African American history Lernzettel für das Abi

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Jerusalem Sarah Grimke: American abolitionists Angelina Grimké: Political activist → Daughters of slaveholder → part of abolitionist movement Abolitionist movement: - movement to abolish slavery in the whole USA blacks and whites worked together Created a gap between north & South → way to civil war was paved Underground Railroad: belongs to abolitionist movement A secret network of safe houses Helped slaves to flee from south to north Had a major impact on slaves life → they were protected, no fear anymore → slavery is a cruel, complex thing; led to segregation, discrimination, injustice, exclusion U.S. Civil War/ Reconstruction: Causes Civil War: North South Strength in manufacturing, Agriculture (tobacco, cotton, sugarcane), industrialization, trade (Europe), resources about 4 billion slaves, dependent on and manpower North, slavery, felt their interests were being ignored in Congress 1. Existence of slavery 2. Fast westward expansion of the USA New party: Republicans → strictly opposed to slavery Abraham Lincoln: (1809-1865): became president in 1860 without getting a single vote from the South; against expansion of slavery, Republican In response: 7 southern states declared secession from Union → confederacy 1861: Confederate forces attack Fort Sumter, institution of federal army → Civil War 1863: Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (Jan 1.) declared all slaves in rebellious states "thenceforward and forever free" 1863: Battle of Gettysburg → turning point → confederate army eventually retreated 1865: South surrender → End of War Civil War Amendment: 1865: 13th abolition of slavery 1868: 14th - the granting of citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the USA 1870: 15th: right for citizens to vote, regardless of color, "race" After Civil War: many questions: reintegration South into Union, 4 billion slaves Destroyed cities, homes Desperation & anger in southern society → social, economic, political structure depended on slavery 1880's-1920's: peak years of lynching black → result of terrorist acts by white supremacists 1866: Klu Klux Klan is founded → organization opposed to black emancipation → feared "nigger domination", while supremacy Reconstruction Era (1865-1877) - reintegrate South into Union & integrate slaves into society - President Andrew Johnson (1865-66) passes "Black Codes" - Historians describe Era as total failure: no economic recovery South, still existing discrimination, moral issues The Black vote: - in the 1870's the southern government wanted to prevent blacks from voting Literacy tests, "poll taxes" (voting fees) Terror, violence against black population African Americans had a lot of fear → judicial system in the south wanted to Sharecropping: plantation system Many huge plantations were divided up and sold to investors → they subdivide them and rented out to poor tenant farmers → sharecroppers Sharecropper had to deliver a certain share of his crop every year to the land owner Former slaves/ freedmen often worked as sharecroppers → lacking skills and capital Working conditions of "sharecroppers: physical pain → no regeneration, breaks Disappointment & pressure due to unmatched daily targets Entire family participated Low wages → bad economic situation → on paper, he was a free man, but his economic, mental status was hardly better than that of a slave Jim Crow Era/ Segregation Term Jim Crow: origins from fictional character "Jim Crow" → popular in 19th century Actors blackened their faces to comically imitate the stereotype of a dancing and singing African American Thomas Dartmouth as first actor → synonym for racial segregation Black Codes (1865-1866) denied the right to vote - Excluded from certain jobs - Restricted from mainly freely - Denied the right to own land Prohibited carrying arms → reservations & restrictions for African Americans to eliminate their rights and liberties to keep their dependance on white society Jim Crow Laws (1877-1964) enforced racial segregation Black Codes Prohibited interracial mixing in nearly every aspect of life Segregation in all public facilities, transportation, education, military White supremacy → beginning of racial segregation, enforcement of white supremacy - Plessy v. Ferguson incident: Homer Plessy sits down in a "whites only" car was arrested Lawyer: Ferguson 1896: Supreme Court added "separate but equal" to the Constitution → landmark decision of Supreme Court 1875: Civil Rights Act → "equality of all men before the law" → prohibited racial segregation 1883: Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional → legitimation: discrimination was private, not a state act Consequences of racial segregation for African Americans: social exclusion - Oppression Psychological & mental harm social, economic, educational disadvantages Inequality - No perspective Fear, hopeless, anger Jim Crow Museum: - established 1996 - Illustration of injustice & equality "Unite the Right" rally - white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia - August 11 to 12, 2017 far right groups participated, including self identified members of the alt right, neo Confederates, neo fascists, white nationalists, neo Nazis, Klansmen (KKK), and various right wing militias #SayHerName Social movement that seeks to raise awareness for Black female victims of police brutality and anti-Black violence in the US Civil Rights Movement → struggle for justice & equality; anti-racial, social