The Domestic Work Of African American Women

The theme of “a failure of justice” for African Americans living in the present-day United States dates

The article “The Negro Digs Up His Past’’ by Arthur schomburg on 1925, elaborates more on the struggles of slavery as well as how history tend to be in great need of restoration through mindfully exploring on the past. The article, however started with an interesting sentence which caught my attention, especially when the writer says ‘’The American Negro must remark his past in order to make his future’’ (670). This statement according the writer, explains how slavery took away the great deal freedom from people of African descendant, through emancipation and also increase in diversity. The writer (Arthur Schomburg) however, asserts that “the negro has been throughout the centuries of controversy an active collaborator, and often a pioneer, in the struggle for his own freedom and advancement” (670).

The time has come again to celebrate the achievements of all black men and women who have chipped in to form the Black society. There are television programs about the African Queens and Kings who never set sail for America, but are acknowledged as the pillars of our identity. In addition, our black school children finally get to hear about the history of their ancestors instead of hearing about Columbus and the founding of America. The great founding of America briefly includes the slavery period and the Antebellum south, but readily excludes both black men and women, such as George Washington Carver, Langston Hughes, and Mary Bethune. These men and women have contributed greatly to American society.

The black race has faced many hardships throughout American history. The harsh treatment is apparent through the brutal slavery era, the Civil Rights movement, or even now where sparks of racial separation emerge in urbanized areas of Baltimore, Chicago, and Detroit. Black Americans must do something to defend their right as an equal American. “I Am Not Your Negro” argues that the black race will not thrive unless society stands up against the conventional racism that still appears in modern America. “The Other Wes Moore” argues an inspiring message that proves success is a product of one’s choices instead of one’s environment or expectations.

Slavery was abolished after the Civil War, but the Negro race still was not accepted as equals into American society. To attain a better understanding of the events and struggles faced during this period, one must take a look at its' literature. James Weldon Johnson does an excellent job of vividly depicting an accurate portrait of the adversities faced before the Civil Rights Movement by the black community in his novel “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.” One does not only read this book, but instead one takes a journey alongside a burdened mulatto man as he struggles to claim one race as his own.

The Reconstruction Era is a suitable starting point for African Americans. “Reconstruction- the effort to restore southern states to the Union and to redefine African Americans’ place in

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.

Terrified by the changing of the Black’s status, before the Civil War had even finished, Southerners started a huge counterattack aimed at overpowering their former slaves. In 1896 their

Southerners felt resentful about reconstruction policies, and were humiliated by reconstruction because it threatened their Southern sense of pride. An increasing number of Southern whites began to respond in violence to the revolutionary changes made during reconstruction, such as the change in the South’s economy. In addition to this, racism was still a dominant force in the South. The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist organizations targeted African Americans who opposed white power. Thus, local Republicans leaders were also targeted if they challenged white

“Racism, xenophobia and unfair discrimination have spawned slavery, when human beings have bought and sold and owned and branded fellow human beings as if they were so many beasts of burden” (Desmond Tutu). America is truly shaped by human experiences. From The Triangle Trade, to our Founding Fathers owning slaves, to the Civil War, to Civil Rights Movement, and finally to today. Racism has led to a great deal of impaction on the United States. One event that rocked our nation would be the Scottsboro trials in the 1930’s. The Scottsboro case tragedy changed America because for the first time it was made public, heightened the nation's emotions and whites Southerners felt threatened by the colored and their advancements.

Racial discrimination has always been a problem and will continue to be a problem. Whether it’s slavery, lynching, The Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision, the Ku Klux Klan, or the separate but equal doctrine, African Americans faced discrimination throughout the 19th century. Today, African Americans continue to be the victims of most of the hate crimes related to race. Even after

History is a collection of narratives that are created through pinpointing certain moments from the past and disregarding others. Theses narratives are what shape the way humans see the world from the past in today’s eyes. In 2014, a certain debate has sparked. The topic of this debate was which narrative is most accurate of telling the story of black people’s history in the United States. What started off with Paul Ryan, an American Politician, making his point of view on the matter public, ended with Ta-Nehisi Coates and Jonathan Chait engaging in a heated argument. Paul Ryan and Ta-Nehisi Coates both take on a position that argues for there being only one true cause of the black American, and especially urban, experience. Both leave out

When people refer to America, they typically think of it as the melting pot in the center of the earth. However, for a country that prides itself in advocating freedom and equality for all, the United States has a long history of segregation and discrimination that has long affected present policy. It is clear that racial minorities have been targets of this racial bias for years, and even after slavery was abolished, African-Americans continued to face the most racism due to the color of their skin. Thus, by looking at how John Franklin’s life experience as a boy scout during the 1920’s illustrates a small peek into the history of race and ethnicity in America, we can see how racial hostility, and the Anglo-Saxon view of a white American identity played a major role in defining the color line in American culture. Consequently, rather than enjoying equal liberties as did any other American citizen, African Americans faced many political, social, and economic discriminations that only proved that race was nothing more than a socially constructed product of hatred.

The election of President Obama marks the most noteworthy political accomplishment for African Americans in the United States during the post-civil rights revolution, thus bringing about a change in the country’s social and political landscape that was steeped in racial discrimination since the founding of this great nation. Because social and political conditions are subject to constant change, President Obama’s

Racism has always been a part of the American history, and it still is to this day. Some of America’s forefathers, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and many more, kept people of color as slaves for labor. The icons of American history were in fact, all white. They portrayed the view of white people being more dominant than people of color through the works of slavery. Although people in the 21st century do not hold slaves for labor, the racial prejudice has only increased. For instance, in an article entitled “The Trauma of Racism: America’s Original Sin,” the author, Kenneth T. Ponds, suggests that “However I believe something else is in play and that is a lack of understanding… views equating whiteness with being fully human and truly American.” (22) The solution to this racial diversity is for Americans to accept the sameness of the human family. With this addition, Americans will be able to transform lives and human relationships between people of different races.