the twentieth century

Hello bloggers!

It upsets me to say that this will be my last blog so I'd like to thank all those who read my ideas and

interacted with my blog posts through out the year. 

Now lets get back to business ;)

This blog will be discussing racial  issues in the US during the 20th century. 

To be honest, I find it very strange that even after the supreme court's decision that ruled "separate but

equal" as "inherently unequal" in the Brown vs. Board of education case, segregation didn't end. 

I even asked my history teacher if the dates were right; how could segregation be outlawed in 

1945 and yet bus segregation still exists in 1955? Apparently laws were imposed but not applied. 

That is until rosa parks and many others stood up for themselves. 

When rosa refused to give up her seat for a white man in the bus, little did she know that she just 

helped initiate the civil rights movement in the US.

I came across this article which goes over pretty much everything african americans went through 

during this entire period from migration to urbanization to education to employment....

It describes the amazing  progress they made in their civil rights movement even though they suffered

from a lot of discrimination.

However, the writer goes on to say that in his opinion, the century ended  with a huge gap between

african  americans and white americans in terms of income, wealth, unemployment....and I absolutely

agree.

Well that was all so i hope u enjoyed reading it, bye!

Turn of the Century

Greetings!

My blog today will be about racism in the late 1800s - early 1900s.

Race has a dark history in this nation. When black Americans were promised freedom they were given Jim Crow laws and the ku klux klan, and when they were promised civil rights they were given Ronald Reagan's war on drugs.

Jim Crow was the name of the racial caste system which operated mostly in southern and border states, between 1877 and the mid 1960s.

Jim Crow was more than a series of rigid anti-black laws. It was a way of life. Under Jim Crow, African Americans were relegated to the status of the second class citizens. Jim Crow represented the legitimization of anti-black racism.

Christian ministers taught that whites were the chosen people, blacks were cursed to be servants, and God supported racial segregation. Everyone believed that blacks were innately intellectually and culturally inferior to whites.

In this article the author basically summarizes all the racist events that occured throughout imperialism and WWI in the US as a timeline (The Jim Crow laws being one of them). He also mentions W.E.B Du Bois's contribution in that regard.

Luckily, the civil rights' movement in the 1950s somewhat put an end to it.

Racism in the Antebellum Period

Today's blog will be discussing Jackson's Native American Policy and its relation to racism. 

Andrew Jackson oversaw a harsh policy with regard to Native Americans. This policy resulted in the usurpation of land, attempts to destroy tribal culture, and the forcible removal of Native Americans from the southeastern United States to a designated territory west of the Mississippi River. 

Jackson, of course, was not always so indulgent of states' rights, as is shown by his famous threat later on to use military force against South Carolina if that state acted on John Calhoun's doctrine of nullification. 

While most historians are in agreement with the details of Jackson's Indian removal policy, there is significant debate with respect to his motivation. Did Jackson's racist antipathy to the Indians pave the way for the “Trail of Tears”? Or did he support this policy out of a humanitarian desire to protect Native Americans from the impending wrath of white settlers and their state governments who refused to negotiate with the southern tribes as sovereign nations?

I came across an article (link) where Jillian Keenan argues why she believes that Jackson shouldn't be on the representing the $20 bill. In her defense, she wouldn't want someone who engineered a genocide to be honored. I agree with her on that behalf.

Also, i read about an interesting incident at a high school in Ohio where the cheerleaders recall the trial of tears in a racist attempt to taunt the opposing team nicknamed the Indians. The cheerleaders, representing Greenfield’s McClain High School, held up a banner after traveling to the game against the Hillsborough Indians that read, “Hey Indians, Get ready for a Trail of Tears Part 2.” 

I'm white and i found that extremely hurtful and shocking then what about the Indians that heard about this?!

History always repeats itself...

Racism and the Founding Period

For my third blog I will be discussing the relevance of race to the revolution and founding period.

When I say George Washington the first thing that comes to your mind is the great founding father that we all idolize. Now of course with all do respect, he was a fierce leader and all but could you believe that even he had purchased many people as slaves during the founding period because of the race they belonged to?!

Furthermore, they were politicized by the language and modes of white protest and were quick to seize the opportunities for securing their own freedom that emerged from the disruptions of a society in rebellion.

I chose this interesting article to support my ideas:
http://history.rutgers.edu/clemens/AfricanAmericansRevolution.html

In short, the author here mentions the African American slaves and talks about how both the British and the Americans were afraid to arm them. Yet blacks were probably present on both sides for every major battle of the Revolution. Both armies accepted blacks in the military to win the war, not to enact social change. The Revolution gave them a chance to articulate and indulge their desire for freedom. While the war did not lead to emancipation, it united their belief of freedom. It helped to create a sense of community and gave them a position from which to fight for the abolition of slavery. 


I strongly agree with the contents of this article and it applies to all that we learned in our history lesson.

Racism in the Colonial Period

Mr. Harding has exempted me from my second blog seeing as I wasn't here for this unit.

Racism

Racism; one of the biggest issues in the US history. But the real question is, is it really just part of history? No, people, no; racism is everywhere around us, in our schools, at our work, even across the street! It all started ever since the colonial period by which privileges and rights were given to white americans but were not granted to native americans, african americans, asian americans, hispanic and latino americans. Slavery was also initiated at that time. But of course, major progress has been made in this regard nowadays. Slavery has been banned and rights were given equally. Moreover people are no longer treated differently according to the race they belong to. Or are they?!! Lets start with the simple things in life. For instance, can anyone deny that many students are bullied because they are of a different race? How about work; the best job opportunities are always offered to the white and of course their wages are the highest in percentage. It can even be as simple as a mean glare from a white racist to an african american at the supermarket! What really hits me the most about this issue is that people are denying the fact that it's still present today in our society. Laws were enhanced in this matter but they weren't always applied. Yes, i am white but i care!!

I crossed by an article that really appealed to me at : https://www.google.com/amp/www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-03-28/america-has-a-big-race-problem%3fcontext=amp?client=ms-android-hms-tmobile-us

At first, the writer disscussed a few examples of racism that had happened recently in the US. Then, he asks why a national conversation isn't being held to discuss the issue. He moves on to discussing a questionnaire that was made and resulted in shocking statistics that proved how racism remains in our society. An important point he stated was that the idea of racism wasnt born with us; it was something people caught from the media and social interactions. The writer urges people to talk and without fear for he believes thats the only solution. In his opinion, racism remains today yet he does acknowledge the progress made. 

I honestly couldnt agree more with everything he had to say.