Racism's Long and Torturous History Against African-Americans
Tim King Salem-News.comThe Civil War was fought in part over slavery, but legal prejudice against African-Americans and other cultures was sanctioned by U.S. laws, and it wasn't until the 1940's and 50's that things really began to change.
 Actual poster from 1829 for a slave auction Courtesy: eyewitnesstohistory.com |
(SALEM, Ore.) - There are no simple answers for racism. Few problems in our society rival it, and for the first time in U.S. history, we will very likely elect our first black President. This scenario leaves many people grinning, and others grimacing, as they watch something take place that they never would have predicted.
 People literally stolen |
White people have lived from the beginning of western society, with a relative amount of comfort. They have for the most part, had the ability to work and be paid fairly for that day's labor.
Black Americans of African descent on the other hand, lived generation after generation as slaves from 1619 to 1865. That is when the southern states that separated from the United States in a bloody Civil War that cost millions of lives, was defeated. Slavery was abolished.
But it did not end there for African-Americans. As the years after the Civil War passed, one law after another was drafted incorporating direct prejudice blacks. As you will see below; one state would pass a racism-inspired law and then another would follow, and another one would slime out another law based purely on racism. The last state time after time, would be Oklahoma.
Some people argue that we are all born with prejudice as part of our psyche, and maybe that is true; but it is our personal responsibility as adults and parents to educate ourselves and others by learning to respect other races and cultures, hopefully through co-existing with people of other backgrounds.
The graph to the left shows the changes and modifications to racism that people of color endured in the early days of the Colonies, through the Civil War, and into more recent years. Only a small portion of these years show black people being treated with a degree of fairness. It is important to note the length of the red column next to it.
One of the people I have spent years studying, is the only black pilot of World War One. Eugene Bullard, born and raised in the United States, would be remembered by many as "The Black Baron" and his exploits as a pilot flying for France were in the legion of the greatest heroics. But France was the only country Bullard would fly for; the United States refused to even consider him for a pilot's job because he was black.
 Bullard's racist beating at Peeksill in '49 |
Sadly, events like this well documented case of abuse define American history and as great as we view ourselves to be, the truth bears out a different story where the "greatness" was reserved for people with the right skin color.
Over the years Dr. King, Malcom X and a host of others have tried to bring balance and decency to the plight of the African American. Their achievements stand out and their failures are lamented, but they did what it took to make their voiced heard, much like Barack Obama has today.
The bottom line to many of us, is shown in the graph at left. Blacks were treated with indecency far more years in this country than they were treated fairly.
Racism Timeline in the U.S.
1619
One crucial event in the development of early America was the arrival of Africans to Jamestown. A Dutch slave trader exchanged his cargo of Africans for food in 1619. The popular conception of a racial-based slave system did not develop until the 1680's.
1680
Millions of Native Americans were also enslaved, particularly in South America. In the American colonies in 1730, nearly 25 percent of the slaves in the Carolinas were Cherokee, Creek, or other Native Americans. From the 1500s through the early 1700s, small numbers of white people were also enslaved by kidnapping, or for crimes or debts.
1705
The Virginia Assembly declares that "no Negro, mulatto, or Indian shall presume to take upon him, act in or exercise any office, ecclesiastic, civil or military." Blacks were also forbidden to serve as witness in court cases.
1752
Ledgers and account books kept by George Washington clearly show that he bought slaves. In 1754 he bought two male and a female; in 1756, two males, two females and a child, etc.
1761
Slave traders are excluded from the Society of Friends by American Quakers despite the fact that many Quakers own slaves.
1775
Philadelphia - The Continental Congress bars blacks from the American Revolutionary army, even though about one-fifth of the people of the mainland colonies were of African ancestry.
1787
Members of a black group called the Free African Society were pulled off their knees in November at a "white" Methodist church. It led to the establishment of the African Methodist Episcopal Church which improved the economic and social conditions of American blacks through the Free African Society.
1804
Tobacco Slave Narrative "For any of the higher offences, the slaves are stripped, tied up by the hands- - sometimes by the thumbs- - and whipped at the quarter- - but many times." - Charles Ball, Fifty Years in Chains; or, the Life of an American Slave (New York, 1858).
1835
The Yankee John Quincy Adams wrote that "slavery in a moral sense is an evil, but in commerce it has its uses." In another episode of tragic irony, an aged Adams returned to Washington as a Congressman to wage a heroic, lonely battle against the slavers' domination.
