Discrimination Today

While things have got better over the years, there is still discrimination throughout the United States. Indians, Hispanics, African Americans, middle easterners, gays and lesbians, and many others receive discrimination. In particular, African Americans, Hispanics, and homosexual people have a harder time finding jobs, getting a home, getting good customer service, and many other things. We beat slavery, we gained equal rights for African Americans, and yet we are still continuing to discriminate against people who we are surrounded by every single day. No matter what religion, beliefs, race, or color, we are all equal and should treat others as such. If we continue to discriminate, we will be fighting the same fight we fought to defeat hundreds of years ago.

Civil Rights Movement

African Americans continued to live in fear for hundreds of years after the incredible but unsuccessful victory. They were still treated as being less than the "supreme" white race. This all ended in 1954 with the court case Brown vs. Board of Education where it was was ruled that segregation of schools was unconstitutional. In 1961, John F. Kennedy was elected as president. While he did not fight for rights for African Americans, he saw that things needed to change. Continuing after he had been admitted to office, African Americans throughout the south were denied the right to vote, barred from all public facilities, subjected to insults and violence, and could not expect justice from the courts. Then, a few courageous people decided to stand up against discrimination. Rosa Parks was the first. She refused to get off her seat in the bus. This started a monumental movement. Martin Luther King, Jr. was selected to lead the movement. Rosa Parks' acts were followed by the 381 day Montgomery bus boycott, sit-ins, the freedom riders, little rock nine, and the March on Washington. At this, King said, "I have a dream, that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed-we hold these truths self-evident, that all men are created equal." These actions caught the attention of Kennedy who then worked to get rights for African Americans and eventually, all schools were integrated and full rights were given to every individual, no matter what race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs

The Civil War- Freedom at Last?

Abraham Lincoln was elected president and wanted to give slaves rights. This lead to the secession of seven southern states which formed the Confederate States of America. Now, America was divided and the only reasonable solution was to fight. The North, fighting against slavery, eventually won the war. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation, which stated, "slaves within any state, or designated part of a state...in rebellion,..shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." This was followed by the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, the 14th Amendment in 1868, which gave equal protection under the constitution, and the 15th Amendment in 1870, which gave black Americans the right to vote. Even though these had been declared, African Americans still continued to receive unfair treatment, and to add on to this, the Ku Klux Klan was formed in 1877 in order to raise havoc on the African American race.

Slavery Continued

After the slaves were bought, they went to plantations to work on crops such as tobacco, which was the most prosperous at the time. The tobacco industry started to dwindle and with it slavery, until 1793 when Eli Whitney created the cotton gin. Cotton had been seen in earlier years but now it was thriving; slaves were in high demand. They worked incredibly long and hard hours, basically working themselves to death. There were a few lucky women slaves that got to work in the house, a lot better than working in the heat, but it wasn't as luxurious as the owners made it out to be. These certain slaves were repeatedly raped, sometimes even getting pregnant and bearing children. There were a few owners who treated their slaves with kindness and mercy, but it was very rare. People like William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Harriet Beecher Stowe fought to show the cruelties of slavery but life remained the same for slaves for many years because of the Dred Scott Decision. The struggle finally came to an end with the Civil War in 1861. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHOVSYK4c88

The Beginning of Slavery

Slavery in America began in 1619 when the colonists first came to Jamestown, Virginia. These “slaves” were white bond servants who paid for their passage across the ocean from Europe, they were also called indentured servants. Soon following this, African American people were brought from Africa to work on tobacco plants, which was the main industry of the time. They were transported in ships, stacked with thousands of people on top of each other. If a person died while on board, which many did, the body was thrown into the ocean. The stench was unbearable because the under carriage was never cleaned. The floors were covered in urine, feces, vomit, and rotting flesh. However, this was just the beginning. Once in America, the slaves were separated, stripped of any clothing, poked and prodded to see who would be worth more money, and eventually sold to the highest bidder. Once sold, they had no control over their lives.

Introduction

I decided to do my project on slavery and discrimintation. I chose this subject because I think it's interesting to see how the slavery from the past led to discrimination which then led to many wars. The wars were overcome, but discrimination against race, color, homosexuality, religion, and many other things are still seen today. If we continue to discriminate, we might start the same war we fought many years ago. This blog will give the history of both slavery and discrimination in the U.S. and also show how discrimination is still around today.