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African Americans Status In 1890 |
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History2
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There were many problems that African Americans faced in the 1890’s some of
which still exist in today’s society. African Americans have come a long way and
earned many rights but still live with the hardships that they had in the
1890’s. The status of African Americans at this time in United States history
was not good. Blacks had a very hard time living especially in the south.
The problems that blacks dealt with were primarily found in the south where
they were not accepted. Segregation became huge across the entire south after
the Supreme Court ruled that “Separate but equal” was legal in the Plessy v.
Ferguson case. Everything was separate but it was almost never equal. Whites
always had things better than African Americans did. Blacks could not ride in
the same train cars as whites. The national government gave blacks the right to
vote but southern state governments took away that right through the use of
poll taxes and literacy tests. A big problem that blacks faced was trying to
stay alive. Many blacks were killed for no reason during this period of time.
Jim Crow laws were set up to keep blacks from enjoying the same rights and
privileges that whites enjoyed everyday. The Ku Klux Klan was set up by whites
who had hatred for blacks. Blacks in the south feared for their lives and their
families’ lives everyday. It was certain that African Americans would be
confronted by racism each and everyday in the south.
Relationships between blacks and whites have greatly improved in the last
century but things still are not perfect and it is unlikely that they ever will
be. The greatest changes were made during the civil rights movement in the
1950’s and 1960’s when blacks stood up for themselves and gained their rights
as American citizens. Laws were finally passed that made literacy tests and
poll taxes illegal. Segregation came to an end after Brown v. Board of
Education turned over the ruling made in Plessy v. Ferguson. There was no
longer “Separate but equal”, it was now just equal. Although many big steps
have been taken to stopping racism and segregation it still exists in our lives
today. African Americans still see racism everyday even though they are now
doing many things with whites. Blacks and whites have been able to peacefully
interact with each other for decades but you still see newspapers talking about
segregation and racism. The overall improvement has been very significant.
Comparing today’s society to the 1890’s show a lot of good change yet there are
still problems in our society with race relations.