1849
Maryland slave Harriet Tubman escapes to the North and begins a career as "conductor" on the Underground Railway that started in 1838. Tubman made 19 trips back to the South to free more than 300 slaves including her aged parents in 1857.
1859
The same year that the last slave ship arrived in the U.S., Abolitionist John Brown with 21 men seized U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry (then Virginia) October 16th. U.S. Marines captured raiders, killing several. Brown was hanged for treason by Virginia December 2nd.
1861
The Civil War begins, and President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, then signed a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia in 1862, nine months later. The act brought to conclusion decades of agitation aimed at ending what antislavery advocates called "the national shame" of slavery in the nation's capital.
1865
Robert E. Lee surrendered 27,800 Confederate troops to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The United States won the Civil War against a number of southern states that took up arms against the U.S.A. so they could continue owning slaves.
1866
Some people believed that everything would change. In some cases, for a while at least, it did. The African-American citizens of Washington, D.C., celebrated the abolition of slavery with a procession of 4,000 to 5,000 people assembled at the White House. They were addressed by President Andrew Johnson. Marching past 10,000 cheering spectators, the procession, led by two black regiments, proceeded up Pennsylvania Avenue to Franklin Square for religious services and speeches by prominent politicians. A sign on top of the speaker's platform read: "We have received our civil rights. Give us the right of suffrage and the work is done."
1871-1912
Height of global European Imperialism and the "scramble for Africa" proceed, rationalized as a "civilizing mission" based on white supremacy. Europeans assert their "spheres of interest" in African colonies arbitrarily, cutting across traditionally established boundaries, homelands, and ethnic groupings of African peoples and cultures. Following a "divide and rule" theory, Europeans promote traditional inter-ethnic hostilities. "The European onslaught of Africa that began in the mid 1400s progressed to various conquests over the continent, and culminated over 400 years later with the partitioning of Africa.
1881
Segregation of public transportation. Tennessee segregated railroad cars, followed by Florida (1887), Mississippi (1888), Texas (1889), Louisiana (1890), Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Georgia (1891), South Carolina (1898), North Carolina (1899), Virginia (1900), Maryland (1904), and Oklahoma (1907)
1887
In order to stop one of the biggest fears in society: the mixing of the races, the U.S. government succeeded by using segregation laws which required railroads operating in the state or passing through the state to house black passengers in separate cars from the whites.
1890
African-Americans are disenfranchised. The Mississippi Plan, approved on November 1, used literacy and "understanding" tests to disenfranchise black American citizens. Similar statutes were adopted by South Carolina (1895), Louisiana (1898), North Carolina (1900), Alabama (1901), Virginia (1901), Georgia (1908), and Oklahoma (1910).
1915
"D.W. Griffith's "Birth of A Nation" represented the essence of racism in film. The movie set the stage for future portrayals of blacks in film. Griffith showed blacks as, "endearing inferiors duped into rising above their accustomed station by misinformed abolitionists and vindictive reconstruction congressmen who had betrayed Lincoln's benign plans for the defeated South."
1919
The mob of about 400 whites in Washington, D.C. that went on a rampage, was motivated by weeks of sensational newspaper accounts of alleged sex crimes by a "Negro fiend" that unleashed a wave of violence that swept over the city for four days.
1921
A riot destroyed a 30-square-block area of north Tulsa, Oklahoma known as Greenwood, a primarily black neighborhood. Newspaper accounts reported 76 dead, but historians have put the figure closer to 300. Blacks here have long maintained that whites used airplanes to bomb homes, churches and businesses in north Tulsa.
1930
Jessie Daniel Ames formed the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching. She got 40,000 white women to sign a pledge against lynching and for change in the South.
1940
This is the year the Second Great Migration began - In multiple acts of resistance, more than 5 million African Americans left the violence and segregation of the South for jobs, education, and the chance to vote in northern, midwestern and California cities.
1947
Jackie Robinson plays his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black baseball player in professional baseball in 60 years, and President Harry S. Truman issues Executive Order 9981 ordering the end of segregation in the Armed Forces.
1955
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs Executive Order 10590, establishing a committee to enforce a nondiscrimination policy in Federal employment. This is the year teenager Emmett Till is killed for whistling at a white woman in Money, Mississippi, (see: Cousin of Emmett Till Speaks Tonight at Willamette)and on December 1st, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, starting the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
1963
Incoming Alabama governor George Wallace calls for "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" in his inaugural address. In April, Mary Lucille Hamilton, Field Secretary for the Congress of Racial Equality, refuses to answer a judge in Gadsden, Alabama, until she is addressed by the honorific "Miss". Hamilton was jailed for contempt of court but she prevailed in court.
