...How have African-Americans worked to end segregation, discrimination, and isolation to attain equality and civil rights? For centuries, African Americans have played and continue to play a significant role in American history. While today, African American no longer face the laws of segregation and discrimination, they continue to fight for equality and civil rights. This continued fight is one of a long past with several triumphs and tragedies all which are an integral part of history. This essay will discuss how African Americans worked to end slavery, segregation, discrimination, freedom, and isolation. It will also discuss what led to the civil right implementation and how it was executed. Equal rights for African Americans have been contentious, and fought for decades. They have fought to impede ethic discrimination, gain equal opportunity and their civil rights since slavery in the 1600s. When slavery started in 1620s, African Americans only made up about 3 to 4 percent of the population in America. Although the number grew slowly at first, by the end of the 17th century, the population of African American slave grew to well over 650,000. (Becker, 2000) In America, slave labor became the key component in agriculture and booming capitalist economy of the 17th & 18th centuries. (County, 1999) In the beginning, Africans were exchanged for food and place as “indentured servants” by the Dutch. This practice was also true for many poor Englishmen who were...
Words: 1656 - Pages: 7
...Rights In past decades, African Americans were considered as slaves and servants for the white majority. Minorities were segregated, marginalized and humiliated because of the color of their skin. When people hear the words civil rights its always connected to the image of Martin Luther King Jr., and his famous speech I Have a Dream in the nation’s capital. The civil rights movement succeeded thanks in part to the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. and the fight for equality of all people’s has started to become a reality. Inspired . African Americans got the most public attention after the end of World War II. They are well-know activists in protesting against discrimination in racism. Since the end of World War II, the population of African Americans in the United States has been increased 7% in few decades. The massive increase of African Americans population formed huge communities in cities, such as Oakland, Richmond, Los Angels etc. In this long time period, African Americans have to face and struggle for racial discrimination in their life. The major problems were employment, education, and housing. In the case of hiring, the ratio of unemployed African Americans increased double from 1940s to 1970s. Most of African Americans people had to deal with lower living standard. The economic discrimination kept African Americans away from skilled work or sometime not even a chance to get hired in any job. Before World War II, African Americans were denied to work in the...
Words: 1344 - Pages: 6
...ENC 1102 Research Paper May 1st, 2013 Unreasonable Discrimination Racial discrimination is an issue that has persisted through many centuries and across geographical boundaries. Members of the black race have been strongly affected by racial discrimination since colonial times when white conquerors brought blacks from Africa as slaves to carry out hard labor jobs. Meanwhile, conquerors treated African slaves as inferior and usually worse than an animal. Society has evolved since and through a lot of work and effort, in the United States and most countries in the world slavery has been abolished and there is a constitutional equality among citizens regardless of their race or background. However, in reality our society even today experiences different degrees of racial discrimination. In spite of this, African Americans have fought against racial discrimination sometimes resorting to physical means, but most importantly utilizing intellectual means. African Americans through centuries have written poems, stories, plays and motivational speeches that express their pride in overcoming hardships in a way that could never be silenced. This way, African Americans have shown over the years that they are not an “inferior” race as it was considered in colonial times. The Homo sapiens species is so diverse that it is difficult to draw clear lines between humans based on their race or the color of their skin. However, even today societies attempt to classify people...
Words: 2158 - Pages: 9
... | |Racism | | | |Racism has existed throughout human history. It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another| | |-- or the belief that another person is less than human -- because of skin color, language, customs, | | |place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has | | |influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes. | |Reverse discrimination |Reverse discrimination is a term referring to discrimination against members of a dominant or | | |majority group, including the city or state, or in...
Words: 1019 - Pages: 5
...Freedom? Professor Damon Turner African American History 116 April 21, 2015 During slavery, African Americans fought hard to gain independence and civil rights for both themselves and their children. White Americans did not consider slaves to be their equals, they considered them as property. They viewed African American slaves as property that was sold and purchased from one master to another to perform the masters’ work for no pay. By 1860, a large percentage of slaves had become free. These newly freed African Americans took advantage of their freedom by forming black churches, where they no longer had to listen to their master’s prejudice sermons, and took the time to reunite with their families and build a strong bond with them. African American ancestors created morals and black cultural beliefs that they hoped to instill in their children. There were several black people that believed that receiving an education and having a career would one day help them gain the acceptance of white Americans and be recognized as their equals. As slaves, it was prohibited and almost impossible for African Americans to receive an education. Today, black people are legally considered to be equal to any other race in America, and have every constitutional right that any other race has as well. Black children now have the right to an education and they have more freedom than ever before in history. As slaves, black children lacked both education and freedom. In today’s generation,...
