Historical Report on Race: African Americans
Frederik Seixas
ETH 125
Jennifer Friedrich, Ph.D.
01/26/2014

It is an undeniable fact that, throughout history, the African American community has dealt with its fair share of discrimination. This is of particular historical significance to those living in the United States because it is an essential component of the founding of this country, and will continue to be a reoccurring theme in the curricula of educational institutions and in the headlines of current events. Historically, Africans were first brought into the Jamestown colony in 1619 for the purpose of harvesting tobacco (Slavery in America, 2012). Their arrival had a huge influence on the course of American history, so much so that it is no exaggeration to say that, without the presence of the African American people, our country would not be what it is today. Unfortunately theirs is a tale of enslavement and mistreatment, and with current-day discrimination still posing a threat to this particular race, it is impossible to deny that African Americans have weathered some of the most horrifying struggles possible. In many ways, the battle for freedom and equality is still very much alive, and, as a historian, I simply cannot ignore my duty to share the story of one of the most resilient races our country as ever known.
Let us begin with some historical references on the matter of the African American community's experience in the United States. In terms of politicAfrican Americans were enlisted and were forced to join the Army when Civil War came but refused to because of a law that was being upheld to keep them from enlisting. This was changed when President Lincoln submitted the Final Proclamation. There were still discrimination and segregation even though African Americans were already allowed to enlist in the army (The Civil War and Emancipation, 2012). There have been many concerns regarding African Americans participating in political causes throughout the years. There was an instance that a literacy test was done in the State of Mississippi to prevent Blacks from voting. The result was the state adopted a grandpa clause because the test caused whites from being able to vote as well. Before 1870, regardless of literacy or tax qualifications, everyone has the right to vote. The Black community was stopped to vote while whites were able to vote under grandpa clause. Several laws that supported slavery were made in the 1700s and 1800s. It is illegal to teach slaves about reading and writing under the South Carolina 1740.
These circumstances were changed by Reconstruction, development of the black community, participation in the great military conflicts of the United States, racial segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement. In 2008, Barack Obama was the first African-American to be elected president of the United States (Russell 2011). The geographical-origin-based term "African American" is commonly used interchangeably with "black American", although skin-color-based terms are sometimes considered disparaging. The desperate conditions of African Americans in the South that sparked the Great Migration of the early 20th century, combined with a growing African American community in the Northern United States, led to a movement to fight violence and discrimination against African Americans that, like abolitionism before it, crossed racial lines (Gomez 1998). The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968 was directed at abolishing racial discrimination against African Americans, particularly in the Southern United States. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the conditions which brought it into being are credited with putting pressure on President John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
African Americans quickly set up congregations for themselves, as well as schools, community and civic associations, to have space away from white control or oversight. While the post-war reconstruction era was initially a time of progress for African Americans, in the late 1890s, Southern states enacted Jim Crow laws to enforce racial segregation and disenfranchisement. Most African Americans followed the Jim Crow laws, using a mask of compliance to prevent becoming victims of racially motivated violence (Russell 2011). Discriminatory acts included racial segregation—upheld by the United States Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 —which was legally mandated by southern states and nationwide at the local level of government, voter suppression or disenfranchisement in the southern states, denial of economic opportunity or resources nationwide, and private acts of violence and mass racial violence aimed at African Americans unhindered or encouraged by government authorities
March on Washington, August 28, 1963, shows civil rights and union leaders Johnson put his support behind passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that banned discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and labor unions, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which expanded federal authority over states to ensure black political participation through protection of voter registration and elections (Gomez 1998). By 1966, the emergence of the Black Power movement, which lasted from 1966 to 1975, expanded upon the aims of the Civil Rights Movement to include economic and political self-sufficiency, and freedom from white authority. During the postwar period, many African Americans continued to be economically disadvantaged (Gomez 1998) . Average black income stood at 54% of that of white workers in 1947, and 55% in 1962. In 1959, median family income for whites was $5,600, compared with only $2,900 for nonwhite families. In 1965, 43% of all black families fell into the poverty bracket, earning under $3,000 a year. The Sixties, however, saw improvements in the social and economic conditions of many black Americans (Russell 2011). From 1965 to 1969, black family income rose from 54% to 60% of white family income. In 1968, 23% of black families earned under $3,000 a year, compared with 41% in 1960. In 1965, only 19% of black Americans had incomes equal to the national median, a proportion that rose to 27% by 1967. In 1960, the median level of education for blacks had been 10.8 years, and by the late Sixties the figure rose to 12.2 years, just a half a year behind the median for whites.
2. What have been the political, social, and cultural issues and concerns throughout American history? The poverty rate for all persons masks considerable variation between racial/ethnic subgroups. Poverty rates for blacks and Hispanics greatly exceed the national average. In 2010, 27.4 percent of blacks and 26.6 percent of Hispanics were poor, compared to 9.9 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 12.1 percent of Asians. Poverty rates are highest for families headed by single women, particularly if they are black or Hispanic. In 2010, 31.6 percent of households headed by single women were poor, while 15.8 percent of households headed by single men and 6.2 percent of married-couple households lived in poverty. There are also differences between native-born and foreign-born residents. In 2010, 19.9 percent of foreign-born residents lived in poverty, compared to 14.4 percent of residents born in the United States. Foreign-born, non-citizens had an even higher incidence of poverty, at a rate of 26.7 percent.

3. What legislation meant to constrain race within prejudicial boundaries was enacted?
How did the various groups you researched fight this legislation? The Black Codes were laws in the United States passed after the Civil War with the effect of limiting the civil rights and civil liberties of blacks. Even though discrimination laws against blacks existed in both Northern and Southern states from the early 19th century, the term "Black Codes" is used most often to refer to legislation passed by Southern states at the end of the Civil War to control the labor and movement of newly-freed slaves.
4. What legislation meant to alleviate prejudicial boundaries has been enacted? How did the various groups you researched promote this legislation? To ensure voting rights of African Americans, an Act was passed in 1965. The Equal Protection Clause is part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
A primary motivation for this clause was to validate and perpetuate the equality provisions contained in the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which guaranteed that all people would have rights equal to those of white citizens. As a whole, the Fourteenth Amendment marked a large shift in American constitutionalism, by applying substantially more constitutional restrictions against the states than had applied before the Civil War.
The meaning of the Equal Protection Clause has been the subject of much debate, and the well-known phrase "Equal Justice Under Law" (####, 2010) has become an abbreviated form of the constitutional provision. This provision was the basis for Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court decision that helped to dismantle racial segregation, and also the basis for many other decisions rejecting discrimination against people belonging to various groups.
The term "affirmative action" was first used in the United States in Executive Order 10925 and was signed by President John F. Kennedy on 6 March 1961; it was used to promote actions that achieve non-discrimination. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson enacted Executive Order 11246 which required government employers to take "affirmative action" to hire without regard to race, religion and national origin. In 1967, gender was added to the anti-discrimination list. Affirmative action is intended to promote the opportunities of defined groups within a society. It is often instituted in government and educational settings to ensure that minority groups within a society are included in all programs. The stated justification for affirmative action by its proponents is that it helps to compensate for past discrimination, persecution or exploitation by the ruling class of a culture, and to address existing discrimination. The implementation of affirmative action, especially in the United States, is considered by its proponents to be justified by disparate impact.
Laws that protect minority groups including African Americans do exist now. Discrimination against minority groups is still present though discrimination has gotten better over the years. Being overlooked for upper level jobs and promotions is one of the major discriminations against Black Americans today. Positions. Minorities were given lower positions and the best are reserved to Americans.

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