A_Battle_for_Equality

The Battle for Equality On January 1st, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln presented the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves within the rebellious States that refused to return to the union. This proclamation would allow African American soldiers to fight for the union, and tie the issue of slavery directly to the war. Freedom meant many things to the emancipated African Americans. It gave them the right to come and go as they please, it meant no more family break-ups, when they worked it would be solely for their own benefit, and it put an end to sexual exploitation by slave owners. Most importantly of all, African Americans now had the right to an education to help themselves advance. But all of these things did not come easy or without cost. Angry white racist southerners would do anything within their power to undermine reconstruction. Following the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans would undergo a long and hard fought battle against racism and segregation in order to establish themselves as equal citizens in the United States of America. African Americans were happy to be free, but they faced a difficult transition between the years 1865 to 1876. “The Emancipation Cause tradition interpreted the war as a struggle to liberate 4 million slaves and remove a cancerous influence on American society and politics…” (Gallagher, 2010, ¶ 1). Many had felt that emancipation happened because white people had recognized the error of their ways, and black people would be accepted as equal citizens and granted all of the rights and privileges that the white people had. This could not be any further from the truth. “It didn’t take long for the newly freed to realize very little had changed” (Chikwendu, 2000, ¶ 4). Most of the white folks in the postwar south found it difficult to conceive that African Americans possessed any more rights than they previously had as a slave, and refused to accept them as an equal. Although the freed person was no longer considered the property of an individual slave owner, he or she would now be considered a slave of society by the white person. Because African Americans were gaining more rights, for example the right to vote, the white man became fearful that they would lose some of the power and control they had and would do anything to keep that from happening. As a result of this fear, the Klu Klux Klan was formed, which functioned as unofficial arms of the Democratic Party. “If treatment by the general public was not enough to remind the former slaves that they were not yet free, the formation of the Klu Klux Klan in 1867 and the group’s infamous lynching parties certainly brought the point home” (Chikwendu, 2000, ¶ 5). The Klan’s mission was to intimidate, retaliate, and eliminate African Americans. One of their tasks was to disrupt and discourage blacks from voting. They broke up Republican meetings, terrorized white and black Republicans, and assassinated Republican leaders. Congress attempted to break the Klan with the Force Act of 1870 and the Klu Klux Klan Act of 1871, which made it a felony to interfere with the right to vote. This weakened the Klan, but they continued to operate underground (Davidson, DeLay, Heyrman, Lytle, & Stoff, 2008, p. 490). Between the years 1877-1920, segregation was alive and well, and a continued reminder that African Americans would not be accepted as equal by the white man. Federal laws were designed to enforce the Civil Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment, which established social equality for all races in public gathering places. In 1883, nevertheless, the Supreme Court found that hotels and railroads were not “public” but “private” establishments. Over the next two decades, segregation was enacted as law throughout the south. “With the decision, Jim Crow – a set of laws prohibiting Blacks from using the same public accommodations as Whites, one of many tools used to denigrate and marginalize former slaves – loomed larger as the White South advanced its brutal pogrom against Blacks with impunity” (Prince, 2010, ¶ 2). The Supreme Court ruling that separate Blacks from Whites in effect nullified the efforts of Congress during reconstruction. African Americans for the time being were feeling defeated. Any attempt to cross the color line would result in violence from the white man. “Some were tarred and feathered, others whipped and beaten, and many lynched. Of the 187 lynchings averaged each year of the 1890’s, some 80 percent occurred in the south. The victims were almost always African Americans” (Davidson et al., 2008, p. 506). The black man would not give up the fight. After years of beatings and unfair treatment, organizations began to form that would battle for equal rights. “Beginning in 1909, a small group of activists organized the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). They waged a long struggle to eliminate racial discrimination and segregation from American life” (The Library of Congress, 2004, ¶ 2). This organization labored to broaden principles of tolerance and equal opportunity by raising legal challenges to the Jim-Crow system of segregation and bigotry. Within five years, the NAACP grew to over 6,000 members in 50 branches throughout the country. Also during this period, the formations of unions in the workplace were developing in order to organize skilled craft workers, the most powerful one being the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The AFL was led by Samuel Gompers, who created “… a worker organization that bargained for higher wages, fewer hours, improved safety, more benefits” (Davidson et al., 2008, p. 561). The creation of unions could have greatly helped African Americans establish themselves as an equal member of the industrial system. There was only one problem: very few black men were accepted into the union. W.E.B Du Bois, a professor who fought against segregation and