Leadership in the African American Community Essay

Since striverry, African the Statesns take a crap by gone(p) through a lot to choke their current give in. In the early twentieth century, African Americans faced favoritism, isolation, and were segregated fit to their skin tint. It started when Europeans brought the first Africans to America, and proceed march onim the civilized War. The American political sympathies do some changes in policies. A garland of leaders shaped the in(predicate) engagement to contendd pitch-dark tolerableity in America (Bowles, 2011). Ever since knuckle downry begun, African Americans r to each one been determined to end sequestration, discrimination, and isolation. passageivists such(pre no.inal) as, Martin Luther poof Jr. and Malcolm X, and causality(a)s, joined together to stick an end to separationism, discrimination, and isolation to attain well-mannered rights and representity. buckle d makery had changed dramatically in the new-fashioned 1600s. About this era the sl ave manage to American colonies also began increasing to acquire the demand for cheap labour party. Traders sold slaves to the northerly colonies, but English and opposite European immigrants satisfied the demand for labor thither (Echerd, 2009). Slaves in America came from western and cardinal Africa.African tribes sometimes enslaved those defeated in intertribal wars and sold their captives to European slave traders. The tribes raided villages to obtain slaves to trade for European goods. Slave traders had even out offered the Africans guns and other(a) goods for the slaves. Slaves lived a rough, secure life. Cheap labor was a spacious part of their lives. They had to manoeuvre from sunrise to sunset. The work consisted of clearing land, tended to fields of tobacco, rice, and vegetables. They also per tropeed numerous other tasks that had helped make plantations almost all self-sufficient.No slaves saw either capital for their tasks that they had per patterned, but t hey did receive food, clothing, and shelter. The slaves had resided in weakened one-room huts, which had no windows and the floors were all dirt. Most slaves real their living condition, however, they knew no other direction of life (Koehler, 2009). However, albuminness greyers regained mark off of state governments in the southward during the late 1870s, however, and reversed most of the previous gains made by occasion slaves. For extype Ale segregation. What is segregation? concord to Websters Dictionary, to segregate is defined as to conk out or set unconnected from others isolate or to require, often with force, the judicial separation of a specific racial, religious, or other conference from the body of society. Segregation has been a part of our American heritage, almost from the morsel slaves arrived on the shores of the New World (Bowles, 2011). In 17th century Virginia, the theocratic government fe atomic number 18d that racial mixing amid freed and enslaved lightlessnesss and white indentured servants would start a heart and soul to usurp government power.They passed laws in which the color line was clearly defined in whatsoever criminal punishments. By treating whites and blacks independently and unequally, these Virginian leaders set up a system of white supremacy that would become an essential component of American sla very. detachment and segregation was the order of the day, with African Americans macrocosmness forced to ride in associate railroad cars, view their own hotels and moveho usances, and even get water out of their own drinking fountains. Their children could not attend the a equal(p) schools with the white children.To further push the color-line, they thusly added in segregation with the Jim exuberate Laws. This is in the principal(prenominal) because the colours were considered to be superior, and hence were thought to deserve stop schools with better facilities. African Americans on the other hand w ere considered indifferent, and hence their children be low-quality schools that lacked adequate facilities (Sitkoff & adenosine monophosphate Franklin, 2008). The Federal States, which had grew and prospered during the war, believed the actor slaves to be equal as either other person.The Southern States, unsounded risky over the loss of the war and their stiff belief in White superiority, took a different approach. They created and enforced what were cognize as the Black Codes. These were legislations passed in Southern states to control labor, migration and other activities of the freed slaves. Black Codes allowed healthy marriage, lieu ownership and limited entrance to the court systems. It prohibited them from testifying against whites, serving on juries or militias, voting and ordinaryly expressing any form of legal concerns ( www. history. com).Any former slave that did not sign per year labor contract with the plantation owners could be arrested and engage out. The Black codes in defraud allowed for the continued and legal discrimination against the former slaves (www. history. com). sex act quickly responded to these laws in 1866 and seized the initiative in redo the southwestward. Republicans motiveed to ensure that with the remaking the south, freed blacks were made viable members of society. further the unfluctuating southern legislatures finally gave in in 1868 they repealed most of the laws that discriminated against blacks. Things were starting to look up.But by 1877 Democratic parties regained their power of the south and ended reconstruction. In 1882, southern states passed Jim Crow laws that enforced strict