LEGACY OF SLAVERY

• 1831 • Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French magistrate, wrote

his classic book "Democracy in America," asked former President John Quincy Adams: "Do you look on slavery as a great plague for the United States?“

• "Yes, certainly," Adams answered. "That is the root of almost all the troubles of the present and the fears for the future."

• Adams’ observations are prophetic

LEGACY

• Since the 17th century, through American slavery, emancipation, segregation and modern civil rights movement, the issue of race & ethnic relations have been salient

LEGACY

• Slavery has divided the country

• Northern part—with no slavery or free states

• Southern part—where slavery existed or slave states

The Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 ordered the slaves to be freed; and authorized the U.S. Arm Forces to enlist freedmen.

After the assassination of President Lincoln in 1865, President Andrew Johnson adopted a Reconstruction plan similar to Lincoln’s. By the end of 1865, the 13th Amendment, which abolished the legal institution of slavery had been ratified.

After the Reconstruction, Blacks were elected to public offices for the first time.

Emancipation and Reconstruction

SLAVERY & RACE

• One distinguishing characteristic of American slavery from the rest of the world was its racial basis

• That is almost all slaves were of African descent

• This placed the label of inferiority on black skin and on African culture

The Impact of Slavery On Its Victims

• In the Book Time on the Cross (1974), Fogel and Engerman observed that slavery was an economic system in which slave owners rewarded productive work.

• In a 2nd book, Without Consent or Contract (1989) Fogel argued that slavery did have a devastating effect on the lives of the slaves because of the denial of cultural self-identification; economic and political opportunities.

WHITE HOSTILITY

• White hostility followed the approval of the 13th Amendment because it ended the Southern way of life.

• Ku Klux Klan (K.K.K.) was formed in 1866 to continue the hostility against free blacks. Members were White Protestant Males.

• Lynching of Blacks by Whites in the South continued—KKK violence increased.

• The mob attacks by Whites on Black property in 1919 led to so much blood shed that James Weldon Johnson (1968:304), head of the NAACP, called it “the Red Summer.”

WHITE HOSTILITY

• The “Black Codes” are new southern laws that severely restricted the rights of free black. These codes were introduced because of the approval-- 13th Amendment.

• “Sharecropping” was a system of agricultural production in the South that worked to the greatest disadvantage of Black tenants who were often cheated of wages and their share of crop—economic slavery.

• Jim Crow laws segregated Blacks in every type of public facility from schools to cemeteries

BLACK RENAISSANCE

• “Black Renaissance” (rebirth) grew out of the racial violence. Purpose to celebrate Black pride and nationalism—separatism.

• Black pride idea was further strengthened by writers and artists like Langston Hughes and Claude McKay in Harlem, New York.

ROOT CAUSE OF RACISM

• Slavery was the root cause of the three legal cases

• White racism—struggle for cultural & ideological domination

• Slavery—contemporary individual & institutional racism

Modern Civil Rights Movement

• The “Atlanta Comprise” was a speech by Booker T. Washington about the status of Blacks.

• Booker T. Washington’s views on race relations were central to the Tuskegee point of view, which stressed appeasement of the Whites and the importance of self-help. Burden is on Blacks

The Niagara Movement• In 1905, a small group of Black “radicals”

under the leadership of W.E.B. Du Bois formed the Niagara Movement.

• The purpose of the Movement was to express opposition to Booker T. Washington’s program. Their “Declaration of Principles” stated that Black people should fight for their civil rights. Burden is on Whites

• According to W.E.B. Du Bois, the problem of the 20th century is the problem of color line, i.e., people will be judged on the basis of their skin color.

• In 1909, Niagara group members joined with some White liberals to form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The leaders of the NAACP opposed the “ever-growing oppression and the disenfranchisement” of Black people.

• In 2004, President of NAACP is Kweisi Mfume.

SUMMARY

• Note: Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois agreed that Blacks should be economically independent from Whites but they disagreed on the strategies, i.e., Washington wanted appeasement of Whites and segregation.

• By contrast, Du Bois wanted Blacks to fight for their civil rights and demand full rights as American citizens.

Separatism• Marcus Garvey organized the Universal

Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) with a major long-range goal to enable Black Americans to leave U.S. and settle an independent nation in Africa, e.g., Liberia and Sierra Leone.

• Both the NAACP and the socialist leader A. Philip Randolph agreed that Garvey’s “Back to Africa” movement must be stopped.

Black Muslims• Elijah Poole, now Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Black Muslims.

• Purpose to further religion, race pride, and self-help.• Members want a separate nation within the U.S.A.

• Louis Farrakhan, leader in the 1990’s to present—Nation of Islam.

• “Million Man March” was organized by Louis Farrakhan in Washington D.C. to address the status of Black men--1995

Strategy, Tactics, and Conflict

In June 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order prohibiting racial discrimination in defense industries. The order established a Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC) to investigate possible violations of the order.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) CORE was formed to further nonviolent direct action. CORE’S first strategy was patient negotiation. If this failed, the next step was to arouse public opinions against discriminatory actions, e.g., boycotts, strikes, etc.

The Decline of Colonialism In response to a proposed march on Washington led by A. Philip Randolph, President Truman acted in 1948 to end all segregation in the armed forces of the U.S.A.

Victories in the Courts Desegregation in the military and victories in other related public education cases laid the groundwork for one of the most important court cases in the history of the U.S.A.

LEGAL CASES

• Dred Scott v. Sandford case in 1857 sanctioned slavery

• 1896, Plessy v. Fergusson case “separate but equal” doctrine legalized segregation of races

• 1954-55, Brown v. Board of Education case overturned the “Separate but equal” doctrine—ending legalized segregation

• The Brown V. Topeka Board of Education (1954) Supreme Court case called into question the “separate but equal doctrine” approved in the Plessy decision in 1896—de jure segregation (legalized segregation) That segregation has no place in the field of public education. Today =de facto segregation (socioeconomic status)

• Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Judge, was the defense lawyer in this case.

• In the Brown ruling in May 1954 (Brown I), the Supreme Court recognized the difficulties in desegregating public schools.

• Another decision in 1955 (Brown II) on the question of how the transition from segregation to desegregation was to be achieved. Differences in states etc. are the issues.

• State officials of Arkansas attempted to “nullify” the Brown decisions, thus preventing Black students from entering the school.

• The students were finally admitted when President Eisenhower sent Federal troops to Little Rock Central High School.

• Despite, the court’s decision to remedy segregation. Many Blacks doubted the law’s power to end discrimination.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

• A by product of Modern Civil Rights Movement is Affirmative Action Program

• Affirmative Action—positive measure to recruit qualified persons of color & women—workforce, etc.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS

• Labor, Music, Dance, Fashion and various elements of “style” have enriched white culture

• For example, blues, jazz, rock n’roll and rap

REPARATIONS

• Uncompensated labor of millions of African Americans--developed America as a rich nation

• Attracting millions of immigrants today

• Should the past wrongs of slavery be compensated?