’s rights and sexuality. One of the most influential black feminist women’s movements was The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).

Black organizations promote racial equality in a variety of ways. Professor small states that black people would be “far worse off than they are at the present time” had it not been for the resiliency of activists. Black organizations date as far back as slavery and have been helping to promote equality all the way up to present day. At the time of slavery, Black organizations led revolts, organized meetings and other types of community engagement to champion black humanity and end racist restrictions. These organizations started as churches and religious groups during the 1860’s which evolved into what we have today.

It is discussed that the lives of black American did not improve significantly as racism was entrenched in governments and white Americans, especially southerners. Although amendments and acts sought out to better the lives of black Americans, it did not mean they were immediately treated as equal and given rights. Black Americans had a very difficult life post-Civil War as the rest of America was not prepared to stop depriving them of their civil rights as it was beneficial to them to have black Americans kept under oppression. The abolition of slavery cost slave owners over $2 billion in property only. This severely impacted the economy as it was in crisis and white slave owners did not have any slaves to serve them on plantations.

The civil rights movement was a protest that took place across the majority of southern states in the United States protesting the discrimination of blacks. Blacks were treated with much less respect than whites post-Civil War and they finally determined a change. The road ahead of them was a very difficult one if they were expecting any change to happen. Much controversy was caused and hundreds of protest, riots, and sit-ins occurred. There are many familiar names associated with the civil rights movement such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X. All of these people played a huge part in helping blacks obtain what they wanted, but, unfortunately, many fatalities were also a result of what was taking place.

She was also elected as the president of The Southeastern Federation of Colored Women’s

Annabelle Wintson Bower History 8A March 12, 2018 Title Although the slavery was abolished in 1865, the rights given to African Americans were not nearly equal to those of white Americans. After slavery was abolished, inequality in American society ran high, and many laws were put in place to restrict the rights and abilities of African Americans. Some laws include the Jim Crow Laws (1870 to 1950s) and the Supreme Court Ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that ruled that there could be “separate but equal” facilities and services for people of color and white Americans.

The state of Mississippi passed controversial laws in 1865 to assure that whites were a step up from African Americans. The basic human rights were guaranteed to blacks but other rights were denied such as the right to vote, hold office, and to intermarry with whites. There were two Laws in particularly that caused the most outrage. Those two horrific Laws were called the Apprentice Law and the Vagrancy law. The Apprentice Law and the Vagrancy Law allowed whites to utterly make change impossible for blacks and the oppression of “freed” slaves continued on throughout the time these Laws were

In the 19th century, slavery and the Reconstruction was a sore subject for the South. Reconstruction forged civil rights for African-Americans, but once the North’s influenced waned in the South, the South terrorized African-Americans and blocked them from accessing their newfound rights. While Reconstruction may have brought civil rights, those rights were quickly squashed by the South’s racism. Even after certain freedoms were securely gained, every new attempt to make African-Americans equal to the white populace was contested. A large group of people were happy to see slavery ended and civil rights rise.

“.... She was charged with ‘refusing to obey orders of bus driver.’.... Her arrest became a rallying point around which the African American community organized a bus boycott in protest of the discrimination they had endured for years…. For a quiet act of defiance that resonated throughout the world, Rosa Parks is known and revered as the ‘Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.’” (“An Act of Courage”).

Ida B. Wells was an incredible civil rights activist who was strong and courageous. She is mostly known for her activism towards an anti-lynching crusade and her publications regarding civil rights issues. Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Wells was a slave for the first six months of her life, until the Emancipation Proclamation freed her and her family. Ida B. Wells eventually moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where she became a journalist and publisher after a civil rights incident on a train sparked her interest in reporting “race and politics in the South.” After refusing to move to the African American train car, “she was forcibly removed from the train.”

The First Fearful Lady of Little Rock A woman who fought for freedom; a woman who fought for rights, Daisy Lee Gatson Bates used her strength to argue against the negative words and threats spoken by many racists. During my research on this journalist, publisher and civil activist, Daisy Bates was an African American who wanted to end racial segregation, for it is a topic she strongly disagreed to. Therefore, Bates influenced change not only in her community, however in the entire world. Daisy Bates began the fight against racial segregation in Arkansas with the help of her husband, Lucious Christopher, also known as L.C. Bates. Together, they founded the Arkansas State Press.

The Dred Scott v. Sanford case involved a lawsuit made by a slave name Dred Scott claiming that he should be granted his freedom. His claims were based on the argument that his master Dr. John Emerson had illegally held his during trips to Illinois and Wisconsin which were both free territories. With Dr. Emerson having died at the time of the lawsuit, Scott sued his widow. The lawsuit was ultimately taken on by her brother Sanford hens the name Died Scott v. Sanford. Unfortunately for Scott, he was not identified as a citizen because he was a African American.

Plessy v. Ferguson had upheld segregation of our society. This case was in Louisiana a southern state, which had enacted a Jim Crow law the Separate Car Act which made whites and blacks have to ride in separate trains. Mr. Plessy was a mixed race man who was mostly white and was arrested for sitting in the all white train and refusing to move. This happened in 1892 and Plessy was brought to Criminal Court in New Orleans, where Judge Ferguson had upheld the law. Plessy challenged this ruling and was brought to the supreme court of the United States.

Everyone has a why and it takes a leader to fulfill theirs why. Every leader has their trial and tribulation. But it takes a person who sees that there is a problem within the community and wants to make it better. There were many players who were involved in the civil rights movement. There were many key players who wanted to see change such ass W.E.B Du bois, Ida B Wells, Booker T. Washington and many.