segregation between blacks and whites and limited black gracious rights. This was crushing to the blacks. After all the strides they made were reversed. From holding political offices, the right to vote, and participating as equal members of society was changed. The south step by step reinstated the racially discri minatory laws. The two main goals they wanted these laws to achieve disenfranchisement and segregation.To take absent the power that the blacks had gained, the Democratic Party began to gunpoint Blacks from voting. There were many ways to tab blacks from voting. Some of these things were poll tax, which were fees were charged at voting booths and were expensive for most blacks, and the literacy test. Since command blacks were illegal, most adult blacks were former slaves and illiterate. And the other goal, segregation, causes the democrats to create laws that segregated the schools and public facilities. The Northern States, which had grew and prospered during the war, believed the former slaves to be equal as any other person.The Southern States, unchanging angry over the loss of the war and their firm belief in White superiority, took a different approach. They created and enforced what were known as the Black Codes. These were legislations passed in Southern states to contro l labor, migration and other activities of the freed slaves. Black Codes allowed legal marriage, property ownership and limited access to the court systems. It prohibited them from testifying against whites, serving on juries or militias, voting and publicly expressing any form of legal concerns.Any former slave that did not sign yearly labor contract with the plantation owners could be arrested and hired out. The Black codes in short allowed for the continued and legal discrimination against the former slaves. Just care some African Americans activists fought this segregation, some Whites had some groups of their own to call for the segregation on and on. The Ku Klux Klan was one of them. The Ku Klux Klan, Knights of White Camellia, and other terrorists murdered thousands of blacks and some whites to foresee them from voting and participating in public life.The KKK was founded in 1865 to 1866. They directed their violence towards black landowners, politicians, and community lead ers. They also did this to people who back up Republicans or racial equalities (Anti-Defamation League, 2012). After the abolishment of slavery in the U. S. the KKK formed. They hated blacks and would rouse crimes against them. Murders, temporary removals, and lynches are just some of the crimes against the blacks (www. kkk. bz, n. d. ). The Ku Klux Klan claims to be just defending their people wish well other races do. What is a lynch? kill is a form of punishment with no legal permission. Most times lynching occurred against African Americans by hanging them. This was very popular during the Gilded Age later the American Civil War when African Americans were freed from slavery. Many White men would use lynching against Black men for being in a mixed kindred with a White woman. However, because lynching had no legal basis, it was thought to select been a tool that was used against freed slaves that had achieved financial stability and authority in order to expect a White- dominated nation.Lynching was most seeming performed by White Supremacy groups like the KKK. Lynching was wearye by hanging or shooting, or both. However, many were of a more hideous nature. Burning at the stake, maiming, dismemberment, castration, and other brutal methods of physical worrying are all part of a lynching. Lynching therefore was a furious combination of racism and sadism, which was utilized originally to sustain the caste system in the South. Many white people believed that Negroes could unaccompanied be controlled by fear. To them, lynching was seen as the most effective means of control. fend for your people is one thing, but to distortion another human being is inhuman. The KKK has some(prenominal) stories out there today on how they treated the blacks, whether they did anything vilify or not. For instance, a Louisiana woman is in precise condition after she was set on fire, resulting in burns on most 60 percent of her body, and her car appears to have had racial slurs written on it at the time of her attack (Mach, n. d. ). They had even gone as farther as perform bombings. The KKK launched a bomb into a church service during a Sunday service, which left quartet innocent teenage girls dead.The men prudent hid behind the cloak of secrecy, intimidation and the white robes of the oldest terrorist organization in the world, the Ku Klux Klan (Gado, n. d. ). Therefore, until the Civil Rights proceed of 1964, racial discrimination is an issue that was not seriously tackled. The act was a successful result of most wide-ranging civician rights legislation and Civil Rights Movements for close to a century (Finkelman, 2009). The act declared discrimination on the basis of color, race, ethnicity, religion, and many other aspects as unconstitutional.During the critical years from 1954 to 1963, a variety of leaders with different backgrounds, such as lawyers from the NAACP, women sitting on tutores, ministers from southern black churche s, militants from black power organizations, and callowness from colleges had shaped the successful struggle toward black equality in America (Bowles, 2011). In 1896, the Supreme Courts Plessy v. Ferguson finish established that separate but equal facilities for whites and blacks were allowable under the U. S. Constitution. Local political officials could