The Fight for Equality and Civil Rights

The Fight for Equality and Civil Rights Sherry Johnson HIS 204 American History Since 1865 Prof. Steven Brownson May 4, 2012 The Fight for Equality and Civil Rights A long journey that has been fraught with unimaginable struggles and tribulations has taken us to a time of history in the making, a time when we as citizens of a great nation, bear witness to the first African-American appointed to the position of President of the United States of America. This has been a journey that has seen intermittent successes and numerous setbacks. The African-Americans persevered over many generations.

Let us take a look at the progress they have made over time and how they have worked to end segregation, struggled to overcome discrimination, and fought against isolation. I will be discussing events that in my opinion reflect their fight for equality and civil rights. The time period that I will be covering will be from 1865 when the thirteenth amendment came into fruition continuing through to the present. I will show how these determined people have progressed from being someone’s “property” to holding one of the highest positions attainable in the nation. African-Americans were sold to white traders for transport across the Atlantic.

Once the slaves arrived in America they were auctioned off and sold to the highest bidder, becoming the purchaser’s personal property. Slaves were viewed as an economic commodity. They were forced to work in the fields or in the kitchens from sunrise until sunset getting little rest. They were provided the bare necessities and given no luxuries. Their masters treated them no better than farm animals. The resistance to slavery began almost as soon as the first slaves arrived in the early seventeenth century. James Sweet explains that “some of the more common forms of resistance were those that took place in the work environment” (Sweet, 2010).

The slaves would break tools, fake illness, or disrupt production. Slaves would steal fruit, vegetables, and other items from their masters in retaliation for their harsh treatment. The most dangerous resistance would be when a slave would try for freedom by taking flight. Sweet further tells us of the punishments dealt out by the slave’s master “If the slave were caught then severe punishment was inevitable, suffering punishments such as whippings, branding, and even the severing of the Achilles tendon” (Sweet, 2010). Slaves also risked the chance of being hung or burned for being insubordinate.

Even with the knowledge of what would be in-store for them should they get caught, many slaves attempted a flight for freedom towards the free states of the American North. They were often helped by sympathetic whites or groups of free blacks who would send them via the so-called Underground Railroad (Sweet, 2010). As you can see, the African-American slaves began fighting to attain equality from the very beginning. The Civil war came to an end in 1865, sparking the hopes of four million freed slaves for a life of their own making. The ending of the Civil war did not stop racial discourse or uprising in the South.

As stated by Mark Bowles “in 1865 southern state governments created legislation that restricted and controlled the lives of the ex-slaves, they called these the Black Codes” (Bowles, 2011. Sec. 1. 1 par. 10). These Black Codes were different for each state. They were established in response to the emancipation of slaves. The Black Codes put a restriction on newly freed slaves as explained by La Shawn Barber of the Washington Times, she wrote that “they restricted their rights to own or rent farmland, vote, sit on juries, testify against white men, sue, and enter into contracts”.

Some other restrictions that the Black Codes imposed were that they could not carry guns and could not engage in work other than farming. A major event in 1865, that brought the Emancipation Proclamation into law and put an end to slavery was the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, it states that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States” (Bowles, 2011. Sec. 1. 1 par. 12).

The following year in 1866 the Fourteenth Amendment was enacted, granting citizenship rights so that all persons born in the United States, including ex-slaves, became citizens of the state that they resided in. (Bowles, 2011. Sec. 1. 1 par. 13). African-Americans were witness to significant change from 1865 through 1870 which included the passing of the Fifteenth Amendment that stated “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude”.

The taste of freedom and a promising future was in the air. The southern blacks now desired an education after having been denied the opportunity by their previous slave owners. It is estimated that 90 percent of southern blacks were illiterate in 1860 (Bowles, 2011). Not only was this a time of education for the African Americans it was also a time for them to be involved in politics. They started taking part in politics as early as 1865 and n 1877 roughly 2,000 black men had held political offices at the federal, state, and local levels (Bowles, 2011).

Unfortunately this did not last long; the era of Reconstruction began to falter. There were four main reasons that lead to the end of Reconstruction; sharecropping, rising violence waged by the Ku Klux Klan, northern disillusionment, and divisiveness among Southern whites. Thus began a slow decline in the gains that had been achieved by the African-Americans. The racist practices once again were being used, such as the ones from the Black Codes, as the southern Democrats grew in power. Even though the blacks had been given the right to vote, they were now being denied this right.

