African American Racial Inequality

Following the Civil War and freeing of slaves all over America a new question arose: Should black people be able to vote? Further, were they even citizens in the fullest sense? Now freed from slavery, black Americans found themselves in a political limbo where they were no longer property but not fully citizens. In an effort to extend protection from discrimination at the poll booth, an amendment to the Constitution was passed declaring it unlawful to deny voting on account of race. This amendment, however, was met with unprecedented resistance. Suppression of the black vote was just one step in preventing black Americans from being treated as citizens.

After the 13th amendment was created, African-Americans were still considered less than human, even till today. African-Americans were being segregated from whites by how they each had their own restrooms, churches, and schools. African-Americans were also restricted to go to certain places like cafes that only allowed white people in. “30% of blacks have lost their right to vote”(Duvernay, 2016). Duvernay provides statistics about how African-Americans had lost their right to vote, which portrays how black people feel segregated from whites that are allowed to vote and furthermore demonstrates the inequality

13.2% of the United States population identifies themselves as Black as African Americans, and of those over 16% had an mental illness that was diagnosable. The socio economic impact of a history of slavery, sharecropping and race-based exclusion from health, racism, spiritual beliefs, social and economic resources, education and other factors are key factors that contribute to African American disparities today. Many of these things are linked to mental health. According to the US department of health, African Americans are 20% more likely to report having serious psychological distress than in non-Hispanic whites (. Despite knowing this, African Americans are less likely to seek mental health services than white Americans.

After the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the ensuing American Civil War all states where forced to ratify the thirteenth amendment which abolished slavery “within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” In 1870 the fifteenth amendment was passed making it unconstitutional to prohibit voters “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” While the thirteenth and fifteenth amendments made it constitution for African Americans to vote it did not prohibit states from implementing obstructions at voting booths such as poll taxes, literacy test, lineage tracking, and other qualifications. While Plessy v. Ferguson established the separate but equal doctrine which is described as “racially segregated but ostensibly ensuring equal opportunities to all races.” The established doctrine of Separate but Equal was never enforced, and the cries of the neglected fell upon deaf ears until 1954, 58 years after a virtual caste system was established in the Nation of “freedom and equal opportunity” segregating everything from schools to bathrooms because of the color of your skin.

The act focuses on the views of millions Americans and is widely regarded as the crowning achievement of the civil rights movement. This book describes the tale of African Americans still fighting heated battles over race, representation, and political power, with lawmakers devising new strategies to keep minorities out of the voting booth and with the Supreme Court declaring a key part of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional.

Throughout the Reconstruction period in the United States after the Civil War, African American’s were given many new rights, such as citizenship and the right to vote. One of these new rights was enacted in 1869, the Fifteenth Amendment, which gave African American men the right to vote. Many southern states, however, did not approve of this new amendment and sought ways to prevent African Americans from voting. Post-confederate, Democratic states found ways to disenfranchise the African American community. Preventive actions ranged in severity from murder and lynching, to fraudulent actions at the ballots, and even enforcing new state laws to prevent African American votes. The newly created Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment were supposed

I plan to discuss Older African Americans and the disparity of the quality of care in nursing homes. In 2008, 3.2 older African Americans lived in the United States, making up 8.3% of the older population. (Administration on Aging) This number is expected to grow to 9.9 million by the year 2050, making African Americans account for 11% of the population. 50% of Black Elderly lived in 8 states, which were New York, Florida, California, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, and Virginia. (Administration on Aging) 12% of older African Americans had a bachelors degree or higher. (Administration on Aging) Also in 2008, over 12% of Black older persons had a bachelor’s degree or higher. (Administration on Aging) In 2008, 30% of older black men

This journal evaluates the epidemiology of sexually transmitted diseases disparities of African-American in the united states in comparison to white communities. This study focuses on disparities for African American because of the massive diseases of bacterial sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis that the African American communities face. Most of the US population is either white or African American. This journal focuses on African American communities instead of African Americans because of the many diversities in the US African American population. Studies took from the Northeast, South, West and Midwest

As it talks about racial inequality in chapter 10, the definition of racism is the belief that one race is supreme and all others are innately inferior. White people are actually at the top while the others (the minority groups) are at the bottom. Considering that the laws of the USA revolved around white men in the beginning of this country, it’s not surprising to see how little people are not aware that racism still exists. They claim that it’s the 21st century, slavery happened in the past and it should stay in the past where it belongs. No. We’re going to recognize what white people did to African Americans. We are going to see how white supremacy is ugly and not needed.