movement 1954: The Supreme Court rules in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional → no equality (underfunded schools for blacks) 1955: NAACP member Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat for a white passenger get arrested → one year bus boycotts → MLK jr (26 y/o) begins active participation in Civil Rights Movement 1956: buses are desegregated in Montgomery 1957: Little Rock Nine: 9 students are hindered from entering the Little Rock Central high school → Eisenhower enforced desegregation by using military force Important organizations: NAACP: national association for the advancement of colored people, founded in 1909 → first movement, supported desegregation stage for "Freedom Riders" CORE: Congress of racial equality, founded in 1942 → bus rides, voting rights, worked together with SCLC, MLKjr SCLC: southern christian leadership conference, founded in 1957 by MLKjr, Ralph David Abernathy v March on Washington, Selma Voting Rights Campaign, Selma to Montgomery SNCC: student non-violent coordinating committee, founded in 1960 ➜ became radical, firstly worked together with SCLC, violence and self-defense Sit-ins: - non-violent direct actions in 1960s demonstrators went to segregated restaurants, ignoring the decision - violence, humiliation, media attention Freedom Rides: demonstrators rode interstate buses into the southern states to protest segregated buses - violence, buses were firebombed, passengers attached, beaten, arrested 1963: March on Washington → "I have a dream"→ 100 years after Emancipation Proclamation → more that 200.000 people importance of equality & justice → MLK convinces with his historical & religious meaning → separate & not equal ! 1965: Selma to Montgomery Marches: peaceful march for the African-Americans' right to vote Participants were met by Alabama state troopers were attacked after they refused to turn back Civil Rights Legislations: 1964: Civil Rights Act (March on Washington) → no discrimination, desegregation 1965: Voting Rights Act ("Bloody Sunday") → no literacy tests → equal voting → readopted & strengthened 1970, 1975, 1982 1968: Civil Rights Act (Fair Housing Act) Important figures: W.E.B. Du Bois: writer, socialist, historian, participated in Civil Rights Movement Maya Angelou actress, autobiography explores themes of racial, and sexual oppression, poet James Baldwin : homosexuality, novelist, voice of Civil Rights Movement Andrew Young : politician, civil rights leader alongside MLK, SCLC, desegregation Ralph Abernathy: MLK's chief aide & closest associate, NAASP, SCLC, 17 times in jail with MLK Hosea Williams NAACP, Freedom of Summer, SCLC, led Montgomery March with John Lewis : SNCC, led march Selma to Montgomery with Hosea Williams, medal of freedom, minority support (died in 2020) Jesse Jackson : director SCLC, speaker, politician, Civil Rights activist, Baptist pastor Coretta Scott King: most influential woman, support, commitment, MLKjr center for nonviolent change Emmett Till: murdered brutally because he “molested” a white woman, 14 y., became impulse civil rights movement, symbol brutality John Lewis Black Power: → social movement from the 1960's 1980's; immediate violent action → majority of these ideas were influenced by Malcolm X → contrast to MLK Stokely Carmichael: (1941-1998) civil rights activist, organizer of global Pan-Africanism (unity of all African people worldwide, regardless of ethnicity or nationality), originator of slogan "Black power" participated boycotts, joined SNCC, was arrested various times Formed the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO)→ which is said to have inspired the Black Panther Party (also black panther as mascot) Black pride, political & economic power, self-determination, self-defense - Influence Malcolm X Carmichael led SNCC to become more radical - Joined Black Panther Party, left it, moved to Guinea, All-American People's Rev. Party - The Black Panther Party: 1966-1982 → Black Power-inspired political organization → far-left Ideology: black pride & nationalism, Anti-racism/ imperialism/ capitalism, gun rights Bad living condition & assassination of Malcolm X in 1965 founding BPP - Distanced themselves from Nation of Islam → not all whites are oppressors FBI considered the BPP the greatest threat to national security Many conflicts, weapons, arrests, violence 1970: founder Huey Newton was released from prison, disagreement party → split into two sections assassinated each other party decreased Goals: "Ten Point-Program": employment, education, justice in court, freedom, end of police brutality, oppression, white supremacy; many projects - Malcolm X (1925 - 1965) - criminal → 10 years in prison → 3 years later joined Nation of Islam Became spokesman of Nation of Islam (NOI), was in favor of violence contrast MLK 1964: excluded from NOI → cut ties with Muhammed → death threats - 1965: he and his family got attacked in their house → continued giving speeches speech: shot by NOI members → Malcolm X as symbolic figure for resistance Nation of Islam: - leader: Elijah Muhammed goal: economic independance from white people Black supremacy All whites as evils - Breed white people - Black Power today: logo & slogan still existing Some compare with "Black Lives Matter Movement" Police brutality as a focus in both movements Black Lives Matter: "Hands up, don't shoot"→ powerful gesture Can be compared to Black Power fist J [T 4 E F Black lives matter and the current situation of African Americans Police violence: - often occurs in connection to human rights