Racial Tensions And Treatment Of Blacks By Secondary And Primary Sourcing

The Reconstruction Era and The Jim Crow Era were both times of Rapid growth in the United States that were characterized by changes not only on the intrapersonal level, but also on the cultural and legislative level. The Reconstruction Era occurred directly after the civil war and spanned twelve years from 1865 to 1877 , while the Jim Crow Era occurred from 1877 to 1954. Some of the common themes of these eras were race relations and tension between northern states and southern states. The first topic that this paper will be covering is race relations during these two eras. Race relations were a central theme in the two films The Birth of a Nation and Within Our Gates making it a natural fit. The other topic that will be covered in this paper is the role and responsibilities of northern states during the reconstruction era. In this paper, Northern states will be defined as any state who supported the union during the American Civil War.

The general audience of this essay is for anyone that has experienced racism in the south.

On September 18, 1895, an African-American spokesman and leader Booker T. Washington spoke in the front of thousands of whites at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta. His famous “Atlanta Compromise” was one of the most influential speeches in American. regardless Washington soothed his listeners’ concerns about the what they said “uppity” blacks. Mr. Washington was a very well-known black educator. Even though he was born into slavery he strongly felt and believed that racism would in fact end once the blacks put effort into labor skills and proved themselves to society. He pressured industrial education for African-Americans so that they would gain respect from the whites. Washington often was good for ignoring discrimination because it didn’t phase him. But he was so nervous

C. Vann Woodward illuminates one of the “ugliest” aspects of American societal history in his book The Strange Career of Jim Crow. His book is an overview of the development of the Jim Crow system, a set of racist laws put in place around the turn of the nineteenth century. Interestingly his book tracks the evolution of racism throughout American history. He not only shows where and when racism is developing but the different ways that the racism manifested itself in the North and South.

The first segment is about the "old" South and the plantations, slavery, supported by law, church, schools, and press. The second is the new order of Reconstruction, occupation and a changed federal Constitution. The third one is the third regime, following Reconstruction, which was the longest, characterized by the regime of "Jim Crow.” The last segment is the newest phase, comprising the demise of Jim Crow and the renewed intense devotion of the federal government and civil rights leaders to establish racial equality. This segments of Southern history has been involved to the relationship between the white and black race, specifically the legal and social status of blacks, and this work is essentially a study of the third segment - the rise and entrenchment of Jim

This document describes the results of blacks are no different than whites. It is stated that we are taught that they were to hide the truth of matter in which would state otherwise. The literature of the blacks cause racial and social problems between them and the whites. This document really undergoes the value of isolation and the attempt to keep the blacks located into a rural area where they don’t associate with whites. This is what whites wanted in the South and the North, they truly wanted segregation. The wanted separation from colored people. In Chapter 7 Negro Population stated the following: “Therefore, the dominant American valuation is that the Negro should be eliminated from the American scene, but slowly.” These words right here provide proof of segregation among races. The whites feel if black population was decreased the economic structure of America would hold value and

Let’s examine the reality of violence during the Reconstruction Era. In the document, “Southern Horrors- Lynch Laws in All its Phases, by Ida B. Wells-Barnett we see countless examples of the continued violence in the south against African-Americans. The slogan “This is white man’s country and the

Today racial inequality is ongoing whether you are aware of it or not. We have come a long way from segregated seats to public transportation. The issue of race and race relations has really scarred the history of this nation and has been a constant reminder of the horrors people endured as a result of race relations in this country. The ideas from both of the readings explain how black Americans faced hatred and violence because they were viewed as less then. The writings also include how each leader is trying to change the world’s view of

To understand the present and the future one must understand the past.  The book Civilities and Civil Rights by William Chafe provided a detailed look at North Carolina, specifically Greensboro between the years of the 1930s through the 1960’s. The state of events that occur can be linked to many of the events that one sees today due to the fact that the foundation and structure of the south was built on racism. No one came straight out and said they were racist, instead the problem was covered up with civilities. Few leaders wanted to rock the boat or change things that would allow African Americans rights. This report will show how the civilities during this time hindered the success of civil rights in Greensboro, and also how it was harder for activists in Greensboro to win support and accomplish their goals.

The root cause of the problems and issues that faced African Americans from the beginning of the Reconstruction Period well into the 20th century “is the problem of the color-line, -the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea” (W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of the Black Folk, 1903). The most obvious root cause for racism problems and issues African Americans face is white supremacy.

The story of Clyde Ross and Lawndale is just one example of the obstacles faced by blacks even after slavery was abolished. It is clear that it was specifically black families that were targeted by contract sellers and that were bypassed by the FHA to be given insurance. The appearance of equality overshadowed the reality of the situation for blacks, which was that they were frequently exploited and contained in neighborhoods that did not receive governmental assistance, while whites were benefitting from the new governmental agencies while many of them simultaneously

As unfortunate as it is, there are many instances throughout American history that highlight racism as a deeply rooted problem. One such series of events were the Scottsboro Trials of the early 1930s. To fully understand the meaning of the Trials themselves, one must first understand the time period. This was the 1930s, the height of the Depression; food and money were scarce and many people were ‘riding the rails’ cross-country in search of employment (Anderson; Johnson). March 25, 1931 found a group of people, white and black, crossing into Alabama from Tennessee in the cars of a freight train. Among these rail-riders were Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, two white women. Somewhere along the journey, a fight broke out, resulting in most of

Social Stratification in the African American community has changed over the years. Social stratification is defined as a rigid subdivision of a society into a hierarchy of layers, differentiated on the basis of power, prestige, and wealth according to Webster’s dictionary. David Newman in Sociology Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life describes stratification as a ranking system for groups of people that perpetuates unequal rewards and life chances in society. From slavery to the present, the African American community has been seen to have lower status compared to white people. Today, the stratification or hierarchy difference between whites and black are not really noticeable, but it is still present. However, during

Racial discrimination dominated over social classes creating an unfair way to divide people. "In all areas of life, Americans were persuaded that the major races - black, Indian, Asian, and white - could not and should not live or work together and certainly not as equals." (Smedley 221) All other races were homogenized, regardless of education, skills, language, religion, income, or place of origin, into one simple category. Class separation was temporary and situational, as so many Americans were quick to uncover. White Americans believed that anyone who succeeded in business, politics, entertainment, or their professions automatically improved their class status and eliminated the barriers to upper class institutions. Class barriers can be surpassed; race barriers can not.

On 1 May 1866 in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, an altercation between black Union soldiers and Memphis police officers started a chain reaction that eventually brought about what has come to be known as the Memphis Riots of 1866. The group of amicably intoxicated soldiers reacted negatively when told by a small group of officers to break up their party, and although no one was seriously injured, the situation quickly escalated to the point where shots were fired on both sides (Carden 2). This incident, however, was not the cause of the Memphis Riots. Instead, I will argue that the altercation merely served as the spark to set a fire to a whole mess of kindling made of economic, political, and social twigs and branches, which was already in place long before the actual events of the Memphis Riots.