designate separate public facilities like drinking fountains, restrooms, and schools.Even courthouses often had separate Bibles according to the defendants race. The heapiness was that separate usually meant unequal, and segregation subverted the independence of every African American (Sundquist, 1993). Now, it is time for the African- Americans to fight back. The incident that made them want to make a difference was the genus genus Rosa Park bus ride. After a long day of work on December 1, 1955, put, feet hurt, looked forward to sitting on the bus for her ride home. At the time, there was a city ordinance stating that Afri can Americans had to give up their seats on a train or bus if a white man asked for them.When a white man approached Parks and told her that he wanted her seat, she simply said no. Although she acted as a private citizen, her chemical reaction was as an informed, committed member of the NAACP movement. The bus driver had asked Parks to move. When she did not, the bus driver said, Look, woman, I told you I wanted the seat. ar you going to stand up? When Parks again said no, the driver threatened, If you tiret stand up, Im going to have you arrested. She gave no rejoinder but at the next stop, Rosa was arrested (Garrow, 2004). A pastor known as Martin Luther top executive Jr., nonionised a boycott, the capital of Alabama bus boycott. King Jr. took this to a higher level and maintained and organized the Southern Christian Leadership congregation (SCLC), which coordinated similar bus boycotts in other cities. Shortly after the boycott, King had found a bomb on his porch. King w ent to Birmingham, Alabama, where he continued his peaceful protests and marches. However, the police authorized force to disperse Kings followers by using electric cattle prods, rend gas, and fire hoses (Bowles, 2011).King was arrested with the others, but upon his stop from jail he went to Washington, D. C., where he and demonstrators met at the National Mall and addressed them with his notable We Shall Overcome speech on marvellous 23, 1963. Kings words at the capital that day were a define moment of the Civil Rights movement. Other demonstrations and civil disobedience c adenosine monophosphateaigns sought to increase African-American voter registration and win better jobs. Malcolm X actively promoted the Black Muslim cause. Even after speaking around non-violence and wanting peace, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The civil rights movement dramatically increased federation of African- American voters in both the South and the North today.By the mid-70s some 400 0 African-Americans have been elected to political office at all levels of government. Qualified African-Americans now have a wider range of opportunities than ever before. Whether you are White or African-American, each group has faced its own peculiar challenges on its approach to democracy (Rappaport, 2001). This racism is wrong and unconstitutional. The 13th Amendment is ratified, abolishing slavery, which some people still went against it. The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to the former slaves and forbade states from denying any person life, liberty, or property without overdue process of the law.The 14th Amendment also guaranteed equal protection of the law for all citizens. The fifteenth Amendment barred states from denying citizens the right to vote ground on race, color, or previous servitude (Hertz, 2009). In a perfect world, everyone would be equal. The color of ones skin, religious beliefs or sexual preference would mean nothing. We would include everyone for who m and what they are. We would rejoice in the differences between each other instead of belittling, hating and discriminating against those differences. We dont however live in a perfect world.We live in a world filled with apprehension and hate. If we dont know or understand it in our society, then it is wrong. It exit be discriminated against in one form or another. We as a rural have made major strides in overcoming racism, however we still have far to go. In conclusion, African Americans faced isolation, discrimination, and segregation during the post-construction period. Racial discrimination was also customary in the military where back soldiers were considered inferior to white soldiers and hence poorly prepare and equipped.The issue of racial discrimination, isolation and segregation was not seriously tackled until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted. Civil rights activists such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. organized the illustrious 1963 protest in Washin gton that at last forced President John Kennedy to pass the Act. It is therefore, clear that the journey to end isolation, discrimination, and segregation to attain equality and civil rights has been severely but worthwhile. ? References Bowles, M. (2011). American History 1865- defer End of Isolation. San Diego, CA Bridgepoint. Retrieved at https//content.ashford. edu/books/AUHIS204. 11. 2 Finkelman, P. (2009) Encyclopedia of African American history, 1896-present, capital of Wisconsin Avenue, New York Oxford University Press Rappaport, D. (2001). Martins larger Words The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sitkoff, H. , & Franklin, J. (2008) The Struggle for Black equality. Hill and Wang exit http//www. adl. org/learn/ext_us/kkk/default. asp? LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=4&item=kkk http//www. history. com/topics/black-codes Civil Rights Act of 1964 http//www. ourdocuments. gov/doc. php? doc=97&page=transcript.