violations which includes racial abuse - Unlawful killings because of lack of police education, racism, solo efforts → perpetrators are often not convicted policemen are allowed to kill people in states of emergency →→ a lot of black victims While policemen are more violent than AA policemen solution: difficult but: selecting police officers more carefully, providing a more appropriate education, investing in antiracism programs putting a camera on the police officers' chest when going on patrol could help Racial profiling: police, security, immigration, custom officials, housing, education,... Based on prejudices, racism → "race", ethnicity, religion, national origin → people from another "race" are considered suspicious, inferior ➜ often ends up with violence, humiliation, disadvantages, inequality Even though there exist many procedures to sort out racial profiling, the problem is not solved Incidents of police violence: Georg Floyd, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Jacob Blake, Breonna Taylor → were always innocent → however, police officers decided to kill them ("states of Emergency") → officers often not convicted → justice in court?! Black Lives Matter Movement: - international anti-racism movement, formed in USA in 2013 to fight Black violence, racism, police brutality BLM represents the fact that black people are not treated equally, not the same values and chances → "free at last ? Equal at last?" - aim: drawing attention to the issue due to social media → popular figures such as Beyoncé or the National Basketball Association (NBA) stand up White supremacy groups: - racist ideologies within slavery the thought of white supremacy was introduced Whites should be privileged in all aspects of life - Organizations such as the Klu-Klux- Klan (right-wing extremism) → organize "rallies" such as "Unite the Right" → racist and anti-semitic slogans Key points: the unemployment rate for blacks is 50% higher Huge gap between the annual income → 29.000$ - Blacks are over twice as likely to live in poverty as whites, children three times The share of blacks who are college graduates has more than doubled since 1990, from 11% to 25% - but still lays far behind whites Segregation → large disparities →→secondary education Health system: no equality poor people couldn't afford health insurance black society was affected but: ACA Obamacare affordable care → imp. change - → situation of AA definitely improved, but more progress is needed! U.S. election, political system and election process The prerequisites to become president: - must be American born (not people who have taken American citizenship) Minimum age = 35 y/o - Have lived in the country for more than 11 years besides: candidates need to raise funds for their campaigns a lot of money - US vote: 1. Caucuses (Wahlausschlüsse): Republicans & Democrats decide who will represent their party in general election 2. Primary elections: people in each federal state vote for different delegates → voting rights depend on state → sometimes voter registration → different delegates vote for candidates 3. Party conventions: winner = who received min. the half of the voters 4. General election: people over 18 y vote for President & Vice President → people actually vote for so-called electors 5. Electoral vote: 48 states, 538 electors the candidate who wins the greatest number of popular votes receive the entire electoral vote → "the winner takes it all" 6. Inauguration: President & Vice president enter white House → 4 years Critics system: - voters are constantly dissatisfied with process their votes often count nothing extremely low voter turnout in USA - Voters don't have many opportunities in a two-party system (left & right are ignored) Manipulation possible: electors can count voters falsely Difficulties for African Americans: being American born as prerequisite (Voraussetzung) Still inequality & injustice while voting process → AA are more likely not to be able to vote at all due to state restrictions banning people with felony convictions from voting - 2016: 6,1 million AA were disenfranchised (entrechtet) → racial disparities - Some states that have online registration limit it to people who have driver's licenses or state ID's Registration issues are being supported due to COVID-19 keeping distance, online, letter - Discrimination voter manipulation possible FACT FILE: Each state gets a certain number of ELECTORS depending on their total population African Americans and politics in the 21st century - leading role in making policy → defense, tax, commerce, trade. - Allocate funds - duty to execute laws - makes treaties. - highest court in the Nation - vested with judicial powers of the government Barack Obama (1961-present) - 44th president of the USA (2009-2017)→ first AA to hold the office - 2009: was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" Impact of Barack Obama and his politics: - included black Americans, minorities into society Inspired millions of young people to dream bigger dreams Normalizing the unthinkable ideal of having a black president - Michelle Obama also became a role model ➜ a major achievement regarding AA history & discrimination Kamela Harris: - 49th vice president of USA, first female vice president + AA & Asian American Member of democratic party Condoleezza Rice: - the 1st AA woman to serve as Secretary of State for the USA → such politicians are extremely important by normalizing the idea of following & respecting black Americans → enormous achievement regarding history