The different periods of black sacrifice can be broken down into the following categories: Slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, The Second Reconstruction, and The New Jim Crow.
Slavery:
1619-1865
Slavery, in America, was the ownership of one race of people by another, lasting more than 200 years. It originated in the Thirteen Colonies as hundreds of thousands of blacks were shipped from Africa against their will to the New World. By 1804, slavery had been abolished in the northern states and left to fester in the South on plantations and small farms, where former Africans harvested rice, cotton, and other crops from sunrise to sunset without compensation six days a week. Others labored as skilled artisans, cooks, or caretakers for their masters with little hope for a brighter tomorrow.
Slaveholders, most of whom were vicious, imposed harsh penalties for slaves who dared escape or defy the system, including flogging, maiming, and even death. Family members were often sold downriver or split up as another means of keeping slaves in check, resulting in desperate attempts to reunite with lost loved ones after emancipation.
Many leaders emerged during this period to help eliminate involuntary servitude, such as Sojourner Truth, an ex-slave who made anti-slavery speeches in the North, and Frederick Douglass, also a former slave, who protested the enslavement of his people in the North Star, a paper he founded, and Harriet Tubman, who after escaping to freedom herself, returned as many as nineteen times to Southern and border States to free other men, women, and children. The long-awaited end to human captivity in America in 1865, due to the Civil War, thrust the freedmen into a world of unforeseen possibilities.
Reconstruction:
1865-1877
A brief period of reconciliation followed slavery, where attempts were made to rebuild the South along just lines or integrate the ex-slave into society. Congress established The Freedmen's Bureau to help build schools and other institutions for African Americans and to assist with job training and land ownership. Efforts were also made to protect the economic and political rights of the Freedmen with the help of a contingent of Union Soldiers left behind after the war. Congress later passed, and the States ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that barred slavery, the 14th Amendment that extended citizenship rights to former slaves, and the 15th Amendment, which granted the right to vote to black men. African Americans gained considerable ground in education, economics, and politics during this time, especially in South Carolina, where black politicians reportedly outnumbered whites in the Statehouse. Sadly, equality in the ex-Confederacy ended as abruptly as it started when the Northern Army sworn to protect blacks was pulled out due to the Compromise of 1876 when the Republican candidate for president pledged to end Federal involvement in the region in exchange for disputed electoral votes.
Jim Crow:
1876-1965
A tragic era of racism and discrimination occurred in the aftermath of Reconstruction due to a loosening of Northern support for African Americans in the South and deep resentment of the gains made by blacks during the years following slavery. It involved Jim Crow laws being passed in the South that prevented blacks from having equal access to goods and services, covert racism in the North such as redlining, and widespread lynching and false imprisonment of thousands of black men in work camps, which negatively impacted African American families. Southern and border states also set up separate and unequal systems of public education for blacks and whites that spun deep-seated poverty in the black community for generations to come. Additionally, the right to vote and other liberties bestowed upon all Americans in the Constitution were restricted or terminated altogether for nonwhites, especially in the old Confederacy until Congress passed the Civil Rights Act at the height of the Civil Rights Movement or what some call the second Civil War.
The Second Reconstruction:
1965-2008
From 1954 to 1968, America fought a battle for justice and peace known as the Civil Rights Movement. As a result, programs and laws were enacted to remedy nearly 100 years of Jim Crow-style discrimination against African Americans. For example, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and fair housing legislation, among countless other measures, to give blacks and other disenfranchised groups an equal shot at living the American dream. Affirmative Action policies also went into effect to make up for injustices in employment, business ownership, and college enrollment for people of color. Due to federal efforts to combat racism in the 1960s, job opportunities and homeownership among African Americans increased dramatically in the seventies and beyond. In addition, black enrollment in predominantly white colleges boomed in the 1980s and nineties, especially in Georgia and Mississippi. Lastly, the number of minority elected officials skyrocketed between 1968 and 2008, culminating in the election of the nation's first black president.
The New Jim Crow:
2009-Present
The election of Barack Obama President in 2008, ushered in the Second Jim Crow, according to historians. As in the 1870s, there is a backlash in America regarding the progress that has been made by African Americans since the Civil Rights Movement or a widely held belief that the chaos inflicted upon people of color during slavery or otherwise has been dealt with successfully by the white power structure. This resulted in unemployment in the black community of more than 14 percent during the Great Recession, which remains the highest of all ethnic groups in the country. Additionally, several states passed voter ID laws after the 2008 election, while the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965. To add insult to injury, the Republican majority in Congress has blocked many of the president's initiatives and refused to bring many of his judicial nominees to a vote in the Senate amid a sharp increase in the number of African American men incarcerated since Obama's election and a noticeable uptick in incidents of police brutality in the black community and elsewhere.
