Plight Of African-Americans

In the film, Africans in America: “The Terrible Transformation”, the narrator discussed the influence of certain criteria in which slaves had to meet in order to work for land owners in America. These criteria included: being African American, non- European, and non- Christian. The government created this criteria system to build a barrier between the land owners and the slaves. The individuals that owned property treated their slaves as if they were foreign/strange. The white Americans did not want African American people to have the same equality as they did; Therefore, America was ruled by the whites while the blacks were merely just servants to them.

The emancipation proclamation was what seemed like the beginning of freedom for African Americans. African Americans fought hard and valiantly in the American Civil war and with the Unions win freedom and peace for blacks seemed to be assured. As most people would quote," Freedom isn 't free." It almost always has a cost. Africans Americans since the origin of this country have literally laid down their lives for the cost of freedom and opportunity in the US. One of the most coveted freedom 's both past and present is the right to suffrage. My paper discusses the many factors leading to and the trials and tribulations involving black 's right to vote. In this paper, I will discuss the constitutional amendments as well as the landmark supreme court cases that affected both the lives and voting rights of African Americans during the time period of 1865 through 1900.

“You are a nothing little nigger” is one of the demeaning phrases African American human beings have heard over the years in an effort to keep them in a state of persecution. This paper will discuss the persecution of the African American. The following documents the struggles, gut wrenching pain, and heart ache of African American people have endured and are still suffering with today.

I do believe that any obstacle or disadvantage can turn into something good. I know this because people learn from their mistakes. Some people give up or lose hope when they are encountering an obstacle. Anything can be make up by thinking or a wise decision.

Following The Civil War, close to four million slaves were freed, but they were still faced with the systematic oppression of their past. Due to President Johnson’s support of state’s rights, many white southerners were able to place authority over newly freed slaves by establishing Black Codes, the KKK, and segregation. The new freedoms gained by African Americans following the civil war were insignificant because white superiority was heavily present. After the passing of the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery, Black Codes enabled white southerners to legally control blacks.

African Americans, among their families, and their communities find themselves in an unceasing battle for survival in a world that has previously, and to this day, brought many hardships and sufferings. Although America has succeeded in abolishing slavery, there are still aspects of racism and economic segregation that occur within residential areas. This being said, many individuals of the African American race become primary targets and victims to devastating economic and social disadvantages. The articles, "Survival and Death in New Orleans: An Empirical Look at the Human Impact of Katrina" written by Patrick Sharkey and "African American Men and the Prison Industrial Complex" by Earl Smith and Angela J. Hattery similarly bring attention to the social injustices that African Americans are forced to endure while offering two different scenarios; the predominantly black communities affected by Hurricane Katrina and mass incarceration of African American men for the selling and abuse of illicit drugs.

Throughout the passage many of the Africans go through a developmental situation which goes onto a very physical and mental note to develop defense mechanisms for survival. Some of the most difficult and most used mechanisms of defense that the Africans were put through was the act of starvation, being a hard-working slave, that was treated terribly and had no breaks, and the living environments and environment exposure. Documents A, B, D, F and G will help further explain the hardships African slaves faced, and how the Africans handled the hardships that they faced throughout.

African Americans had a turbulent history in the United States ever since they were brought to the country as slaves. “Slavery in America began when the first African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, to aid in the production of such lucrative crops as tobacco. (Slavery in America, 2012) During the 17th and 18th centuries, slavery was practiced throughout most of the American colonies. (Slavery in America, date). During these times, the amount of slaves that were brought to America enormous and could possibly be near the 10 million mark in the 16th

Though social problems affect a wide variety of people from all races, classes, and cultures; minorities, specifically African Americans, encounter social problems on a multi-dimensional basis. Poverty, employment rates, discrimination, and other social problems strike African Americans in such a way that it is nearly impossible to separate them; each individual has different background, socially and physically, that would determine in which order his or her social problems need to be solved. Impoverished blacks in the inner city may have difficulty finding or keeping jobs, while others may have jobs, but face troubles with work discrimination that prevent them from moving upward .Underemployment, workplace inequalities, and unbalanced

