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African American Women In The 1920's

Decent Essays

The New Era of America showcases both African Americans' and women's challenges and successes as they entered the 1920s. Women in particular were given increasingly more freedom as they recently gained the right to vote, and they were affected by the cultural shift of the time. The decade was characterized by the representation of the Flapper, who shed the prior values of modesty by breaking social norms and having a more sexualized image. While women gained more independence and freedom socially, they also grew their opportunities in the workplace by taking up jobs more frequently than in the past. However, women were not the only ones to reach new heights, as African Americans also had further advancements in the New Era. Violence led to a large sum of the Black population of the South …show more content…

For African Americans, violence and limitations continued into the new decade as they faced mob violence, lynching, and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan. One example of this violence can be seen through the burning of the bustling neighborhood of the Greenwood District in Oklahoma, which killed hundreds and destroyed even more homes based on a made-up claim of sexual assault of a white woman. White mobs used different weapons and means to destroy the area leaving thousands without their homes and a large number of dead victims, which highlights the strong hatred against the Black community of the time. Furthermore, the Klu Klux Klan’s number of members grew exponentially, increasing the hate, violence, and struggles the African American population received. The Klan attempted to maintain White supremacy, what they described as American patriotism, and Protestantism, and their principles are what drove them to spread their beliefs that the Black race had to be under white control for American Society to

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