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The African American Experience

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The African American Experience

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Nov. 11, 2012
Brittany Smith

The African American Experience
African Americans have had a difficult past in the United State’s history. They did not have the freedoms to come to a new land in hopes for a better life. They were sold off as slaves and shipped to the New World. Here, the slaves were bought and used to work on plantations and as house servants. This continued until around 1861 when the Civil War began; some say that the Civil War was the turning point in African American history. On Sept. 22, 1862 President Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation declaring all persons held as slaves in the still rebellious southern Confederacy be freed. This did not abolish slavery though; it was not until 1865 that the thirteenth amendment to the United States constitution outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude. Even though this amendment ended slavery, it took much more than a war to change the status of African Americans in America. Over the course of nearly 100 years, African Americans still endured much discrimination. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed legislation that outlawed major forms of discrimination based on racial, ethnic, and religious beliefs. This act ended unequal voting rights, segregation in school, work, and public facilities, and was the beginning of equal rights for African Americans. Now, in 2012, African Americans still have to fight discrimination in some places.
African Americans throughout U.S. history have seen their share of political, social, and cultural issues. From slavery to segregation, politics have played a major role in African American lives. Even after slavery was abolished in 1865, African Americans had no political role in the United States. Then, in 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed giving African Americans equal rights and outlawed discrimination and

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