Words: 576 - Pages: 3
...Thesis Statement In this essay one will come to a better understanding of racial and ethnic inequality and why it exists. It is evident that Inequality amongst certain races is evident however it also linked to a variety of perspectives that account for the continuation of racial, ethnic discrimination and inequality. Inequality amongst Races and Ethnicity ▪ What is race and ethnicity? ▪ Should race exist ▪ Inequality among races Racism against African Americans ▪ Slavery ▪ Racial Profiling ▪ Stereotypes ▪ Causes and Effects of Racism Social status and race inequality ▪ Social/Racial classification ▪ Education inequality ▪ Labor/income Inequality Laws and Policies ▪ Affirmative action policies ▪ Equal Opportunity Policy ▪ Civil Right Act The social stance of American Minorities Now ▪ African Americans Conclusion In this essay one will come to a better understanding of racial and ethnic inequality and why it exists. It is evident that inequality amongst certain races is evident; however, it also linked to a variety of perspectives that account for the continuation of racial, ethnic discrimination and inequality. The story of race is intricate and may challenge how we think about human differences and race as whole entity. Race is a socially constructed group of people who have the same biological traits that society (Macionis 2007). Race is a category used to define people...
Words: 1935 - Pages: 8
...Eastern Asian heritage are often much better at math classes than those of American and European descent. Their language gives them a great benefit in the math area, and they are often very successful because of it. Other races struggle because of a lack of schooling or inadequate education in the past, such as African...
Words: 1023 - Pages: 5
...element regarding opportunities for people of African descent. The question of whether this has changed presently is ambiguous. America has certainly evolved from a place of slavery and segregation to the self-proclaimed “Land of Opportunities” offering equal rights and prospects to all, yet there are still signs of inequality within the social construct of the nation. If one were to take a look at the American work field, they would notice the differences in positions acquired by African-Americans and Caucasians. African-Americans typically work minimum-wage jobs, living paycheck to paycheck and if they are fortunate enough to acquire an adequate paying job; their employers are Caucasians who usually own the major businesses and corporations. This inevitable conflict has emerged from America’s past history of unfair and unequal treatment of people of color. The American society has not completely eradicated the problem with racial discrimination and inequality within the workforce which has created the growing wealth gap. In the United States, issues of race and class are tied to together like a chain of DNA; one cannot address the issue of class without referring to the demographics of race. The methodology of determining the variations in social class was established in the mid-1960s and has not changed in the most latter years. Within the time span, there have been many studies conducted that reveals the bases of how the American society classifies people into social groups...
Words: 1586 - Pages: 7
...Catholic, their beliefs, how they differ from other types of religion, and the discrimination that they faced over the years. I also find the story of the African Americans to be very interesting, and their story of prejudice and discrimination that they faced over the years to become a free living race in America really was one to know about. The Roman Catholic religion is said to be ruled by the man that they call the Bishop or the Pope as many know him by. There are many different ways that the Roman Catholic are different than other types of religion. They are firm believers that God is divided into three different beings, God the father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son. They also believe that one day God will come back in the rapture to take all of his children to the heavens where God has created a peaceful place for us. The experience that the Roman Catholic beliefs, and the beliefs of other types of religion has not been very positive because other religions believe in things like statues are the way to praise God and some do not even believe that the God that the Roman Catholic have is even real. There have been many different things that the Roman Catholic have contributed to American culture, but the one I found interesting is their contribution to the scientific investigation of the cosmos and the world’s nature. An example of discrimination that I found was Byrne (2000), “As American Catholicism spread during the 19th century, anti-Catholic violence saw churches...
Words: 974 - Pages: 4
...Week 3: Ethnic Groups and Discrimination Edwina Joy Akens ETH / 125 April 10, 2011 Ellen McPeek Glisan Axia College of University of Phoenix Week 3: Ethnic Groups and Discrimination This first question, did African Americans get colonized or immigrate to the United States caused me to take pause and reflect on my history in a manner that I had not done before. As an African American student there were always classes in which we were taught about our history, how we came to this country as slaves, etc. But never did the question come up about whether or not we were colonials or immigrants. The concept has always been, “people of African descent have not been counted as part of America's migratory tradition. The transatlantic slave trade has created an enduring image of black men and women as transported commodities, and is usually considered the most defining element in the construction of the African Diaspora…” (Diouf, n.d., In all of the history classes taken never once was there addressed the question of whether or not African Americans come as colonials or immigrants. Interestingly enough, after extensive research there was more confusion that expected. The transatlantic slave trade is all that was generally taught, especially when I was in middle and high school which was over 40 years ago. Therefore, my initial response to this question was we were neither colonials nor immigrants, we were simply ‘property.’ Now, I’m not so sure. According to my research...
