Racial Discrimination Of Labor In The Early 20th Century

Segregation of the labor force not only helped the wealthy whites maintain power and money, but it also helped lower income to middle-class white Americans. This is because segregation “prevented blacks from competing with them for better- paying jobs.” Due to the segregation of some jobs, lower class whites were often guaranteed employment because the demand for white workers was high. This high demand was caused by a number of employers searching for white employees, and would not settle for black

What is racism? Racism is the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to categorize it as inferior or superior to another race or races. Racism has changed a lot over the last century.

The World War 2 era provided many changes in California. With the people coming off The Great Depression during the 30’s they saw California’s economic standing, social moral, and overall mentality transform completely. Not only did the country go through something as devastating as The Depression, they are now entering into the War. With the wartime, expansion came racial discrimination for minorities, especially Japanese Americans, which resulted in one of the worst cases of mass incarceration in America’s history. While America was restarting the country’s economic growth it was sending their own citizens into internment camps, an event that would affect hundreds of thousands of Japanese American citizens for decades to come.

They help to preserve the societal status quo by, firstly, legitimating the exploitation of immigrants, secondly, diverting workers’ attention from the true cause of their insecure position, thirdly, splitting the labor movement and weakening class consciousness” (Castles and Kosack, 460). The first function, in particular, is practiced within American society. For instance, Mexican immigrants are subject to work in inferior labor jobs that do not pay well. Illegal immigrants are treated almost inhumane having to do low paying jobs such a meat packing that causes injuries and disease among

Describe the composition and structure of the labor force in the West. How was it shaped by racial prejudice?

“We use the term racial formation to refer to the process by which social, economic and political forces determine the content and importance of racial categories, and by which they are in turn shaped by racial meanings.” (Omi and Winant 14) Through observing certain events in the economy, politics, and society, we can understand the unwanted ascribing of racial identities to the minorities that led to their unfair treatment and discrimination. The underlying factors that led to this utilization of racial formation were a scarcity of jobs, political policies to maintain power, and racial division through class differences.

"Discrimination is a disease." This is a greatly popular quote straight from the mouth of Robert Staunbach. Many people consider the 1930's to be a terrible time of prejudice, especially to some violent extremes. Between racism, sexism, and social prejudice, discrimination levels were about the highest America has ever seen. This was a difficult time for African Americans in the U.S, and despite the decline of organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan, racism was as strong as ever, especially in the southern states. During the Great Depression, colossal unemployment and relocation forced a re-evaluation of sexism in employment. With millions of people in unemployment, the gap between the rich and the

In the Wages of Whiteness (an edition revision) by David Roediger, an American labor historian, he examines the growth and social construction of race during the 1800s and its relations to white workers. Roediger states by labeling race based on its skin color and social status, white folks were“...seen as ‘naturally’ white, and Black workers become ‘intruders’ who are strongly suspected of being ‘loafers’ as well” (Roediger 19). The production of race formed once white workers accepted their class positions by accepting their identities as ‘not slaves’ and as ‘not Blacks’. In this case, there was a necessity for white workers to have its own sense of class and gender identity to determine who has power and who does not.

Put yourself in the shoes of a plantation worker having to work hard laborious days then being put in a very small house with no shade or getting small amounts of pay just because of your race. Most of the workers are mainly from asia despite all the workers being from asia almost all of them got paid less. All workers who were not married was forced into a small ten foot by ten foot house which holds 40 or more men inside. Working in a plantation in hawaii in the 1800’s was hard because of the ethnic segregation, gender differences, pay scale, work conditions, and the living conditions during the time.

During the 1950’s African Americans experienced inequality and discrimination. For these reasons Armstrong received many racist reviews in the newspapers, Armstrong refused to comment on political matters or on topics such as segregation and racism. This changed however in 1957, when Armstrong saw the Little Rock Central High School crisis or the “Little Rock nine” as it is also known. When Armstrong saw the crisis on television he was furious and told a reporter, Larry Lubenow, that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had "no guts" and stated, "The way they are treating my people in the South, the Government can go to hell.” When the eager reporter returned to his editor thinking he had a huge new cover story for their paper, the editor said there was no way Armstrong would have said something like that, and that they could only print the story if he had some form of proof. When the reporter returned to Armstrong he asked his permission to print the story.

In the late 19’th century, many new immigrants came to America with hopes to escape religious and political persecution, to find better employment opportunities, for more freedoms, and a chance to start over again. The immigrant work force grew fast as the demand for factory labor grew. These immigrants were important to industrialization in the United States. They were willing to work in unsanitary work conditions for little pay. Because of this, American industries were able to hire more of these types of workers. Although they were unskilled, the type of jobs they were required to do were jobs that didn’t demand much knowledge.

A massive demographic shift of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North, the Great Migration (1950 – 1970) did not affect the wages of Northern whites as much as it did Northern blacks. In fact, Leah Boustan discovers that even within the same skill group, black and white workers were poor substitutes for one another. Employers often relegated black workers, including those with adequate schooling and work experiences, to stereotypical service positions such as “janitor, cook, [and] porter.” Meanwhile, similarly educated whites held supervisory jobs and union

For instances, in 1946 various Latinos and African Americans experienced tough conditions working in a steel company named Bethlehem Steel. Both Latinos and African Americans were trapped in the dirtiest, most dangerous and lowest paying positions. For example, many were either placed in the pits of the furnace, bolt shop, or wire mill. These jobs were lower paying and offered less or no incentive pay. Jobs located near the furnace were very dirty, dangerous, and not desired by Anglo workers. So, there was a sort of work discrimination towards minority workers (Donahoe, 2005, 90-91).

The Civil Rights movement gave many African Americans access to job markets that were previously off limits to them. However, the unemployment rates among people living in ghettos continued to rise. For those who are employed, their average income had grown compared to the income of African Americans in the past. However, African American workers were being paid less than white workers. This is even truer for African Americans who have the same educational level as white workers. “The white high school graduate will earn just about as much as a Negro, who has gone through college and beyond for graduate training” (Clark 35). Addition to lower pay, access to higher paid job was harder for African American

The history of United State has shown many racial discriminations since colonists arrived America. African Americans have suffered unequal treatments and punishments in comparison to white people and European immigrants. Even when slavery was abolished in 1865, African Americans were still victims of many inequalities like employment, rights, housing, and transportation. However, due to these inequalities and mistreatments like the Jim Crow Laws, many African Americans started to make a change during the 1950’s, also called the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks, that was arrested for sitting in the front of a bus in Alabama. Rosa Parks case made the supreme court to ban segregation in public transportation. The social difference during the 1950’s was very notable and obvious, and voting was a big example of the huge discrimination suffered by African Americans and minorities. In the south, white people would take away minorities’ right to vote by making them take a test that would decide if they were or not capable to make a political decision. Fortunately, big characters like Martin Luther King vouched for the end of this inequalities. Martin Luther King played a big role in the 1960’s making everyone aware about the change that was about to come.