African Americans - Essay Example

African Americans Number: African Americans Introduction African Americans, also known as the Black-Americans of Afro-Americans are a group of individuals who are currently either citizens or residents of the United States, however, with partial or total ancestry in Africa and most especially the sub-Saharan region. In the current United States statistics, this group of individuals constitutes the second largest minority group by ethnicity, with a majority having roots in central and West African states as well as the Caribbean regions, comprising mostly the immigrants (Franklin and Moss, 1994). African Americans came into the United States as slaves, the during the slave trade era, while others made it into the United states as immigrants. The African Americans is indeed a special group of individuals in the study of history and towards understanding the generational change that the United States has had over the past years, since the entry of the African Americans (Franklin and Moss, 1994). Based on this perspective, this paper researches the different developments and events that have occurred since the entry of the African Americans into the United States in 1865 to the present day situation. Slavery was one of the world’s main economic activities in the 16th century, and America especially the Northern region was well known for such activities. Ideally, slavery has its history before America came into existence. With the United States coming into being, more black Africans were enslaved as America significantly promoted the trade. Despite having started as early as the 16th century, the race-based slave system never developed until the 18 century (Franklin and Moss, 1994). A majority of the African brought into the United States, as slaves were mainly laborers, who would work in the American farms. The slaves were indeed individual captured during the colonial wars in Africa and Caribbean, then later sold to Arabs, Europeans and the Americans. Despite the individuals having been taken from different regions in Africa, and therefore, had different cultures, languages, religions, and customs among others, it is critical to state that the main unifying factor among the individuals was that they had a significantly different life from that of the Europeans (Carmichael and Hamilton, 1967). Once the slaves were brought into the United States, they put away all the differences and started on the development of a new history and culture. From the 16th century into the 18th century, the African Americans grew in numbers, becoming a great movement in the American society. A number of events took place during the same period, and the six most prominent are discussed. The 18th century era ideally was a revolution and the coming into existence of a new early America. Since 1865, African Americans have experienced ideally a new view of the American society with various occurrences and developments happening. First, the period can be termed as the era of The American Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction. The American civil war of 1861-1865, was indeed of significance to the African slaves as the then president of America; Abraham Lincoln had made a promise through the Emancipation proclamation that the slaves, who were of the African ancestry in the Southern states, would be freed in the event that the Union won the war (Collins and Cohen, 1993). As fate would have it, the Union won the war and approximately 20,000 slaves were freed. These occurrences were followed a year later by the development of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, from which the blacks were made full US citizens (Clayborne, 2011). This was because of the provisions made in the fourteenth Amendment into the US constitution. Additionally, the fifteenth amendment gave the right to vote for the African Americans males. These were indeed great strides towards the revival of the African American community. The Emancipation was then followed by the reconstruction. The Reconstruction that took place between the 1865 and 1877 was indeed a significant period in the history of the African Americans. First, the face of the Southern states was changed as most of them were allowed to join the union. Majority of the African slaves were in the Southern states and therefore, this meant that the number of slaves were again reduced substantively. This also called for making of strides towards the provision of equal rights for the African Americans, which was done under the protection of the Union, troops (Washington, 1963). With the right for the African Americans to vote having been in existence, the Africans participated in elections and some of them were actually voted into the Congress such as Hiram Revels who became the first African American member of the Congress. However, this did not last longer considering that the protection offered by the troops was fast diminishing, providing an opportunity for the White Southerners to attack the Blacks. Despite such occurrences, the Blacks race was empowered and were then establishing businesses, churches, and towns such as the Mississippi to which a majority of the African Americans migrated. The Civil War The Civil War had indeed played a significant role towards the formation of identity for the African American populations. Despite the Civil War, having played a role in enabling the African Americans get their freedom, this group of individuals was still faced by a numerous challenges. First, the post-war era had different rules and regulations that the African Americans were expected to adhere, and therefore, denied them the full freedom they had expected to have as the Whites had. Jim Crow laws of the United States, enacted between 1876 and 1965, then followed these occurrences. This brought about an aspect of the African Americans were segregated on various aspects such as in the economic, social, and the educational perspectives, which was a state of “separate but equal” situation for the African American society (Flamming, 2005). The rising African American movement did not go easy with the Whites and most especially with the entry of the Blacks into the Congress. This resulted in the making of more strict laws for registration and voting, which were mainly against the Blacks. The Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance Another event of significant importance to the African American population is the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that erupted in the 1920s, with a majority of the Blacks terming it the New Negro Movement (Franklin and Moss, 1994). The movement spread wide to the other Northern, in which included the new African American cultural expressions across from the other urban areas other than the Southern regions that was considered the African American stronghold (Muse, 1968). Despite having its center in Harlem around the New York City, the influence was so intense that even Blacks and Caribbean’s in other regions such as Paris were joined into the movement (Muse, 1968). After the Civil War and the slavery of the African Americans, it was evident that Africans were still infringed of their rights and freedoms such as in the cases of public participation