Black Freedom Movements - Essay Example

The activists became skeptical of the government’s policies and strategies also. The government had not paid any attention to the inexorable violence towards the black activist; and on the other hand, there was lack of federal intervention. These issues caused them turn to armed self-defense, and in many cases they ended up in bloodshed. All blacks got involved in the movement and they called for a black solidarity and nationalism. In the same way, blacks in the northern communities started to draw attention against the uncontrolled racism prevailing in the state. The devastating issues such as the residential segregation, harassments from the police and officials, and the lack of employment opportunities were acting as force for the black freedom movements in the 18th century.

Furthermore, the self-help institutions organized the blacks and played an important role in shaping the lives of the free black people. As Nuruddin (Ed. Ezra, 2) points out, the emergence of the benevolence associations, mutual aid societies, independent African American denominational churches, and semi-independent free schools contributed to the freedom movement. The later revolutions in the black freedom took place after the period of Revolutionary war when the blacks were literate. Famous historic personalities like Richard Allen and Prince Hall founded several institutions such as the African Masonic lodges, Church institutes and Free African Society by the end of 18th century.

These institutions were later developed into independent and separate institutions that facilitated shaping the lives of the free black people.Besides, the blacks’ had demands which the government was not ready to grant; and this too forced toward the movements for the black’s freedom. They emphasized on the creation of separate church congregations like the Methodist Episcopalian Church. They also wanted mutual-aid societies like the Free African Society and emigration back to Africa for the freed slaves.

And these issues, according to Nuruddin, together with the growing trend towards the segregation that had concealed the egalitarianism in the society led to the earliest African American nationalist movements near the end of 18th century (102). However, there were factors that stood against granting the black freedom by slacking down the revolutions for freedom. There were hardly any progressive efforts to protect and empower black Americans in the country during reconstruction. The ideology of white supremacy and the practices of racism eradicated all erstwhile efforts to promote black American social equality.

The efforts to bring social equalities and justice for the black from the late 18th century to the mid 20th century were at vein. White supremacy not only meant the advancement and exercise of a wide-ranged cluster of rights for white but also the deliberate reduction of all measure of social justice and equality for the black. The White opposition to the black American social progress was clearly evident especially in the south where majority of the black Americans lived. They were deliberately obstructing the black progress towards the equality in both the political as well as the economical fields.