African_American

African Americans 1 African Americans Migration Experience Jimmy Harton Axia College of University Phoenix African Americans 2 African Americans migrated to the United States between 1500s-1800s but not of their own free will. They were brought here through the means of slavery. The South is the origin where slavery begins. Slavery stripped African Americans of all their rights and privileges. Slaves could not marry each other, legally buy or sell anything, and they were not allowed to own property these are just some of the harsh treatment slaves endured. Slavery was finally abolished in 1863 when Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. However, it officially ended in 1865 when it became a law. The Thirteenth Amendment was introduced to abolish slavery forever. African Americans are finally free citizen but were still not being treated as equals. They were treated as second class citizens by whites who believe they are the superior over blacks. Blacks were not allowed to vote in any elections. This injustice causes another amendment to be added to the Constitution. The Fifteenth Amendment ensures that individuals could not be barred from voting based on race or any other factor. Now that blacks are able to vote, they have elected some blacks into political offices. African Americans are still faced more adversity and injustice. According to Schaefer (2006) during the 19th century the term Jim Crow was very popular in the south. Jim Crow laws were meant to keep blacks in their subordinate position. Blacks were not allowed to attend the same public schools as their white counter partners. This practice is called institutional discrimination denying blacks the same equal opportunities as whites. This incident created a famous land mark decision within the supreme courts Brown v. Board of Education. Linda Brown was denied access to a public near her home because of segregated schools. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) became involved and along with Linda Brown parents and argued the case before the Supreme Court which, ended segregated schools. African Americans 3 African Americans were discriminated against in the job market. According to Miah (2009) a lawsuit was filed against United Airlines (UAL) in 1970. UAL Company and the union were accused of denying qualified blacks from gaining advancement positions within the company. The court ruled in favor of the workers, and order UAL to change the way they promote their employees. This decision led to the first black and female pilot. African Americans are experiencing higher unemployed rate compared to whites. An article written by The New York Times (2009) stated that “by the end of March, there were about 80,000 more unemployed blacks than whites.” The higher unemployment rate of African Americans has become national news. In fact, it is has been discussed at the White House news conference recently. President Obama was address with the issue and asked what he could do to “stop the bloodletting in the black unemployment rate.” Obama was quoting in the article as saying “that to help any community, whether it be blacks, Latinos or Asians, he needed to get the economy as a whole moving.” The election of President Barack Obama was a significance of some societal change, and some believe he is the last hope for a change. African Americans were discriminated against in the housing community. People should live wherever they choose to. Their skin color or other factors should not influence property owner’s decisions, when renting or selling property. Civil Rights Leaders protested against the unfair treatment blacks received trying to live in decent neighborhood. In fact, it is the last civil right act passed in the 1960s. This practice is referred to as redlining. Redlining occurs when minorities are discriminated against when trying to purchase a home. This injustice led the U.S. Government in 1968, to pass a Fair Housing Act to prevent discrimination. The 30th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act and Kerner (1998) stated, “This is our basic conclusion: Our Nation is moving toward two societies, one Black, one White—separate and unequal.” It has now been 41 years since the act was enforced and minorities are still experiencing unfairness. Could there be some truth to Kerner’s quote' Amendments were created to protect the rights of African Americans because of unfair treatment they received during slavery and after slavery. Civil Rights Leaders petition courts, and won major court battles due to unfair schooling and employment discrimination. Acts have been established to protect minorities against unfair housing. African Americans have come a long way since slavery, but the struggle is not over. African Americans 4 References: Denton, A. N. (1998) Half Empty or Half Full, Segregation and Segregation neighborhood 30yrs after the Fair Housing Act. Retrieved November 6, 2009, from http://www.huduser.org/periodicals/cityscpe/vol14num3/ch7,html Miah, M. (2009) Downturn undermines black “middle class” race and recession. Retrieved November 6, 2009, from University of Phoenix, EBSCOhost Web site: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ehost/pdf'vid=4&hid=12&sid=2433d7f8-f56d-4988-8158-5bd6d7bc96bcc%40sessionmgr112 Schaefer, T. R. (2006). Racial and Ethnic Groups (10th ed.) The Making of African Americans in White America. New York Times (2009). Job losses show wider racial gap in New York. Retrieved November 6, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/nyregion/13unemployment.html'pagewanted=1&_r=1