Reconstruction:
1865-1877
A brief period of reconciliation followed slavery, where attempts were made to rebuild the South along just lines or integrate the ex-slave into society. Congress established The Freedmen's Bureau to help build schools and other institutions for African Americans and to assist with job training and land ownership. Efforts were also made to protect the economic and political rights of the Freedmen with the help of a contingent of Union Soldiers left behind after the war. Congress later passed, and the States ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that barred slavery, the 14th Amendment that extended citizenship rights to former slaves, and the 15th Amendment, which granted the right to vote to black men. African Americans gained considerable ground in education, economics, and politics during this time, especially in South Carolina, where black politicians reportedly outnumbered whites in the Statehouse. Sadly, equality in the ex-Confederacy ended as abruptly as it started when the Northern Army sworn to protect blacks was pulled out due to the Compromise of 1876 when the Republican candidate for president pledged to end Federal involvement in the region in exchange for disputed electoral votes.
Jim Crow:
1876-1965
A tragic era of racism and discrimination occurred in the aftermath of Reconstruction due to a loosening of Northern support for African Americans in the South and deep resentment of the gains made by blacks during the years following slavery. It involved Jim Crow laws being passed in the South that prevented blacks from having equal access to goods and services, covert racism in the North such as redlining, and widespread lynching and false imprisonment of thousands of black men in work camps, which negatively impacted African American families. Southern and border states also set up separate and unequal systems of public education for blacks and whites that spun deep-seated poverty in the black community for generations to come. Additionally, the right to vote and other liberties bestowed upon all Americans in the Constitution were restricted or terminated altogether for nonwhites, especially in the old Confederacy until Congress passed the Civil Rights Act at the height of the Civil Rights Movement or what some call the second Civil War.
The Second Reconstruction:
1965-2008
From 1954 to 1968, America fought a battle for justice and peace known as the Civil Rights Movement. As a result, programs and laws were enacted to remedy nearly 100 years of Jim Crow-style discrimination against African Americans. For example, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and fair housing legislation, among countless other measures, to give blacks and other disenfranchised groups an equal shot at living the American dream. Affirmative Action policies also went into effect to make up for injustices in employment, business ownership, and college enrollment for people of color. Due to federal efforts to combat racism in the 1960s, job opportunities and homeownership among African Americans increased dramatically in the seventies and beyond. In addition, black enrollment in predominantly white colleges boomed in the 1980s and nineties, especially in Georgia and Mississippi. Lastly, the number of minority elected officials skyrocketed between 1968 and 2008, culminating in the election of the nation's first black president.
The New Jim Crow:
2009-Present
The election of Barack Obama President in 2008, ushered in the Second Jim Crow, according to historians. As in the 1870s, there is a backlash in America regarding the progress that has been made by African Americans since the Civil Rights Movement or a widely held belief that the chaos inflicted upon people of color during slavery or otherwise has been dealt with successfully by the white power structure. This resulted in unemployment in the black community of more than 14 percent during the Great Recession, which remains the highest of all ethnic groups in the country. Additionally, several states passed voter ID laws after the 2008 election, while the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965. To add insult to injury, the Republican majority in Congress has blocked many of the president's initiatives and refused to bring many of his judicial nominees to a vote in the Senate amid a sharp increase in the number of African American men incarcerated since Obama's election and a noticeable uptick in incidents of police brutality in the black community and elsewhere.
The whitewashing of history is another tactic of The New Jim Crow, which aims to omit the accomplishments of back people in Science, Technology, and other endeavors. It also seeks to rewrite the past in favor of whites by downplaying the effects of Slavery, Jim Crow, and racism by banning the teaching of subjects in school that shed light on what people of color have endured in this country at the hand of the oppressor, and their endurance as a people. It is up to blacks and like-minded individuals to reveal the truth.
America needs to acknowledge the dilemma of race relations today. It involves mistreating a minority population by the majority which could spell disaster.
America needs to acknowledge the dilemma of race relations today. It involves mistreating a minority population by the majority which could spell disaster.
