African American Experience

African Americans have endured many trials and tribulations over the centuries. Our people have suffered from war, violence, and anguish simply because of the color of our skin. Our history has been so blatantly missing from textbooks and the K-12th grade educational atmosphere. Our educational system continues to neglect the history of our African American ancestors and fail to provide them with the educational resources to inform them of our past and allow them to learn about the true origins of our culture. We have made many significant contributions to the world but those have also been highly ignored as well.

The African Americans before World War Two were not treated equal. Before the depression they more and more African Americans began to seek jobs but this lead to many problems. There were rallies against companies hiring African Americans and very prominent wage gaps. “It was exactly what the white defenders called it: a “way of life” that included elements of culture, expectations of behavior, and a political economy that mocked the ideals of a democratic republic wherever Jim Crow ruled” (Moye 15). Even though there were laws in place for less racial segregation, most people still did not like African Americans. Many still worked on farms as sharecroppers or on tenant farms. This also led them to get hit hard and be very affected by the depression.

The aspect of African-American Studies is key to the lives of African-Americans and those involved with the welfare of the race. African-American Studies is the systematic and critical study of the multidimensional aspects of Black thought and practice in their current and historical unfolding (Karenga, 21). African-American Studies exposes students to the experiences of African-American people and others of African descent. It allows the promotion and sharing of the African-American culture. However, the concept of African-American Studies, like many other studies that focus on a specific group, gender, and/or creed, poses problems. Therefore, African-American Studies must overcome the obstacles in order to

’’No matter your social status or how powerful you feel you are, we are all equal. We came here by birth and will leave in death.’’(Sententia) African Americans are one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States. The history of black people in America has come a long way. The Blacks were brought to the American colonies as slaves in the17th century by European trades. Traders brought the first slaves from Africa in the 1600s. I have often wondered by the power of African-American spirit, they lived under the pressure (Aporia). African Americans have been known by diverse names such as colored and the N-word, which are not longer used in English. They were taken out of the home, they were compelled to

     In the time after the fall of radical black reconstruction of the nineteenth century, African Americans were being oppressed by rural farming, civil rights, economical advancement and sharecropping. Booker T. Washington charged the fight for economical and political accommodation with his dream of equal civil rights. Timothy Thomas Fortune was an influential black journalist that fought for the rights of African Americans through literal resistance. The Lonely Warrior, Ida B. Wells was an outspoken voice against lynching throughout America and fought against the oppression of men and woman everywhere.

Despite all the difficulties African Americans had to face in the past, African Americans had a huge role in creating history. Many African Americans did so many amazing things that they are considered major leaders today. Some influenced music, some influenced art and literature, some fought for equal say in government, and still others accomplished other things. One such person was Zora Neale Hurston who was an amazing author. African Americans accomplished so many things in the past, and after staying determined and fighting on and on, African Americans earned all the rights that they had been fighting for. They finally got equal voting rights, they got to go to the same schools as white people, they ended Jim Crow laws, and they accomplished so much more that I can’t even list here. One of the biggest accomplishment was the Brown v. Board of education. However, nothing is ever perfect, right? And therefore, despite earning equal rights, African Americans still have to go through a lot of trouble today. They are still segregated against in many ways even today. One of the

After 1877, the economic stability in the South dropped drastically as “…the region as a whole sank deeper and deeper into poverty…” (Foner 645), despite the success of planters, merchants, and industrialists. While blacks and whites alike were in poverty, African Americans were at a greater disadvantage than whites, simply because of their race. Even when there were available jobs, “…the labor market was rigidly divided along racial lines” (Foner 647), meaning that a majority of jobs were sometimes only available for whites. For example, black men were barred “…from supervisory positions…and white-collar jobs” (Foner 647)

Everyone had a part in their community, such as the lawyers, sheriffs, etc. But because of the discrimination against the colored, it was harder for them to fit in the society and find a job that gets good payments. In the novel, Bob Ewell is a poor man but is more respected than the colored people in the county Tom Robinson was an example of being treated differently and with less respect. His jobs were limited and did not pay enough to support his family. His jobs mostly came from people making them do stuff for them that they didn’t do. Such as helping in fields, or even cleaning around houses. 1930 was also one of the times where that stock market was starting to crash, and people became unemployed. About 20% of more African Americans were unemployed than white people. Which shows how it has hard for them to get jobs, but it the decision came down to firing a white or colored person, the colored person would get fired just because of the

As African Americans we need to know the history of our ancestors in order to make the next generation better. African Americans need to know the struggles and hardships that our ancestors had to go through that pave the way for my generation and the generations after me. It is important to know how our ancestors had to endure slavery. If the older generation does not continue to pay homage to the history of our ancestors, the younger generation will lose sight of what our ancestors have been through (Roberts, 2011). The younger generation is not interested in African American History. It is about what someone can do for them. The younger generation wants everything handed to them not to work for it because the younger generation thinks the world owe them something. The younger generation does not have respect for their elders now.

African Americans arrived in America as early as August of 1619 to be servants. From the beginning they were never thought of as normal, equal people simply because of how they looked. It was not until July of 1964 that an African American could live in the United States free with no restrictions. Before this they had to deal with slavery, and especially segregation for years. It took them so long to get the freedom they deserved and it would not have happened without the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement was a long and difficult process. It took 14 years to finally reach success. It took several different leaders, protests, and marches in the process. The most important part of this success was the youth. Not only are they young

The African American experience is one that is quite different from other racial/ ethnic groups. The majority of the first African American came over, unwillingly, on ships from various African countries. They were brought to America by white, European settlers to be used as slaves in an order to plant and harvest their crops and make money for the white man. This racial group was treated as if they were property and not people. However, with the ending of the American Civil War, African Americans gained freedom, freedom that not all white American were quite ready to handle. After gaining their freedom came the need for education, jobs and suffrage rights. Now in America this racial group has come a long way, having elected its first African American present for two terms, yet still there are many issues that are very prevalent. This racial group has been fighting their way to equality since the birth of this nation. African Americans have experienced an array of conflict, violence, stereotypes, prejudice acts, and discrimination against them throughout their history in America.

Moreover, African Americans, just like the immigrants were struggling during the early 1900’s, for they had to battle the issue of creating

Many people do not understand what it was like for African Americans. Mostly because it was hard to tell their side of the story. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” took place in the 1930’s, but the book did not get published until 1970. Many of African Americans in the 1900’s made a living by selling themselves to white people as cotton pickers (Historical context: I know why the caged bird sings). Sociological structures in the south kept African Americans in their place by making it illegal to write literature for African Americans, not being able to have an education, and making it hard for them to find jobs.

Throughout the history of this great country of ours, African-Americans have had to deal with some pretty dark and unbearable times. But they prevailed through those times. A lot of greatness came out of the African-American community. They have contributed to our society in so many different ways and made major contributions to the mathematical, scientific, and engineering communities.

There was a struggle for African Americans to get jobs let alone good wages. The South attracted many investors because of low wages and low taxes not to mention convict work. African Americans did not have supervisory positions available meaning it was all low wage working with no chance to work up. There was also persisting regional poverty because there was little to no skilled labor. The South had to rely on the North for Capital/manufactured goods. Lastly, they had little to no opportunity to participate in Unions. This made it very difficult to get a solid paying job.