The Foundation For African American Participation Essay

Black service in American armies during the revolution, black abolitionist petitions for emancipation and the actions of white anti-slavery societies all motivated the movement to the forefront of American politics. The movement had a negative impact on the South due to the growth of the cotton industry and the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793 making slavery an even more vital part of the Southern and national economies. This encouraged legislation that limited rights of free blacks which gave way to the Underground Railroad and the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850. Black unrest in the South inspired urgency among white abolitionists who feared that maintaining slavery would lead to more violence. As a result of the abolitionist movement the Liberty Party was formed with candidates running in every election between 1840 and 1860. However, the abolitionist movement did not abolish slavery or improve the status of African-Americans in the antebellum period and only succeeded in making the South more militant against the idea of abolitionism which created violent riots in some areas.

During my early years of school, I remember being taught white accomplishments and wondering if blacks and other people of color had made any significant contributions to today's world. I noticed that television consist of all white people. Throughout my research paper I hope to cover certain aspects of African American heritage. Aspects such as blacks making up the largest minority group in the United States, although Mexican-Americans are rapidly changing that. The contributions blacks have provided to our country are immeasurable. Unfortunately though rather than recognizing these contributions, white America would rather focus on oppressing and degrading these people. As a consequence American

Slavery began in the late 16th century to early 18th century. Africans were brought to American colonies by white masters to come and work on their plantations in the South. They were treated harshly with no payments for all their hard work. In addition, they lived under harsh living conditions, and this led to their resistance against these harsh conditions. The racism towards the African Americans who were slaves was at its extreme as they did not have any rights; no civil nor political rights.

The cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney in 1794 had a powerful impact on the slavery business and the Civil War. It allowed one slave to produce much more cotton, making the demand for cotton and slaves much higher, ultimately provoking the civil war and causing much more pain and suffering than what was needed.

The 1960s was a very hostile time for African Americans, especially in one particular state. In Mississippi, only 7% of the African American population was registered to vote, while other southern states had about 50%-60% of the black community participating in elections. Though preventing someone from voting based on their skin color was unconstitutional, many towns in Mississippi made it almost impossible for anyone of color to enter the voting booth. Many efforts to try to encourage voting in African Americans failed due to the fear of what would happen after the attempt. The possible consequences for those who pursued in the right to vote was having their name publicized in local newspapers, losing their job, or facing the threat of violence against

Jesse Jackson, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Booker T. Washington, and W.E.B DuBois are all African American leaders. All of these men were leaders in their own time and their own sense, living in different eras with different views, but they all shared common ground. All four were African Americans trying to overcome obstacles and become influential leaders in their society.

As far back as 84 years before the war, legal changes to slavery were already beginning to occur in the Northern states. From 1777 to 1804, majority of the north adapted one of three lawful ways of freeing slaves. Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts chose to abolish slavery all together. While New York, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey opted for the gradual emancipation, the states on the south of their borders chose something else. In Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware, where slaves were still a vital part of their workforce, only individual cases of emancipation were granted to some. (Roark et al., p. 259) At around the same time in 1793, the Southern states were introduced to a new invention that successfully altered their whole economy. The creation of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin made production of cotton easier and faster. This in turn, enabled the owners of the machine the ability to cater to the high demands of cotton worldwide. Unfortunately for the slaves in the South, cotton gins still required operation by an actual person, and the cotton gins was only used for one step (although separating the seeds from the cotton was the most difficult) out of the many steps

Historically black colleges and universities, otherwise known as HBCUs, have played an integral role in advancing the education of underprivileged black teenagers since their inception after the American Civil War. They have had students extremely well known in their fields today, such as billionaire entertainer Oprah Winfrey, the first African American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. Though their graduation rates tend to be around 1 in 3, they have produced a majority of successful African American professionals. For the continued advancement of African Americans, HBCUs are necessary for offering educational opportunities that their students had been historically denied and presently out of financial reach, while promoting strong family values and equality that may be lacking at traditional schools and displaying positive African American role models in their alumni and staff.