Words: 1100 - Pages: 5
...Obstacles African Americans Suffer The definition of an ‘obstacle’ is ‘something that obstructs or hinders progress.’ African Americans from the start of time, have always experienced obstacles. The reason for the suffering behind these obstacles is probably imbedded somewhere in the deep history from which African Americans come from. However, in today’s society, one would think that a specific race would not have to endure any obstacles because of their race, but African Americans do. African Americans today, still face discrimination and fewer opportunities in the federal workplace. The United States Equal Employment Opportunity is a federal law enforcement agency which enforces laws against workplace discrimination of any sort. The United States Equal Employment Opportunity investigates discrimination issues based on a person’s race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability. Between 2010 and 2012, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity worked with other bias agencies to discover the discrimination issues which African Americans suffered in the federal workplace. One of the biggest obstacles which African Africans suffer in the federal workplace is dealing with the unconscious biases and perceptions about African Americans. These biases and perceptions play a significant role in employment decisions in the federal sector. These unconscious biases are generally based off of learned stereotypes that operate automatically when we interact...
Words: 801 - Pages: 4
...African Americans and Their Fight for Equality Tiffany Brown HIS 204 July 2, 2012 1 - 1 - African Americans and Their Fight for Equality I have chosen to write about how African-American worked to end segregation, discrimination and isolation. There has been much work through the years to end segregation, discrimination and isolation and some things that have tried to be done without the use of violence. Today African-Americans still have to deal with others and their perceptions on segregation, discrimination and isolation. According to Lawson (2010), racial segregation was a system derived from the efforts of white Americans to keep African Americans in subordinate status by denying them equal access to public facilities and ensuring that blacks lived apart from whites. During the era of slavery, most African Americans resided in the South in mainly rural areas. Though we have faced many problems bigger than segregation, discrimination and isolation, there was an even bigger problem, which was slavery. Slavery is where a person could own another person, which back then was normal for those who resided in the South. Slaves did most of the work where they lived and most of them worked in mines or on plantations, while some became servants. Some people thought slavery was wrong, where as some thought that it was acceptable. The majority of slaves worked as plantation slaves in the production of cotton, sugar, tobacco and rice. From the beginnings of slavery...
Words: 1459 - Pages: 6
...African Americans and Discrimination Cedric Hepburn ETH 125 March 7, 2011 Josephine Ellsworth Originally from Sub-Sahara Africa, thousands of African Americans were kidnapped and brought over to and sold in the United States during the Atlantic Slavery Trade. By 1860, before the Civil War, 3.5 million African Americans lived as slaves, mostly in the Southern United States. More than 500,000 lived as free persons in 33 states across the United States (2008). Today, many African Americans believed to have come from European American or Native American heritage. They believe to be direct descendants of captive Africans who were enslaved. The original Africans were not given the chance to colonize or immigrate to the United States; they were hunted down and chained together like animals, stacked on top of each other on the bottom of the ship, and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to a life they were not accustomed to- slavery. January 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation declaring freedom for African American slaves in slavery states. Following the signing of the bill, African Americans started facing even more problems with racial discrimination, segregation, racism, and prejudice. African Americans were beaten, put in jail, put to death, and denied basic human rights. To say African Americans were racially discriminated against only because of the color of their skin is an understatement. They were also racially discriminated against because of their...
Words: 803 - Pages: 4
...other races are being discriminated against there is still yet another power at play. The world’s subconscious attraction to the American or European aesthetic. It is the advantage given out of the subconscious desire to give instead of the desire to withhold from others. | Racial profiling | Racial profiling takes place when law enforcement officials make a conscious decision to take action or not take action on the basis of race of the offender. If a police officer pulls a black person over while driving because he or she is driving through a predominantly white neighborhood, then that officer would be guilty of racial profiling. | Racism | Racism is the belief and actions taken based on the belief that race determines the level of human a person is. During the slave trades many traders treated the African slaves as dogs and believed they were such, cattle to do their bidding. They did not judge them on their historical knowledge of the group because they had very limited historical knowledge. They based their decisions about and treatment of the Africans solely on their race. | Reverse discrimination | Reverse discrimination describes the thought that the laws created to protect minorities from discrimination actually put the majority group at a disadvantage. Affirmative action might often be heard in discussions about reverse discrimination. Affirmative action promotes the employ of different minority racial groups and genders and some believe that puts the others at...
Words: 1091 - Pages: 5
...the world. Although the United States is wealthy, not all individuals have benefited from that wealth. Throughout society, African American communities have become marginalized, with areas of poverty, high crime rates, discrimination and few opportunities for advancement. These areas are often locations where racial and cultural minorities live. Racial disparities exist within the criminal justice system and have shown many problems of inequality between the white and black race. In addition to having inequality within the criminal justice system, the criminals also have impacted their family members in different ways due to being incarcerated. The media has misrepresented African Americans by emphasizing African Americans participating in crimes while ignoring crimes committed by whites. People in society are assuming that only black people commit crimes, which is unfair because the incidences of people committing crimes are about equal between the races. Racial disparity favors white people over black people in the criminal justice system. Therefore, society must reevaluate the way society portrays who commits crimes, and where they are committed. Throughout many decades of history, black people had been discriminated against and treated as second class citizens in American society, even though they participated equally in the workforce. Discrimination has happened from slavery until present times. For example, during the 17th century until 1865, slaves were viewed as inferior...
Words: 2275 - Pages: 10
