Chapter 6

African Americans

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Background of the Afro-American population

The forefathers of most black Americans came from West Africa. Throughout history they have been referred to as Negroes, Colored, Blacks and Afro-Americans. In our time the most commonly used terms are African Americans or Blacks. According to a count in 1998 there were 34 million African Americans making up 12,5% of the total population. 86% of the black population live in cities. In New York alone there are over 2 million.   

The vast majority of the African Americans came to the country as slaves in the period between 1700 and 1850. All the original 13 British colonies had slaves, and so did Florida and Louisiana, at that time Spanish and French colonies. When the colonies broke their ties with England, the changed conditions in the North led to a decline in slavery. The spreading of cotton production in the South brought the opposite development.                         

Civil War because of slavery

The disagreement on this issue caused the Civil War to break out after Abraham Lincoln took over as President in 1860. Slavery was made unlawful in the whole nation as a result of this war. Now the Blacks were free to move around and look for jobs where they pleased, but this did not stop the discrimination of black citizens.

Ku Klux Klan

Racist groups were formed to keep the African Americans away from their rights. The Ku Klux Klan for instance used terror to stop the Blacks voting and holding office. Segregation was put into effect to keep the Blacks away from “white” schools, restaurants and all kinds of public facilities like busses etc. This system is called apartheid. It was predominantly existing in the South, but even in the North traces of this could be seen.

Move north

In the first half of the 1900s more than 5 million African Americans moved from the South to the North trying to find better jobs and enjoy more equal rights. Many of them ended up in large ghettoes like Harlem in New York.

Civil rights

In the middle of the 1950s a strong civil rights movement appeared in America. They were not willing to put up with segregation and lack of rights. Among the leaders was Dr. Martin Luther King who was an eager spokesman for nonviolent protest against the unfair conditions under which the Blacks were forced to live. A giant protest march was arranged on Washington DC. On this occasion King gave his most famous speech, “I have a Dream”. For his nonviolent campaign King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. His killing in 1968 gave nourishment to other groups of freedom fighters like the Black Panther Party.

Militant movement

People had started to doubt that a peaceful fight would take them to the target. They started to listen to more militant leaders like Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver who were willing to use violence if necessary.

Civil Rights Act

The pressure of the civil rights movement pushed the authorities to do something about the situation. Two acts were put through, the 1965 Civil Rights Act banning discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and labor unions and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which made it easier for African Americans to vote.

Black man running for president

In the 1980s Jesse Jackson as the first black man ran for President twice (84 and 88). The first black governor, Douglas Wilder, was elected  in 1989 in the State of Virginia. The first black woman in the US Senate was Carol Moseley-Braun, elected in 1992. Despite the fact that things are changing, it is still a fact that Blacks are underrepresented in government.

Growing economy for some

The black middle class is now growing and today almost 50% of the African Americans own their own homes. Yet black single parent families are overrepresented among people who live on the bare minimum.

Crime

Rates of violent crime in the black population are dropping, but all the same more than one million African American men are in jail. They often claim that they are treated unfair by the police. Los Angeles experienced serious riots after a black driver, Rodney King, had been beaten up by the police. The man was unarmed when he was stopped, which gave the police no excuse for beating him. The whole episode was filmed on a camcorder and was used as evidence against the police. A white jury later pronounced the police officers not guilty and thereby caused the violent riots in the city.