Issue 2 : Obstacles Flashcards
Legal Impediments : Knowledge
JIM CROW
• Most Jim Crow laws were passed between 1870 and 1900
• Ensured segregation
• black and white people would have Separate But Equal’ facilities
• President Woodrow Wilson was a strong defender of segregation, stating in 1916, “Segregation is not humiliating and is a benefit to you Black gentlemen.”
Legal Impediments : Knowledge II
PLESSY VS FERGUSON
•Plessy vs Ferguson is the case of a man called Homer Plessy who was 1/8 negro but was visibly white, even though he appeared white
• the anti-black laws still applied to him because he was still classified as a negro.
• In 1892, he refused to move from a ‘white only’ seat on the train and was arrested for doing so, this case reached the supreme court. Homer Plessy argued in court that the discriminatory Jim Crow laws of the south broke federal law and were unconstitutional as they went against the 14th amendment.
•He went on to lose this case as the court sided with the states by saying “laws permitting, and even requiring, the separation of races, in places where they are liable to be brought into contact , do not necessarily imply the inferiority of either race to the other. This was called the separate but equal decision
Legal Impediments : Analysis
• ensured that black people continued to be denied the same treatments and rights as white people.
• Jim Crow was designed to keep blacks under control and made sure they were inferior to white people, which allowed an increased belief in white supremacy, and also gained further support from white people to keep these laws.
• ‘Separate but Equal’ reinforced the Jim Crow Laws, states in the south quickly reinforced their racial segregation laws and made no effort to provide equal services, which normalised segregation and made it acceptable.
Legal Impediments: Analysis +
• some African Americans had attempted to overcome segregation by 1941 and some of the early civil rights groups were already established such as the NAACP.
• black activists met to discuss how to respond to discrimination against the black community.
•black people were willing to protest and fight for their rights.
Popular Prejudice : Knowledge
GREAT MIGRATION
• The great migration happened between 1910 and 1970.
•During this time over 6 million blacks migrated to escape the brutal life in the south, to cities in the north, Midwest and west.
• in 1910, 89% of blacks lived in the South
•by 1970 the number of blacks in the South had dropped to 53%
• by 1920 Chicago’s black population had raised by 148%, which changed the racial makeup of Northern cities.
•The changing in racial makeup led to the build up of many riots such as the East St Louis Riot of 1917
•erupted after 2 white police detectives were shot by black youths.
•During this riot a white mob invaded the black area of the town and beat up black women and children, black men were lynched.
•By the end of this riot 50 people were killed, the white policemen are partly to blame for the deaths as they stood and watched this all take place without intervening.
Popular Prejudice : Analysis
• the move to the north took away those who had ambition and ability from the south
•potential civil rights leaders were taken away from the south
• movement had no drive.
•As a result of the housing and employment issues blacks faced, blacks could only afford to live in the poorest areas in northern cities which developed into ghettos.
• People found it very difficult to escape these living conditions and this was made worse by employment prejudice.
•Because of how difficult it was for blacks to get employed they prioritised meeting their basic needs, instead of getting involved in campaigns to try and improve their lives.
Popular prejudice analysis +
• the move North encouraged a lot of black culture such as art, music and food which are still very present in modern day society.
•It can also be argued that the poor conditions witnessed in the cities eventually convinced the government to take action and introduce civil rights laws to bring about better living conditions for blacks
