The Civil Rights Movement: Racism In The 20th Century

The Civil Rights Movement occured in the mid 20th century, however racism is still a harsh reality for many. The divide between white people and African-Americans established hundreds of years ago still remains. But today, explicitly racist legislation has been removed, and racism is no longer easily definable and is more indirect. Today’s symbolic racism is based in underlying societal prejudice and segregation. Modern-racism is the product of previous U.S. government policy decisions rooted in racism, which laid the ground for years of unending discrimination and percieved superiority. The unequal segregation of races supported by legislation such as The Social Security Act, and the Wagner Act have created a segregated environment in the
The idea of race as a segregating factor between white people and African Americans was not always evident; the first Africans who came to America were not treated as racial slaves. Many Africans were indentured servants, however they were treated the similarly to their European counterparts and “were assimilated into the colony as laborers under varying contracts like those of Europeans. Some Africans worked off their debts and became freedmen”(Smedley 3). Africans had the ability to earn legal freedom; there was no legislation preventing them from thriving in America, voting, owning land, and climbing the socioeconomic ladder. Interracial marriages between Africans and Europeans were even culturally accepted and considered normal (Smedley 3). However, this integration did not last. Soon, the colony needed a steady and reliable supply of workers who were knowledgeable in growing crops. Africans were the ideal candidate to fill this position, and began being widely used for labor (Smedley 4). It wasn’t till later that legislation was passed “separating out Africans and their descendants, restricting their rights and mobility, and imposing a condition of permanent slavery on them” (Smedley 4). This also led to the terms “white” and “black” emerging. The term “white” blended all Europeans together, and separated out African slaves, with one term (Smedley 6). With these terms, a
Jim Crow laws were a series of laws enforcing segregation and constantly pushing African Americans below whites (“Race-The Power of An Illusion EXPLORE 1857-1904”). These laws affected “schools, public transportation, jobs, housing, private life and voting rights”(“Race-The Power of An Illusion EXPLORE 1857-1904”). Since all areas of life are affected by Jim Crow, in all areas, African Americans are being put down and whites showed that they are superior through the advantages they recieve. These laws unquestionably created a total divide between the two races. In addition, African Americans were stipped of their rights to have “equality in the courts, freedom of assembly and movement, and full participation as citizens.”(“Race-The Power of An Illusion EXPLORE 1857-1904”). This institutionalized segregation was highly unequal and favored white people. In the court case Brown v. Board of Education, segregation of white and black children in schools was challenged as being unconstitutional (National Archives and Records Administration 17). This case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, where the decision would be that that the segregation enforced by the Jim Crow laws was unconstitutional. However, many lower courts first ruled in favor of such segregation(National Archives and Records Administration 18-19). Upset by this, Judge Waites Waring published