The social issue that I will be addressing is the African American population and how they endured being enslaved also detailing the discrimination and segregation parameters that also came along with this atrocity of enslavement. Although this social issue wasn’t one that was addressed in the course, I believe it is an essential matter that has helped shaped America and the individuals who reside here both past and present. This act has shaped the economy, the policies, and the government in regards to how they choose to address situations and fix them as well. The individuals of the community, activist and advocates began to express their thoughts and feelings on the matter, in which others strongly agreed eventually a social movement derived from these efforts and it was named the Abolitionist movement. The Abolitionist movement began in the 1830s and lasted until 1870, in which the focus of this movement was to immediately emancipate slaves, also placing emphasis on the ending of racial segregation and discrimination that was prevalent among society. This social movement targeted society as a whole and the type of change it wanted to initiate was radical, in which it would be classified as a revolutionary movement. Abolitionism was not an issue that could be surpassed decade after decade due to how many individuals it affected, whom also wanted the dynamics to change within the economy as well as the different communities throughout America with

The Declaration of Independence and Common Sense are one of the most important documents ever written. The point of the Declaration of Independence was to show why the thirteen colonies were separating themselves from Great Britain. Common Sense was written to to help strengthen the colonies argument for their freedom. Eventually, the colonists had won the Revolutionary War and formed a brand new government. Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence helped create this government where “all men are created equal.” Both documents expressed ideas of greater possibility for humanity. However, have we achieved the maxims expressed in these documents? The answer is no. Take a look at African Americans throughout history and even today.

In the novel, 12 Years a Slave, by Solomon Northup, the African American story is told of the injustices of America. Since then, the Black community has evolved significantly. However, many must still fight for fairness in a land where equality should be a given. How, in nearly two centuries, do African Americans still struggle for justice in the “land of the free and home of the brave?”

The problems for African American was a struggle because of prejudices and racism. After the Civil War African American still struggled had problems trying to benefit from their full rights that the Constitution promised. African American was free form slavery, but still treat as unequal. African American though with the civil rights they would be free to do what all other American could do. To be treated equal it took more time than people expected. Maybe, if the government would had gotten involved with the problem things would had gotten better

African Americans have been through so much since being uprooted from their home in Africa. Most people do not understand what happened to African Americans and they understand what they had to go through to be where they are today. It went from being kings in the comfort of their home to being thrown on a boat packed like sardines to be forced to work in the fields. The trip was a massacre itself because many did not make it due to the treatment from others. African Americans have always been treated like outsiders and it took many people to sway the perception of others to be where they are today. Through all the ups and downs African Americans persevered and made it out the struggle. African Americans has always been treated badly all groups of people and they always looked down on African Americans. Throughout the history involving African American, it showed the constant inferiority treatment. African Americans were slaves years ago, people still look at blacks as less important than other people. Slavery has a huge impact on our society today because people are still bias and unfair towards African Americans, most African Americans are still living in poverty and don’t have proper education beyond high school which is why they don’t have the equal opportunity for jobs. African Americans still continue to sit in the shadow behind white people.

Tradition stories have played a great role in the lives of many children worldwide. Traditional stories have always carried with its hidden meanings with each tackling a certain theme. The themes presented always refer to a certain period or a certain event in some place. The stories use different literary stylistic devices to hide some of the themes being presented or being passed to other generations. The oral traditions of African Americans were responsible for the creation of the stories. This is the language pattern and speech ways of African Americans slaves which are evidenced by the survival of West African beliefs (Flora and MacKethan 7). One of the stories that have been widely used today is the story Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings. The story was written by Joel Chandler Harris and it uses an allegory to present the suffering that the black people underwent in the southern plantation (Flora and MacKethan 920). The book reflects the powerlessness of the black people and the white domination over African Americans. It shows how the African Americans had to use trickery to withstand the treatment they received from the white man.