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.

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

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.

From 1775 to 1830, many African Americans gained freedom from, yet during the same period the institution towards the southern parts of America to work in plantations. This was the start of new changes that was going to take place that free African Americans and enslaved African Americans. Between 1775 and 1830 was one of the greatest trials that came with many challenges for the African Americans to confront these issues.

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.

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.

The grandfather clause was determined to be unconstitutional while states were able to continue giving literacy tests because they were applied to both blacks and whites (Corbin 43). The Supreme Court ruled in 1859 in the case Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections that requirements for voting would be completely left up to the states to decide as long as they do not discriminate against race (Pendergast et al. 307). The states also used the argument that by having literacy tests, it promoted voting done only by intellectuals who were able to understand politics (Corbin 43).

The grandfather clause was one of these racist laws. This law stated that an individual was not allowed to vote if their grandfather was unable to vote in slavery days. Luckily the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down. Sadly, however other rulings by the courts like William v. Mississippi, (1898) allowed states to add poll taxes and require literacy tests to voting requirements. These laws dramatically reduced the amount

Chapter two discusses the inequality, brutality, and disfranchisement done to African Americans. This chapter also displayed the change African Americans made when they realized enough was enough. Ella Ree Jones was a student at Alabama State Teachers College in Montgomery, AL, who acted in the same way Rosa Parks made famous 13 years later. Jones was feeling confined that day but was told to give her seat up for a white man. She refused and argued she was already halfway on the bus where blacks were assigned. The bus driver called the police and they took Jones to City Hall. When they arrived at City Hall the officers beat her with a pipe, kicked her repeatedly, one officer took her head and propelled it into a brick wall, and then pushed her into her cell. Jones was fined and was still obscure on what she had done wrong.

Before the Civil war took place, African-Americans underwent merciless oppression and many cases about tortured African-Americans surfaced during the era. The Grandfather Clause (1898-1915) was one such cunning step to deprive the African Americans of voting and other rights. It was enacted by the southern states of America. This clause was the answer to the Reconstruction law (1865-1877). The fourteenth amendment provided equal rights to the African-Americans. They were given as much liberty as the white people. After a brief period of implying this amendment, a new law was framed. It said that the voting rights differed on the basis of education and economic condition. However, the flaw was the number of white people that were uneducated.

African Americans lives are getting better. Once the Jim crow era ended passing was almost a thing of the past in the Black Culture. In today’s society Blacks still do not have equal rights as White people but they are working on it. There are a lot more African American doctors, lawyers, dentist, educators, philosophers, police officers and we even have a Black president of the United states. However, racial discrimination is still in full effect. We live in a society where the poor is made fun of, the elderly get treated badly, and women still do not have equal pay. In one way or another we have to pass for something we are not in order to get where we need to be. Whether you have to lie about your sexuality, religion, age, race, and your

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.