The position of African Americans

• The position of African Americans


  Life for black Americans in the South

  Segregation - All southern states practised segregation, called 'Jim Crow'. The system was given legal authority in 1896 in the Supreme Court.
• The position of African Americans

  Life for black Americans in the South 2

  Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 - Was a Supreme Court ruling which stated that segregation was acceptable so long as facilities were of equal quality. Most white people approved and there was little impetus to define what was meant by equality. Although the Act referred specifically to places of public accommodation - it had been introduced in respect to railway accommodation - it was used to justify separate facilities of all types, from public toilets to service in restaurants.
• The position of African Americans

  Life for black Americans in the South 3

  Terrorism - AA endured discrimination and terrorism. Although Ku Klux Klan was in abeyance until the 1920s, acts of lynching proliferated - 292 in 1892 alone and almost 5000 between 1882 and 1950. AA had little recourse to the law - local police were notoriously racist.
• The position of African Americans

  Life for black Americans in the South

  Education - Where schools existed for AA they tended to be poorly equipped, overcrowded and concentrated by necessity on offering only the most basic education.
• The position of African Americans


  Booker T. Washington

  One important AA leader was Washington who ran the Tuskagee institute in Alabama. Was a vocational college, enabling AA students to become skilled craftsmen. Washington believed:

  • AA needed to be taught the skills necessary to become useful citizens
  • AA needed the help from white people to improve themselves.
• The position of African Americans

  Booker T. Washington

  His most famous exposition of this view was in the 'Atlanta Compromise' of 1895. Here he argued that if white people saw AA as economic partners rather than political opponents, the race problem would be resolved. If white people would help AA learn vocational skills, then they would be loyal, hardworking citizens.
• The position of African Americans

  Booker T. Washington

  Opposition to the Atlanta Compromise - Many white people supported Washington and assisted him in his efforts. He was invited to the White House. Many AA did learn useful vocational skills and improved their lives as a result. However, others felt he had surrendered their dignity and tacitly accepted the idea of white superiority. He remained a controversial figure.
• The position of African Americans

  The Great Migration

  Many AA moved north in what became known as the Great Migration. However, in N cities they often still found discrimination and limited opportunities. AA tended to congregate in specific areas of N cities such as Harlem in NY which became overcrowded w/ attendant social problems as a result. E.g., In Harlem, AA rose from 50,000 in 1910 to 73,000 by 1920. Migrants found that educational and job opportunities were often limited. But, so many people in close proximity led to vibrant culture in the 1920s in the Harlem Renaissance.
• The position of African Americans

  W.E. DuBois

  Was an intellectual who disagreed sig w/ Washington. He felt AA should demand their Civil Rights and an end to discrimination. His 'Niagara Movement' - so-called cos it had been largely elucidated at the Niagara Conference in 1905 - never gained a widespread following. However, was partly responsible for formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) in 1909, which did become immensely sig in the fight for Civil Rights and equal opportunities.