Essay On The Role Of African Americans

Slavery began in the late 16th century to early 18th century. Africans were brought to American colonies by white masters to come and work on their plantations in the South. They were treated harshly with no payments for all their hard work. In addition, they lived under harsh living conditions, and this led to their resistance against these harsh conditions. The racism towards the African Americans who were slaves was at its extreme as they did not have any rights; no civil nor political rights.

Before 1863, African Americans were slaves with no rights of their own. This is well illustrated in the 1857 Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Stanford, where the court ruled that “a negro, whose ancestors were imported into [the U.S] and sold as slaves, whether enslaved or free, could not be an American citizen and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court…” (Schmidt, Shelley & Barder, 2014-2015, p. 93). Eventually, the 13th amendment was passed, but even after slavery was officially abolished within the United States, African Americans were still not viewed or treated as “equal” to white citizens. Moreover, because they had prior to never been allowed to go to school, or read or write, they were limited to low-wage, manual labor tasks

African American Studies is a very complex subject. To confuse African American studies with black history is a common occurrence. African American studies is much deeper and more profound than just Black history alone. There are many unanswered and unasked questions among the Black American culture which causes confusion and misunderstanding in modern day society. In unit one there were many themes, concepts, and significant issues in the discipline of Africana studies. Both W.E.B Du Bois and Vivian V. Gordan touched on many concerns.

1b. I am a woman, I practice Catholicism, I am 26 years old. As for my socio economic background I come from a middle class family. Growing up in the Congo we didn’t have much money, my parents did everything in their power to provide us with everything that we need to have the best possible life. For that reason my dad got a job here in Denver twenty plus years ago and we had to start all over. It was through the help of many family friends and relatives that we were able to have all the chances in life. My parents had to go to school and learn English and work at the same time. They had sacrificed a lot in order to make sure that we had everything in order to succeed in this

Melba Pattillo Beals, Jackie Robinson, and Feng Ru all had life changing experiences, faced resistance and they also changed their countries. These individuals changed their countries in positive ways. Melba Pattillo Beal’s was the first African American to ever enroll in a all white school. Before her enrolment the schools were all segregated. Her enrolment in an all white school was the first major step towards desegregation in her country. Jackie Robinson’s was the first African American to integrate Major League Baseball. Before his integration into Major League Baseball all African American players were forced to play in the Negro Leagues. His integration in the the Major Leagues was not an easy one. He faced a lot of resistance but by sticking it out and proving he was as good of a player as the white players he paved the way for other African Americans to follow in his footsteps. Feng Ru’s was the first Chinese aviator and he was also the first chinese aviator to ever leave

The Annual Black Caucus is a yearly event that takes place in the Nation’s capital of Washington, DC every September. At the conference, various leaders, policy makers, and educators respectfully come together to discuss issues that face many African American communities. Most importantly, meaningful discussions on solutions to resolve these issues are debated. The Annual Black Caucus provides a platform to inform, inspire, and motivate future African American youth progressing into the 21st century and beyond.

African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated; that is 60% of 30% of the African American population. African Americas are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites. “Between 6.6% and 7.5% of all black males ages 25 to 39 were imprisoned in 2011, which were the highest imprisonment rates among the measured sex, race, Hispanic origin, and age groups." (Carson, E. Ann, and Sabol, William J. 2011.) Stated on Americanprogram.org “ The Sentencing Project reports that African Americans are 21 percent more likely to receive mandatory-minimum sentences than white defendants and are 20 percent more likely to be sentenced to prison.” Hispanics and African Americans make up 58% of all prisoners in 2008, even though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately one quarter of the US population. (Henderson 2000). Slightly 15% of the inmate population is made up of 283,000 Hispanic prisoners.

Ethnic and Racial Minorities have played a huge role if not the biggest role in developing America and making our nation what it is today. Almost 50% of the United States population is made of these minorities. Within that minority group there is over 10 different racial differences. We fought wars over these differences and the government had to pass laws because of the racial and ethnic minorities. From the civil war, to the Civil Rights Movement, to us having our first African American President ever currently in office. We have come along way since the beginning. African Americans, not only them but many other groups as well know their self worth and know how much their life is worth and are not willing to give up. The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 which made discrimination against someone based on their sex, religion, or race illegal. The end of slavery in 1863 which changed the lives of millions. Native Americans being accepted and actually helping during WWII with secret coding. Many groups may not seem important but are just as important to the United States as every other race. They have shaped America into the nation it is today.

During the Great Depression, things were hard for women. Many people had different opinions about what women should do. Many thought they shouldn’t work because they are taking men’s jobs and they thought that wasn’t right to the men. Many other people thought they should stay at home and just be a stay at home mom and clean the house and to make sure food is on the table when men came home from work. Women believed they should do there own thing, many women wanted to work during this time to help. The Great Depression made it hard for women because people had many different ideas on what they should do, White and African American women struggled differently, but in the end it became better for both groups.

When you have influence on someone or something you have the ability to change things unknowingly. African Americans have influences upon the United States in numerous ways. Socially, politically and emotionally the black experience embodies influence on our lives today. When I reflect on the issues that African Americans faced centuries ago, and the issues that we are facing today it seems to be a reflection. I am a African American woman staring in a cracked mirror watching the issues of the past reflect back in the world I live in today. African American political experience from the 20th century have an affect on us as we continue to experience things today day we are striving to grasp change, equality and justice.

they are enslaved as wrong as it was some people did not believe so, enslaved lasting

After the Civil War the country had to reconfigure and somehow integrate the southern states back into the union. African American got their freedom and set out to make lives for themselves and find a new identity. In During the reconstruction period many African Americans found themselves facilitating the reconstruction through political participation with Hiram Revels being the first African American to serve in Congress. Many others served as delegates to the constitutional organization. The Reconstruction Period it seem included everyone, but African American people and it do not seem to produce the things promised to them. While things did show signs of improvement for African Americans in many ways, it all just fell very short of the mark. There were some improvements that did not last most of them were in the political. During the Reconstruction, African Americans were elected to political offices in some of the Southern states. There were even some African Americans who were able to serve high government offices. Some of the more permanent changes were for one their freedom and with the fifteenth amendment African American men were able to vote now. During the Reconstruction Period African Americans set out on a bold path to stake their claim on this world and establish

As an young African American in Seattle, Naturally I grew up in the African American Community, specifically in the Central District ( C.D). That Includes the very coveted territory of Capital Hill. Growing the C.D area was not what it is today, in fact it was very far from it. Even though there was, and is still violence, it was a community, and an up lifting on at that. Everyone would hang out at the community center, and for the most part everyone new everyone. At a young age I learned the meaning of community and family. Family is not always blood, and blood is not always thicker than water. I was once able to walk down the streets of where I grew up and recognize everything and almost everyone. I still have younger cousins going to high school down

The role of African American has changed over the centuries. They were treated differently because of their skin color. They were treated like property for others uses however change happened. It was not a easy matter to change but one of the main reason it did change was because Martin Luther King and his speech “I have a Dream”.

The aspect of African-American Studies is key to the lives of African-Americans and those involved with the welfare of the race. African-American Studies is the systematic and critical study of the multidimensional aspects of Black thought and practice in their current and historical unfolding (Karenga, 21). African-American Studies exposes students to the experiences of African-American people and others of African descent. It allows the promotion and sharing of the African-American culture. However, the concept of African-American Studies, like many other studies that focus on a specific group, gender, and/or creed, poses problems. Therefore, African-American Studies must overcome the obstacles in order to