1965
In February, Malcolm X was shot to death in Manhattan, New York, probably by members of the Black Muslim faith. March 7th is remembered as Bloody Sunday: when Civil rights workers in Selma, Alabama marching to Montgomery were stopped by a massive police blockade as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Many marchers were severely injured and one killed.
1968
On a primetime television special, Petula Clark touched Harry Belafonte's arm during a duet. The Chrysler Corporation, manufacturers of today's biggest gas guzzling monstrosities, was the show's sponsor. They insisted the touch be deleted, but Clark stood firm, destroyed all other takes of the song, and delivered the completed program to NBC with the touch intact. On April 4th, Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray.
1991
On March 3rd, four white police officers are videotaped beating African-American Rodney King. In April, Los Angeles riots erupt after the officers accused of beating Rodney King are acquitted.
2008
Barack Obama receives enough delegates by the end of state primaries to be the presumptive Democratic Party of the United States nominee, making it likely that he will become the first African-American presidential nominee of a major party in United States history.
I found these points in history to be very important, and the fact that many forms of racial prejudice are behind us today is extremely noteworthy. But in 2008, people in the south will tell you that the times of racial prejudice are not completely behind us. In Los Angeles, problems between black and Hispanic cultures are bloody and deadly. I think the hysteria over so-called "illegal immigrants" has driven a lot of the problems in southern California.
Hopefully a black President will inspire the American people to leave prejudice at the door, and to move toward finding the list of solutions for so many problems unaddressed and out of control over the last seven years.
---------------------------------------------------------
Special thanks to:
innercity.org/holt/slavechron.html
and
Wikipedia's Timeline of the African-American Civil Rights Movement
for information in this article-----------------------------------------------------------
Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. Today, in addition to his role as a war correspondent in Afghanistan where he spent the winter of 2006/07, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators. Tim's coverage from Iraq that was set to begin in April has been delayed and may not take place until August, 2008. You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com
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Comments
treasuree so wat October 5, 2009 10:28 am (Pacific time)
man thiss article hasss alot in it .. its gonn ahelp meeeh wiff mah assissngment and all of u that r trying to dwnk grade hisss work . i dnt see u writtinggg sum10
Remy April 6, 2009 9:10 am (Pacific time)
meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow! MEOWWWWWWW! dont be racist remy
I AM ALLAH EL February 19, 2009 5:58 pm (Pacific time)
as aa original (black) man, i find it "intersesting" that this society is still racist, but nonetheless, not suprised at all, this society needs to recognize the glorious history of when "WE" ruled the planet, not like the "planet of the apes", but moreso like the way god (whichever name 1 prefers) has ordained, so let us not act as though this historical fact(s) never exsisted! please acknowledge the truth, for the truth shall set u free...PEACE
karim hadj nmimoune January 28, 2009 6:31 am (Pacific time)
I said that racism is unlegiel work
hadj mimoune karim January 28, 2009 6:25 am (Pacific time)
a m not with racism becouse a m muslime men
N/A December 9, 2008 8:56 pm (Pacific time)
you suk you guys dont have an auth0r and i waz goin to use y0u for my research essay!
Editor: You smokin' crack man? The name of the author is Tim King. Look at the top of the story.
Coral Anika Theill October 16, 2008 2:40 pm (Pacific time)
What if the resumes of both Presidential Candidates were swapped out for the other one.... A new iteration of the White Privilege article... An Interesting perspective Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin, what if things were switched around?.....think about it. Would the country's collective point of view be different? Could racism be the culprit? Ponder the following: What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter? What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review? What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class? What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee? What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards? What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married? What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization? What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard? What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.) What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker? What if Obama couldn't read from a TelePrompTer? What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes? What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem? What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution? What if the Obamas had adopted a white child? You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are? This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference. Educational Background: Barack Obama: Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude Joseph Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science. Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.) vs. John McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899 Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.
Jess Phillips, Jr. July 30, 2008 2:46 pm (Pacific time)
Tim, as a 61 year old African American who grew up in the South and whose Mother was a librarian, I have read countless articles about Racism in this country for years and years. Yours is one of the best and most comprehensive articles about this touchy subject that I have ever read. You mention in your article a couple of relatively little known facts about Racism in this country: The fact that Native Americans and poor Whites were also enslaved.