as a contribution of Jim Crow segregation laws. The democratic Whites provided no opportunity for the African Americans to exercise their civil and political rights as they consistently terrorized the Blacks. For the Blacks who were arrested, corporal punishment was the form of punishment with the death rates increasing significantly among the African American population. With a majority of African Americans moving northwards from the uncertain conditions in the South, the name the Great Migration was developed. Indeed, this was the greatest internal population shift in the United States (Gates, 2011). The New Negro Movement was indeed a success as the concentrations of the Blacks in the New York City increased substantively. One critical aspect during the period was that in the migration, African American literary individuals were also involved in the movement and therefore, contributed towards the influencing the movement through the various written materials that were distributed to other regions, and hence influenced the migration of all individuals with African descent. The World War I World War I later followed the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance. The United States made entry into the World War I with the segregation on racial basis, still a challenge. Even though segregation was still rampant, many African Americans joined the draft with most of them playing the support role instead of the stiff combat role. With France having suffered a terrible loss during the war, they recruited four African American regiments to help boost their war force deficit in combating the war. Of all the African Americans that participated in the World War I, the 369th Infantry Regiment is considered the most successful having been awarded the Legion of Merit, for the spirited fight they put during the war (Washington, 1963). From the 369th Infantry Regiment, Freddie Stowers was awarded the medal of honor for his contributions in the World War I, as he led the French towards the assaulting the German trenches. This was even after being wounded twice in the war before he later died. Despite his nomination for the prestigious award shortly after his death, Stowers was ignored because of the racism that still existed within the forces. Such an occurrence opened up a new view to the extent to which the segregation was manifest against the African Americans. The Black Power Movement The Black Power movement was indeed another development within the African Americans. Despite the Africans having obtained their freedom from slavery, they still needed to fight for their rights, both civil and political. The progress that the African Americans made during the same period was marred with constant violence against the African American community. The Black Power was indeed a political movement in which the developed ideologies directed towards self-determination of the African American descent populace. Just like the whites, the African American had their collective interests that required appropriate structures to influence, nurture, and promote (Muse, 1968). The movement was most prominent towards the end of the 1960s, extending to the early 1970s. The major aspect of concern was to seek for the God given rights and establish power for members of the Black community. From the establishment of the Black Power, the African Americans, such individuals would be able to express their political goals, offer defense, and protection against, development of social institutions that would work to empower the Blacks and establish a self-sufficient economic system for the African Americans (Clayborne, 2011). The name ‘Black Power’ was an aspect that would work to bring solidarity among the African Americans, which would replace the ‘Freedom Now’ slogan developed by Martin Luther King, and one that would involve the use of non-violent means. On the contrary, the ‘Black Power Movement’ would involve the use of violence as a means of sending messages to the Whites, that indeed the African Americans were tired of the discrimination against them (Collins and Cohen, 1993). Despite not providing the immediate remedies the grievances that the African Americans wanted solved, the Black Power Movement indeed had an impact on the political environment as it enabled the engagement of the Blacks either directly or indirectly into politics. The Second Migration and the World War II The Second Migration and the World War II are yet two events that took place at the same time, and those that had significant impact on the lives of African Americans. In the second migration, the African Americans, approximately 5 million in number, migrated from the South to the other regions of the United States. This took place for 1941 and lasted until 1970, which was through into the Second World War. Unlike the first time migration, the African Americans in the second great migration had established themselves into the urban centers with a majority of them already employed in different industries. Considering the urbanization that the African Americans had undergone, their movement from the South to other regions was influenced by numerous factors including the search for better employment opportunities (Gates, 2011). Post-Civil Rights Era African-American History Post-Civil Rights Era African-American history is the last event that remains in progress up to date and one that has significantly influenced the lives of the African Americans over the years. The post-civil rights era, has seen the African Americans make significant strides both politically and economically (Collins and Cohen, 1993). Today, it is possible to find African Americans among the world’s richest individuals, an occurrence that was not possible in the past years. Discrimination based on ethnicity has reduced significantly. It is surprising that today; an African American president leads the United States of America. Previously, we had Condoleezza Rice as the United States Secretary of State, which made her the world’s most powerful woman (Carmichael and Hamilton, 1967). This is clear evidence to the changes that the nation has experienced over the past years, most especially in the political sector. References Carmichael, S., & Hamilton, C. V. (1967). Black power: the politics of liberation in America. New York: Random House. Clayborne, Carson, et. al. 2011. “A Prelude to War: The 1860s,” in The Struggle for Freedom: A History of African Americans (Boston: Prentice Hall, 206–207. Collins, C. M., & Cohen, D. (1993). The African Americans. New York: Viking Studio Books. Flamming, D. (2005). Bound for freedom Black Los Angeles in Jim Crow America. Berkeley: University of California Press. Franklin, J. H., & Moss, A. A. (1994). From slavery to freedom: a history of African Americans (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Gates, H. L. (2011). Life upon these shores: looking at African American history, 1513-2008. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Muse, B. (1968). The American Negro revolution ; from nonviolence to black power, 1963-1967. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Washington, B. T. (1963). Up from slavery, an autobiography.. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. Read More