Mary_Mcleod_Bethune

Mary McLeod Bethune explains the meaning of “Closed Doors,” as the struggle for African-Americans to overcome controversies and deprivation of certain Civil Rights. Through her political, progressive organizations, and motivational speeches Mary expressed that the main issue pertained to white Americans who attempted to segregate the African Americans in several ways. When examining this phrase, the word ‘door’ was used to signify Civil Rights during that time. When combined with the word ‘closed’ it proclaimed that there were certain rights that African Americans would not be able to obtain. This was mainly because the white individuals were unwilling or hesitant to open America to become a unified and non-segregated country. Mary explains in what ways they attempted to open those doors and gives some reasons they were so difficult to pry open. Not all doors were closed to African Americans throughout the United States. While Mary McLeod Bethune explained that most doors were closed to African Americans, it seems as though she fails to realize what opportunities’ they were actually presented with. While many blacks were not granted similar privileges as the whites, they were still being offered some. For instance, blacks were permitted to go to school for a shorter period of time then whites. As a result Mary claims that this is just one more closed door for the blacks. However, she dose not necessarily realize that only a few decades prior many blacks were completely deprived of an education. It may not be fair that the whites were given more opportunities, but Mary should be content with the idea that African-Americans made some type societal achievement over the last few years. Through Mary’s story it seems as though African Americans were doing little to pry open the doors in which she often refers to. She explains that the most important way to open the doors was with an individual’s perseverance and determination. She also believed that a good education and a motivated attitude would also be a main factor. At the same time she expressed a great deal of faith in the government to help the African Americans open these doors. Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the process of putting forth many forms of legislation and while doing so he declared that the these new acts would incorporate all Americans including the blacks. In order for these doors to be opened, there needed to be a joint effort from society and those trying to open them, which happened to be African-Americans. The Great Migration was period of time when over one million African-Americans migrated from the Southern regions of America to the North. This movement was an opportunity for blacks to escape racism in the South and attempt to find new sources of employment. The migration relates to Mary’s story because it is one of the two majors events that caused the issue known as “Closed Doors.” Shortly after many of the blacks migrated to the North, the job market became more difficult for both blacks and whites (mostly blacks). As a result of the sudden population increase living conditions grew worse and whites began to grow irritated by the presence and incoming of blacks. As an attempt to slow the migration, whites began closing doors on the blacks by disregarding their Civil Rights. This left many blacks working menial jobs that paid very little money. The Great Migration was not the only historical event that impacted racial practices. It was not long after the start of World War I that the government enacted the Immigration Act of 1924, which stopped all European immigration into the United States. Prior to this act, many Europeans were a large source of labor for the Northern area. As the European immigrants stopped entering, the African-Americans from the South begin moving northward. They slowly took over many of the jobs the Europeans once had in factories or other low paying facilities. It can be concluded that the blacks were treated as many other immigrants that migrated into America. Similarly to the Irish, they were forced to live in distinct communities and form bonds with people of their own race in order to find comfort. Mary McLeod Bethune allows readers to understand the societal complications that blacks faced within the few decades following the Civil War. She makes it clear that the reference to “Closed Doors,” was to personify the struggle for African-Americans to overcome the deprivation of certain Civil Rights. The Great Migration and World War I played a major role in the issue and intensified the whites hostility toward blacks. Mary makes it evident that the government and African-Americans did their best to pry open these doors. However, they could not be fully opened until joint effort from society existed in America. Mary McLeod Bethune believed that certain conflicts would not be fully resolved until society could open the doors themselves, and through her story there was no evidence that suggested when these hostilities would vanish.