There is no doubt that Racism, to this day, is still a problem not just here in the U.S., but all over the world. There are parts of Africa and the Middle East where Whites are routinely attacked just for being White. On the other hand, there are countries in Europe where Africans, people from the Middle East and Asia are systematically discriminated against and forced to live in state sectioned ghettos on the outskirts of cities like London, Paris, Berlin, Rome.
My point is that Racism is a global problem. It is also my belief that since 1947, here in the United State of America, we have done more to minimize (not cure) the problem of Racism than any other country in the world. An African American like Barack Obama would not stand a chance of being elected president or prime minister of any European country. On the other hand, no White person in 2008 would have a chance of being elected president or prime minister of any country in Africa or the Middle East, Israel excluded.
Tim, I'm a big fan of yours primarily for the support you and the Salem News have given to my best friend, Coral Theill. And like your support for Coral, this article about Racism will not be viewed kindly by some. But you are a courageous writer. And I, as an American, thank you for writing this insightful, provocative and thought-provoking article. Keep up the good work... Jess Phillips, Jr.
Telford July 19, 2008 12:51 pm (Pacific time)
Henry I agree we need to fix the "triangle", but Pelosi and Reid must go. I fear no matter who is elected president, if these two remain in power, our great country will tailspin out of control. They have lowered the opinion of congress by the American people to an historical low. They are not only incompetent, but dangerous.
Henry Ruark July 17, 2008 3:23 pm (Pacific time)
Telford et al: Despite the obvious disadvantages of speaking from age and comparative inexperience with judges...I led a very exemplary life ! ...I find myself, somewhat appalled, in agreement with you on this point. But I rush to point out that it is at the SUPREME's level, not lower courts, that action spews out very damaging and highly politized UNELECTED legislation, per recent events, with frightening impact of more to come via a single new appointment. We can --and have !--lived with the ongoing systematic distortion to which you point, even when also instrumental srround for political perversion via career damage in retaliation visited on the leading-lights --federal district attorneys-- caught in obvious carousing by disagreement with "the Chief" in D.C. So we have work to do, to put back together that original three-sided operating triangle of systems, each checking-and-balancing the other two, which the Founders left to us. What are we awaiting, now, while more such misappropriate mischief is allowed to occur ? The Constitution, via the Founders prescience and strong conscience derived from their human understandings, contains precisely the process we need to begin the demanded and now essential cleaning and clearing-out work. Let's get on with it, soon.
Telford July 17, 2008 10:39 am (Pacific time)
It can be quite perplexing when one debates just what are state's rights, and when do the Federal policies trump those state's rights? Some want it both ways as long as it's a policy that they agree with. For example gay marriage is being allowed in several states via judical decisions that have superceeded the voter's past decisions. In fact it seems that in many cases just a few judges have ignored the voter's wishes. Affirmative action was established for a rather narrow need, but has warped into an entitlement that has been abused. Will congress step in and do something? My guess, not anytime soon. Thus we will continue to see lower court federal judges/state supreme courts wield incredible power, and this will cause growing discontent. I believe that some political decisions should remain in local hands, but these elite judges who legislate from the bench could care less. I fear that a fuse as been lit (recall the votes by the below states) and it will not have a happy ending.
Henry Ruark July 16, 2008 1:53 pm (Pacific time)
Telford et al: Thank you for the additional information. I was aware of Ward Conerly and his work. Fact of state-level action, either way, not necessarily too helpful here, since I do believe any national legislation then supersedes whatever the state may have done. Will check that point and return to this issue later, due in part to your continuing good participation "richly appreciated" in its best sense.
a Greek July 15, 2008 5:34 am (Pacific time)
I am ashamed to belong to this cursed murderous white race.
Telford July 15, 2008 7:23 pm (Pacific time)
Ruark et al: States that have voted to stop racial preferences as per affirmative action---California 1996; Washington 1998; Michigan 2006. As you know Mr. Ruark California has a huge population and voter base, so as this matter comes up for votes in other states the above listed states may be a good indicator of how those votes may go. Ward Connerly, an African-American educator of immense talent and excellent reputation is one of the chief proponents of discontinuing affirmative action. I hope that helps to clear up some haze for you. I thought this was old news.