discrimination, studied and confirmed this deterioration within the union and the rebellion against the black worker. Du Bois reported that in 1902, there were forty-three national unions operating in the country without a single black member, there were twenty-seven others that had few black members, and the number of African Americans within those unions declined between the years 1890 and 1900 (Martens, 2009, p. 26). The trade and labor unions became enemies of African Americans and continued on with their encouragement of race hatred and the caste spirit. Black workers could only expect that labor unions would discriminate against them, and did not expect that the white capitalists would line up to support them in any way. White capitalists would only be fair weather friends to the black worker, utilizing them only when business would call for the extra help. Du Bois reached out to the unions on behalf of the black workers, suggesting that their acceptance within the union would be a benefit to everyone. “It is only a question of time when white working men and black working men will see their common cause against the aggressions of exploiting capitalists” he wrote hopefully (Martens, 2009, p. 28). But Du Bois’ hopefulness soon turned to bitterness as little effort was given by the AFL to improve the union and include African Americans during the years to come, but he did continue to promote the cause of collective bargaining. During the next period between the years 1921 and 1945, Wartime labor shortages created opportunities for African Americans to secure jobs. “But postwar unemployment and racial violence quickly dashed black hopes for equality” (Davidson et al., 2008, p. 704). Again, the utilization of the black worker was only due to the demand of the industry, and was looked at as a last resort. Many times the black worker was used as a “scab” to step into the shoes of union workers who decided to strike. The NAACP used this as a negotiating tool with the AFL to express the need for African Americans within the union. The NAACP pointed out to the union that African Americans who entered employment as a “scab” was gaining a huge advantage in the workplace. These petitions to the AFL would only be ignored, just like all of the other proposals set forth by the NAACP and NUL (Martens, 2009, p. 39). Heading into the 1930’s the Great Depression hit America, which only made an already difficult situation even more troublesome for African Americans. The Depression hit the South hard, especially in the agricultural industry. Many African Americans were forced to migrate from the South to the Northeast and Midwestern states to escape oppressive economic conditions as well as vigilante violence. Unfortunately jobs also began to disappear from the Northern states. “African Americans were hit the hardest. While white unemployment had hit an extraordinarily high rate of 31.7 percent in 1931, it was well over 50 percent for Black Americans. As the economy spiraled downward, the jobs that black Americans had come north to obtain were given to white workers or eliminated entirely” (Columbia University: Amistad Digital Resource, 2009, ¶ 2). Even the black workers who held onto their jobs had trouble supporting their families because of wage discrimination. The following period between the years 1946 and 1976 was filled with great turbulence and change. The 1950’s was overall considered a fairly calm period compared to the 1960’s, which was filled with turmoil and mayhem. The postwar economy was booming, and brought the hope for greater opportunities for minorities. Unfortunately, racism and discrimination continued, and any hope for shared prosperity between races was all but a fantasy. This brought on the Civil Rights Movement, where organizations like the NAACP had new determination and a powerful fortitude to achieve equality within society and knock down the walls of segregation once and for all. African Americans decided to fight the Jim Crow laws system of laws that imposed segregation head on with a newly founded strategy. The first significant event happened in December of 1955 when Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist, rode a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Ms. Parks refused to give up her seat for a white man as Jim Crow laws dictated. She was arrested and fined for the incident. Friends of Parks who were members of the NAACP decided to write a letter of protest, and issue a plea for all African Americans to boycott city buses on the following Monday. Because the boycott was a major success, it was extended indefinitely. “Buses wheeled around the city virtually empty, losing over 30,000 fares a day” (Davidson et al., 2008, p. 863). The white community fought back through various legal means and physical intimidation, but this time to no avail. The boycott continued until November of 1956, when the Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was illegal. This marked the first major civil rights victory for African Americans and brought fame to the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., who was the key boycott leader. During the 1960’s, the civil rights activists took things to the next level. Protests continued in many instances, and angry white mobs countered with violence on many occasions. On August 28, 1963, King delivered his speech “I Have A Dream” at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. During his speech, he spoke of how important it was to battle these injustices in a peaceful way. “We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force” (King, 2009, ¶ 8). In the year 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, which sparked riots across the country. This was a devastating blow to the African American community, and combined with the assassination of Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy a few months later, put a damper on the liberal political tradition. Although the late Dr. King felt