Shar’Vron D.

Washington

African American History

Final Exam Essay

May 9, 2010

The slaves were emancipated in 1865, but were they really free, or were they

really still slaves in their own right? This argument has been going on in the world of

history for quite some time now. Lots of people say that Black Americans were not truly

free until the last forty to fifty years. Others say that they were free when Abraham

Lincoln signed the “Emancipation Proclamation”. The basis for this argument is the need

for the civil rights movement. The first hundred years following the civil war was an up-

hill battle for equality for Black Americans. After 1950 Black/African Americans made

significant breakthroughs and achieved freedom and equality in America.

Slavery may have been over but the struggle to survive was at hand for the slaves

in the United States. Fighting for things that every human needs. Fighting to have the

same rights as Caucasian Americans, such as the right to vote. Blacks of this period of

time had to fight not only for civil rights but also their lives. Jim Crow and

disenfranchisement caused a large ripple affect on the lives of Blacks/African Americans.

Terror groups in the south were lynching blacks left and right. The Ku Klux Klan,

amongst other terror groups that were made of white southerners, killed 20,000

Blacks/African Americans. Blacks were caged in there own mind just because for more

than three hundred years they were slaves. They still had to think, talk, and act a certain

way just to try and live life. Blacks did not have there own culture. They had to build one

and whites did not openly accept it. Blacks came up with many different ways to be
different from the whites. From the way they talked to the way they dressed themselves

they were determined to be different. To make matters worse in society whites in the

entertainment industry would show stereotypes. Comics that were supposed to be

displaying blacks drew the blacks with huge lips, an overly wide nose, huge butts that

were rarely as big as it was drew, and just made it seem like being black is the worse

thing that could ever happen in life. Like blacks were supposed to feel like they were

never born. Back then black was supposed to be worse than ugly. It was repugnant.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) were not offer the same financial

backing as all white colleges and universities. It was the exact same for k-12 schools. All

white schools would receive the best books that money could by, however black schools

were getting books that were falling apart. Blacks truly weren’t free until about 1950.

The first 100 years following the civil war was an ongoing struggle for the

Average, as well as the not so average, Black/African American. Yeah, the slaves were

freed for good, but they still had more obstacles to overcome. They really didn’t have any

rights except the right to breath and even that was fought for, especially in the south. As

stated before the Ku Klux Klan along with other terror groups in the south killed 20,000

blacks. At least that’s how many were put on paper. For all we know it could be many

more. Voting was a total sham for blacks. Blacks would go to register to vote and would

have to take literacy test and/or pay a poll tax. In 1868 the 14th amendment was added to

the constitution. Saying any one who was born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens and

have the right to vote. In 1869, or 1870, the 15th amendment was added. It stated that

every citizen of the U.S. shall not be denied by nation or state based on race, color, or

previous conditions of servitude. So whether they were slaves and became naturalized or
they were born in the U.S. blacks coming out of slavery should have reserved the right to

vote without any problems but that’s just not how it happened. The next thing to happen

was a trial in 1944. Smith vs. Allwright itself made the supreme court come to a ruling

that would take the whites power prohibit blacks from participating in the primary

elections on the account of their race. The problem with that ruling was that it only

outlawed the white primaries. So literacy tests, poll taxes, and intimidation of potential

black registrants remained a course of the voting process for blacks.

Blacks decided to take it to the president so they could have the same right to vote

as the Caucasian Americans. Starting in the 1950’s the tide was going to turn for blacks

so they could make strides in getting there right to vote. In 1957, congress passed the

civil rights act of 1957. Which gave the blacks the right to file civil suits in federal court

districts. It outlined the attorney generals authority to file that suits in federal district

courts against violations of the 15th amendment. The problem with it was it relied solely

on the federal courts. Civil and criminal suits were cumbersome and long. And the

attorneys often ran in to obstacles getting the registration and voting records from

uncooperative southern registrars. Now comes the civil rights act of 1960. It had six

parts, however parts three and six were the most important. Part three provided for the

preservation of registration and voting records with the justice department’s right to

examine them. Part six provided for the optional appointment of a voting referee who

would reexamine voter applicants rejected by county registrars. The problem with this act

was it was extremely similar to the civil rights act of 1957 and it relied on the goodwill of

southern registrars to turn over records, which were often destroyed when they were

requested. The civil rights act of 1964 was more effective in federal elections. It for bid
the denial of the right to vote because of minor omissions. It made it to where literacy

tests that were written were the only thing that would be a qualification for voting. The

problem with this is that it only applied to the federal elections and said nothing about the

local and state elections and it still allowed the literacy tests to be used as a standard for

voting rights. In 1965, in Dallas County, Alabama blacks made up 57 percent of the

population, 15,000 were voting age, and only 320 were registered to vote. The local

group down there was the Dallas County Voters’ League. Led by Amelia Boynton they

had very little luck in registering blacks; Citizens Council and Sheriff Jim Clark often

monitored them. By this time the SNCC and SCLC were sick of their people not being

able to vote. Both took different routes to get blacks the right to vote. SNCC held rallies

to try to get the people together, SCLC tried to organize a march and in ended up getting

beaten by cops on the event known as “Bloody Sunday.” They went on a second march,

which consisted of white clergy, entertainers, black writers, and even Martin Luther King

Jr. It was halted by a court injunction but eventually went forward. In 1964 the 24th

amendment enforced the right of citizens of the U.S. to vote in any primary or election

for president and/or vice-president, or electors, or senator or representative in congress

shall not be denied by reason of failure to pay any poll tax. The voting rights act of 1965

suspended literacy test and other devices as qualifications for voting in any federal, state,

local, general, or primary election in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, MS, SC, VA, and 26

counties in NC. It provided federal examiners to conduct the registration of blacks and

observe voting. It directed the U.S. Attorney General to initiate suites. It also extended

civil and criminal protection to qualified persons seeking to vote or to those who aid

others to vote. All of this made it possible for a black man or woman to vote. Wow that’s
a lot for an entire group and/or nation of people to go through just to feel a little more as

equals to the peers.

The thing that seems so confusing is if blacks were released in 1865 why did they

have to go through so much pain and suffering just to live a normal life as the Caucasian

Americans? If they were truly free after the civil war why was life so full of trial and

tribulations? Only God knows, but the point is this stuff still appears today. Will America

ever get over what has happened in the past of this country? This is something for a lot of

us to think about as we go on in life.