Henry Ruark July 15, 2008 11:21 am (Pacific time)
Telford et al: Here we bring facts to bear on dialog. If you know states having acted as you say, why not use single short summary, and add to it if you wish any details you may have available, too. That way we all learn, from each other, with mutual gain, which is surely demo-dialog at work, as in Federalist Papers and much else in our history. It is not for nothing that simple feeling disguised as fact is used for political purposes, but public dialog demnds something more than a single voice, for credibility. Which is why we offer here "see with own eyes" and link to the source --so you and others can see how close to fact we stuck when reporting what we found --which is all we do here via informing our own opinions or simply relating fact for your own evaluation, as with Tim's continuing strong coverage. Abody can claim ANYthing, but it takes several, each with credibilities well and truly established, to command attention and belief from the astute readership shared here.
Telford July 15, 2008 6:53 am (Pacific time)
I sincerely believe that for race relations to improve, affirmative action programs need to be either altered, or stopped. Many states have addressed this issue at the ballot box, and everytime it has been voted to stop or alter it in one way or another. Much conflict in this area, and will only get worse as time goes by.
Henry Ruark July 14, 2008 2:46 pm (Pacific time)
Susann, Telfod e al: Thank you for your strong participation. Seems to me you both are recommending we take new look at old myth and do our damndest to avoid the false values involved in its continued impacts, if we allow them. S., my Irish ancestors arrived in Maryland just in time for end of slavery, were nondescript poor-class workers, were exploited cruelly since could be forced to work but without care demanded for slaves... Edned up one working in shipyard finally took it over years later, built himself some clipperships, and family went on from there. Allaus have something similar somewheres in family history, to accept and be proud of now, as we move on ourselves for our progeny into the 21st Century.
Susan Tackitt July 13, 2008 7:27 pm (Pacific time)
In the height of slavery on of my ancestors named Sugar Tacket received a land grant and was head of house hold. She was a free white person. What that means is she was mixed. She hung the same flag on her home as the rest of my ancestors and that flag was a rebel flag. That flag stands for a heritage not hatred. Google old Joe hodge. He won his freedom by being an interpreter for the land surveyors. He too had his own home because he rose above the mental state of slavery but no one wants to hear the good stories, just want to gripe about the bad. Google Tackett and the Underground Railroad. My ancestors were involved in that too, helping those escape slavery. Google Fort Tackett and you’ll find my ancestors were also slaves whose freedom was bought by a white man and ended up in Illinois. So Mr. Carson who attacked Tim King, rise above slavery because in today’s society it's a frame of mind. Move on. I'm a full blown hillbilly and you don’t hear me complaining about discrimination. The rich mans glorified welfare system of the great and all mighty tax write off puts more of a strain on the deficit than young girls who work like dogs and get a few dollars in food stamps. One thing I can’t stand is a cry baby who is stuck in the past.
Telford July 13, 2008 12:20 pm (Pacific time)
I came of age during the 1960's and saw much that alarmed me, but the progress that has been made is quite remarkable, and I believe we our still improving, so at least we can have hope that we are still moving, as a society, in the right direction. It should be noted that President Nixon\'s Administration started the Affirmative Action program, and it was southern democrats that tried to stop it. In fact a fair reading of history one can see that it was the democratic party that had slavery, Jim Crow and other racist programs. Regardless of that, we are improving, though I believe affirmative action has warped into a quota system, and should be re-structured as soon as possible before it undo's all the positive works it has accomplished. I believe that will be the real achilles heel in future race relations.
Henry Ruark July 12, 2008 1:19 pm (Pacific time)
To all: This provides every reader with detailed historical rundown inestimably valuable for cogitation on issue long at heart of U.S. politics. You may also find Op Ed here ID'd of value, since it shows clearly by deep research in wide-ranging sources that racism is myth created for manipulative purposes by you-know-who/and/why: Salem-News.com (Apr-30-2008 Op Ed: Renewed Racism Can Wreck Any Return to Democracy Greed-driven unwarranted myth of superiority major danger now. (Full content available via Written By...lines in Staff section.)
Carson July 12, 2008 1:15 pm (Pacific time)
Did you ever...
Tim King to this sad little man: You are a punk and a racist bully and your crap is not welcome here. If you try to post another tirade like that we'll ban your IP. Go find another news Website to bombard with your ignorant, mean racist garbage. You claimed in a previous post to be a retired teacher? What a joke.
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