In conclusion, African Americans have been treated less than a human, and it is not fair. African American has been beaten on, pushed around, murdered, and now thrown behind bars. There are so many sophisticated young black people , but society does not give them the opportunity to prove themselves. The only way African Americans can make it in society is to walk around in a suit and tie, and have money. People wonder why African Americans make up most of the jail system, and the reasons that were discussed was racial profiling, unfair sentencing, unemployment, drug usage, communities being targeted, and white privilege. These things have caused many black men , children , and woman to sit behind bars for the majority of their lives. America has never been fair towards the African American community because it was built for Caucasian people to live in, and black people are just tolerated and locked away.

From the 1920’s to the mid 1930’s a literary, intellectual, and artistic movement occurred that kindled the African Americans a new cultural identity. This movement became known as the Harlem Renaissance, which is also known as the “New Negro Movement”. With this movement, African Americans sought out to challenge the “Negro” stereotype that they had received from others while developing innovation and great cultural activity. The Harlem Renaissance became an artistic explosion in the creative arts. Thus, many African Americans turned to writing, art, music, and theatrics to express their selves.

To many people across the globe, the United States of America appears to be a place where one can be proud of. America the land where dreams come true and there is always a chance for any person to succeed. People who are not from the United States have been painted a beautiful picture of what life in our country is like. Not only do they think that there is a special place in America for them and the perfect career for each individual, but unfortunately this is not always true. The American dream is not necessarily to get rich quick, it is more along the lines of a hard worker having an opportunity to be financially stable and to live a pleasant life. The dream is that their sons and daughters will not have to suffer the same things that

Throughout history, blacks have been treated the poorest out of all races. Although everyone under God is to be treated equal, whites thought of themselves as being the superior race. In 1619 a Dutch ship brought 20 slaves to America and it took nearly 240 years for slavery to end in 1865(Ronald, , para. 3).These helpless slaves were taken to America and put to work growing anything from cotton to tobacco. Slaves had absolutely no rights. They were simply property of their “Massa’.” Being disrespectful to a white man could get a Negro killed and they just accepted the facts of the matter. The south was the most notorious in its treatment of slaves and slaves would run away. It was a big risk, but a slave that made it to a

The black freedom struggle has not yet come to an end – there are still prejudiced and racist radicals that try to negotiate white supremacy and dominance in order to prevent the blacks from their long wait for equality. Consequently, the movement has progressed very sluggishly in the past few centuries. Nevertheless, the campaign for equal rights has led to the triumph over slavery and has led to the accrual of suffrage rights. However, this is still not enough, not after centuries of enslavement, lynching, segregation, and discrimination. Oftentimes, there is still no justice in court houses, especially when black people are accused and convicted, even for the simplest of crimes – as compared to the white and powerful who are charged for heinous misconducts and get away scratch free. Hence, throughout the period of the Blacks’ long fight for freedom and equality, several Black intellectuals have come front with ideas that could administer better treatment for their people. A good strategy to encourage the black populace to fight for their freedom and their rights is by inverting popular ideas so that there is a clear distinction between the reasonable and unreasonable notions of equality and justice. Thus, it was not uncommon for these literati to undermine dominant discourses in order to bolster their own analyses. Among the discussed black intellectuals who inverted prevailing dissertations, three that stood out the most are Frederick Douglass, Anna Julia Cooper, and

Throughout history, many different minority groups have been treated unfairly. Although African Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans are all minorities, they are similar in the ways of getting treated negatively, but they differ significantly. While some experience different situations in their early histories, stereotypes, discrimination, and other important issues. Some of these minority groups have these issues similar or worse than others.

The African American experience is one that is quite different from other racial/ ethnic groups. The majority of the first African American came over, unwillingly, on ships from various African countries. They were brought to America by white, European settlers to be used as slaves in an order to plant and harvest their crops and make money for the white man. This racial group was treated as if they were property and not people. However, with the ending of the American Civil War, African Americans gained freedom, freedom that not all white American were quite ready to handle. After gaining their freedom came the need for education, jobs and suffrage rights. Now in America this racial group has come a long way, having elected its first African American present for two terms, yet still there are many issues that are very prevalent. This racial group has been fighting their way to equality since the birth of this nation. African Americans have experienced an array of conflict, violence, stereotypes, prejudice acts, and discrimination against them throughout their history in America.