the battle for equality was better fought without the use of violence, following the assassinations it appeared inevitable that demonstrators at protests would be willing to use violence to press the issue. Riots continued throughout the remainder of the 1960’s, which could be considered the most significant period in civil rights history. From the years 1976 to the present, although segregation has become a thing of the past, in some cases races still seems to matter. This was highly evident in the year 1991, when motorist Rodney King was arrested in Los Angeles for speeding and drunk driving. While King lay on the ground during the arrest, he was beaten with a nightstick over 50 times by four white police officers. Public officials did nothing but ignore complaints by the African American community. This time, the complaints should have been heard loud and clear. A man in a nearby apartment happened to video tape the beating, and news media continued to broadcast the beating to the entire nation. The following year, an all-white suburban jury set the officers free and concluded that King was acting in a threatening manner, and the beating was justified. This evoked the African American community in Los Angeles and riots broke out. It turned out to be the worst civil disturbance in the city’s history. The police and the National Guard finally restored order after three days. By that time, 2,000 people were injured, 40 people died, 4,500 fires burned, and $500 million of property had been looted, damaged, or destroyed (Davidson et al., 2008, p. 974). The Rodney King verdict reminded America that institutional racism was still alive. The justice system showed that the black man still has no value within the system. “Many black people felt that it wasn’t just Rodney King that was being beat down by white men, but the whole African American community spread-eagled in that abandoned lot. As a result, when the “not guilty” verdicts were handed down from an all-white jury, it was if the entire black nation was being wronged- as if black humanity, itself, was being attacked” (Datcher, 1996, ¶ 7). Our system was built on white power. Until the white man becomes willing to share this power, institutionalized racism will continue. Although things have gotten much better, there is still room for improvement in today’s society. I think Rodney King said it best in his plea on May 1st, 1992, to end the riots in Los Angeles: “I just want to say, you know, can we all get along” (King, 2007, ¶ 22). Although African Americans were “freed” after the civil war, it was not easy for them to gain equality within society. Racism and discrimination from white people and organizations like the Klu Klux Klan made the battle for equality a difficult one. Segregation continued on for the next century following the Emancipation Proclamation, which was a continued reminder that many whites would not accept blacks as equal. Unions made it difficult for blacks to become equal members of the industrial society by refusing to accept them. The Great Depression era was an extremely difficult period for blacks as unemployment rose to over 50 percent for their race, almost double what it was for the white worker. African Americans would start to make significant progress in their fight during the 1950’s, when Rosa Parks stood firm on her belief and refused to give up her seat on a city bus. Throughout the 1960’s and many riots later segregation finally came to an end, but not before the community lost Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the most prominent figure in the Civil Rights Era. Discrimination still existed throughout the 1990’s, which was evident in the Rodney King beating. Today, things are much improved, but we are not there yet. There are not many that would disagree with the fact that electing President Barack Obama was a momentous achievement for society, regardless of whether or not you agree with his policies. This proves to America that finally there is hope for equality, even though I believe racism will always exist in some form or another. I am confident that as we progress through the next 150 years, battles will continue to be won and discrimination will at last become something we only read about in history books. References Chikwendu, T. (2000). Diallo: Where it all started. Afro-American Red Star, 108(29), A1. Retrieved May 30, 2010, from The ProQuest Direct Database Columbia University: Amistad Digital Resource (2009). The Great Depression. Retrieved June 2, 2010, from http://www.amistadresource.org/plantation_to_ghetto/the_great_depression.html Datcher, M. (1996). The April 1992 uprising: Learning to deal with anger. Sentinel, A1. Retrieved from June 6, 2010 from the ProQuest Direct Database Davidson, J. W., DeLay, B., Heyrman, C. L., Lytle, M. H., & Stoff, M. B. (2008). Nation of Nations: A Narrative History of the American Republic Volume II since 1865 (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. Gallagher, G. (2010). The Chorus of the Union. Civil War Times, 49(3), 22, 24. Retrieved May 26, 2010 from the ProQuest Direct Database. King, M. (2009). I Have A Dream. New York Amsterdam News, 3. Retrieved June 6, 2010, from the ProQuest Direct Database King, R. (2007). 25 Most Memorable Quotes. USA Today. Retrieved June 6, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/top25-quotes.htm Martens, A. M. (2009). The Black Worker as Individualist' The Effects of Resource Competition on the Constitutional Strategies of the Civil Rights Movement During The Lochner Era. American Political Science Association, 1-57. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from the ProQuest Direct Database. Prince, Z. (2010). A Century of Economic Empowerment. Afro-American Red Star, 118(26), 8. Retrieved May 30, 2010, from The ProQuest Direct Database The Library of Congress (2004). A Century of Racial Segregation, 1849-1950. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/brown-segregation.html