African Americans in American Society 1920s
African Americans in the 1920s
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“Cast down your bucket where you are. Cast it down among the eight millions of Negroes…” – Booker T. Washington, 1895 Atlanta Compromise
Throughout US history, there is an abundance of racism, segregation and discrimination towards the African American people. In 1619, the first African slaves were brought to Jamestown to produce tobacco, tea, cotton, coffee and other precious commodities. In this time period, 12 million Africans were forcibly transported to the Americas, where they worked as slaves until 1865, where the 13th Amendment abolished slavery. Although suppressed by whites and organisations such as the Ku Klux Klan, African Americans in the 1920s began to work towards social, economic and political independence as well as freedom from segregation and discrimination. From this decade, groups in favour of ending prejudice towards African Americans were formed, such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) led by W.E.B. DuBois and the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) led by Marcus Garvey, who, in their own rights, continued the legacy of Booker T. Washington who had worked towards Black rights in the 1890s.
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“We must canonize our own saints, create our own martyrs, and elevate to positions of fame and honor black men and women who have made distinct contributions to our racial history” – Marcus Garvey World War I was a perfect opportunity for African Americans to prove themselves to their white neighbours, and fulfil the policies of Booker T. Washington, that in order to achieve acceptance, equality and freedom, they must first prove that they are worthy of their rights, which was done through service in the armed forces. However, instead of being accepted by white society, African Americans found that racial tensions only grew during the 1920s. Starting from the 1910s, a phenomenon had been occurring known as the Great Migration – the movement of African
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“Cast down your bucket where you are. Cast it down among the eight millions of Negroes…” – Booker T. Washington, 1895 Atlanta Compromise
Throughout US history, there is an abundance of racism, segregation and discrimination towards the African American people. In 1619, the first African slaves were brought to Jamestown to produce tobacco, tea, cotton, coffee and other precious commodities. In this time period, 12 million Africans were forcibly transported to the Americas, where they worked as slaves until 1865, where the 13th Amendment abolished slavery. Although suppressed by whites and organisations such as the Ku Klux Klan, African Americans in the 1920s began to work towards social, economic and political independence as well as freedom from segregation and discrimination. From this decade, groups in favour of ending prejudice towards African Americans were formed, such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) led by W.E.B. DuBois and the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) led by Marcus Garvey, who, in their own rights, continued the legacy of Booker T. Washington who had worked towards Black rights in the 1890s.
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“We must canonize our own saints, create our own martyrs, and elevate to positions of fame and honor black men and women who have made distinct contributions to our racial history” – Marcus Garvey World War I was a perfect opportunity for African Americans to prove themselves to their white neighbours, and fulfil the policies of Booker T. Washington, that in order to achieve acceptance, equality and freedom, they must first prove that they are worthy of their rights, which was done through service in the armed forces. However, instead of being accepted by white society, African Americans found that racial tensions only grew during the 1920s. Starting from the 1910s, a phenomenon had been occurring known as the Great Migration – the movement of African
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