According to Document A, in New England, five out of the six states allowed black males to vote. States in the Mid-Atlantic North and Midwest North either did not allow black males to vote at all, or it was restricted. No state in any of these sections, with the exception of Massachusetts, allowed black males to serve on the jury. This means that there was a serious problem with the black to white ratio of representation. If there is very little African-American representation in the government, how can one expect them to gain equal rights without a powerful politician that, by chance, believes in equal rights? Also, one restriction of African-American citizens for voting was a $250 property requirement, meaning they had to own at least $250 worth of property in order to vote. As many of the Northern African-Americans did not meet this requirement, they were not able to vote at all. (Doc. A) This violates the 24th Amendment, which deals with poll taxes. If citizens are required to be wealthy to a certain extent in order to vote, this would technically be considered a poll tax. As many former slaves weren’t very wealthy, they were limited when it came to voting. In fact, in the document, it says that out of the approximate population of 11,000 African-Americans living in New York City during the mid-1850s, only around 100 could vote. If African-Americans were generally of a lower class, how is it fair of the government to initiate a fee to vote? Finally, in Document B, an Englishman writes of his travels in America, and he talks about the fact that African-Americans could not attend anyone in court, which means that they could not file court cases against anyone. This is an extreme deprivation of African-American rights. If a black citizen was stolen from, they could not defend themselves in court. Because they were African-American, they could not do

The Civil War had ended and the Reconstruction era had given African American’s a much-needed voice in the electoral process. They were finally able to have rights in the way that business matters were being organized. Unfortunately, this was short-lived. White domination took over every aspect of life, particularly in the south. Between 1890 and 1906, every southern state was involved in constitutional provisions and passing laws that were meant to completely wipe out the black vote altogether. There were a few ways in which they did this. One was by charging a poll tax. If you couldn’t pay the tax, you couldn’t vote. Although, this tax was waived for the equally poor white voters. A handful of the southern states issued what was called

In the United States, African American faced prejudice for hundreds of years. Even now, African American are still facing inequality. However, though these cruelties persist, according to Martin Luther King Jr. and Elie Wiesel, the past should not be forgotten.

Ironically, many Americans fought for equal rights but practiced slavery which took away from the progression of our society as a whole. The intersectionality of race, class, and gender prevented many people from voting even though there were laws stating equal voting rights for all citizens. Race should not forbid African Americans from voting. To remedy injustice, Johnson says that our society as a whole needs to be more open-minded about these social issues to evolve as a progressive country. The Voting Rights Act was intended to end discrimination but since the states each had their own pre-clearance requirements, it undermined the entire reasoning and promise of equality to African Americans. The unfair treatment towards African Americans is embedded in the social system that even though they are given the right to vote, institutional racism comes into play which wholly prevents them from being able to cast their votes.

The 15th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition, yet this amendment alone did not secure the right for African Americans to vote. Many Southern States used a variety of techniques - including the literacy tests, poll taxes, intimidation, threats, and violence - to keep African Americans from voting. The reason this is such a problem is because the most important thing a citizen can do to change Society is to vote for people who voice the same concerns, and if the African-American Community does not have a way to get its voice heard change will either never come, or come very

The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s was the final blow to institutional racism. People of color have been on a steady downfall since the days of race-based slavery. Barack Obama, a black man, to the highest political office in the United States is proof that we lived in a “Color Blind” society. Great progress has been made in achieving a fairer society. Alexander argues that this story largely misrepresents the conditions of poor and working class blacks today. “Nathaniel Bacon was a white property owner in Jamestown, Virginia who managed poor whites, indentured servants and blacks.” Slaves were in the lowest position they could possibly be in; even though the whites were free most of them lived in extreme poverty. Slaves were defined as three-fifths of a man not even considered a human being. After the death of slavery had been gone race still lived on , and is living on today. (Page 4; The Birth Of Slavery) Civil Rights Act of 1866 the thirteenth amendment abolished slavery, the fourteenth amendment “Prohibited states from denying citizens due process and; “equal protection of the laws”, the fifteenth amendment “Provided the right to vote should not be denied by anyone no matter what your race is”.