Racial segregation was now being experienced again and the blacks were being isolated from the dream of true freedom that the Constitution had promised them. W. E. B. Du Bois put it best when he stated “The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery” (Bowles, 2011). I would now like to briefly mention a few events that deserve mention as they did play a part in the struggle against segregation, discrimination, and isolation.

One such event was the Supreme Court case of Plessy v.Ferguson in 1896, legalizing racism in the country by stating that separate but equal facilities for the races were fair and just. These facilities, though they were separate they were far from equal. Booker T. Washington who was once a slave and used higher education to make a better life for himself and provide a way out of poverty. He established his own college – the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He gained national attention for his Atlanta Compromise speech in 1895. He became one of the most important civil rights leaders of his day (Bowles, 2011. Sec 2. 3).

In 1945 101 African-American officers were taken into custody for directly refusing an order. They had refused to accept segregated housing and recreational facilities, they called this plan the “Double V”, a plan against fascism abroad and racism at home (Bowles, 2011. Sec 3. 7). In 1948 Although African Americans had participated in every major U. S. war; it was not until after World War II that President Harry S. Truman issues an executive order integrating the U. S. armed forces. Now let us jump to 1954. “The doctrine of “separate but equal” was the law of the land” (Simmonds, 2008).

A team of lawyers led by Thurgood Marshall appeared before the United States Supreme Court. They argued that the “separate but equal” denied Black people their basic rights and that it was unconstitutional (Simmonds, 2008). The court’s decision became known as the Brown v. Board of Education. According to Yussef Simmonds “It has since been the most far-reaching Supreme Court decision in the Court’s 200-year history that has had a ripple effect throughout American society, challenging discrimination and inequality wherever it was found” (Simmonds, 2008).

This event was viewed by the African- Americans as a hopeful sign that there would be positive change in the future. Desegregation was met with resistance and as Bowles explains “African-American children bravely confronted this massive resistance as they endured rock throwing and degrading racial comments as they entered white schools to comply with desegregation” he further tells us that “Once inside, they often had to contend with harassment such as egg throwing, conspicuous displays of knives, and spikes on their seats” (Bowles, 2011. Sec 4. 4).

Rosa Parks was known as the “mother of the civil rights movement”. She was one of the most important citizens of the 20th century. In December of 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger. The bus driver had her arrested and she was convicted of violating a local ordinance. According to the Academy of Achievement, Museum of Living History “Her act sparked a citywide boycott of the bus system by blacks that lasted more than a year. The boycott raised an unknown clergyman named Martin Luther King, Jr. , to national prominence and resulted in the U.S.

Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation on city buses” (Academy of Achievement, revised 2005). The next four decades she brought awareness to fellow Americans regarding the history of the civil rights struggle. Martin Luther King, Jr. , a 26 year old African-American pastor. He organized the Montgomery bus boycott. His leadership of this peaceful protest put him at the front of the new civil rights movement (Bowles, 2011). He became a prominent civil rights leader and appeared on the cover of Time, and was the second African-American guest on NBC’s Meet the Press.

On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. , gives a speech in Washington D. C. entitled “I have a dream”. “King says that one hundred years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans still are not free; they are segregated, poverty-ridden, and exiled in their own land. He asks for immediate change and says African Americans will not rest until they are granted citizenship rights” (King, 1963). Although King may not have been the sole civil rights movement he was a vitally important national leader.

Civil Rights Act of 1964 according to Bowles states the following,” An Act, to enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States to provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the Attorney General to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally assisted programs, to establish a Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity, and for other purposes”.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ensured that all citizens had the right to vote and eliminated discriminatory “tricks” often used in southern states to prevent African-Americans from voting (Bowles, 2011). Finally we jump to our current time, a time when anything is possible, and a time that the African-Americans see as a chance to overcome the injustices they endured for centuries. With the election of Barack Obama in 2008 as the first African-American President of the United States of American it finally appeared that they would have a voice in the White House.

Bowles shares with us the inspiring words of President Obama during his acceptance speech “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy; tonight is your answer……because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America” (Bowles 2011 sec 5. 7). As you can see, it has not been an easy journey for the African-Americans to reach the point of equality that they are at today. With all the successes nd setbacks they have endured, they stayed strong and determined. I have shown you the different ways that they have worked to end segregation, struggled to overcome discrimination, and fought against isolation. I have also brought you some of the important people during those time periods that had a large impact on the African-American’s fight for equality and civil rights.