Why was so little done to improve
the lives of black Americans before
1939?
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Racist Attitudes
Jim Crow Laws
Ku Klux Klan
Lack of voting due to registration
Lack of Federal Support
Divisions within Civil Rights pre 1939
Blacks before 1939
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From the arrival of White European explorers in the 15th Century, whites
began to take over in the USA.
Whites used their superior technology and numbers to intimidate Native
Americans.
Racial tension became inevitable from the outset.
White Americans felt superior to non-white minorities, this was not exclusive
to blacks. Also included Native Americans, Hispanics and Chinese.
From 1660 blacks were used as slaves and this was legal. Blacks were
considered uncivilised and provided cheap and plentiful labour for the
growing tobacco industries.
By 1776 America consisted of a population of 2.5 million of which 1/5 were
black slaves.
Slavery was legally abolished in1865 however, there was increased division
between the North (actual discrimination) and South (legal discrimination) of
America.
As Blacks became more assertive, whites became more anxious
Jim Crow Laws
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Blacks were ground down by informal racism, black men always
referred to as “boy” and black women always “auntie”.
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Jim Crow was a character created by Thomas Rice, a white performer.
The phrase “Jim Crow was used by many whites to reinforce the
stereotypical inferiority of blacks.
This was the philosophy of “separate but equal”, supported by the Supreme
Court in 1896 where the separation of race was described as “lawful”
Every area of life was effected:
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Schools
Parks
Bathrooms
Restaurants
Graveyards
All aspects of life were separate however, certainly not equal. Blacks were
invariably provided with facilities that were inferior to whites.
The Ku Klux Klan
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The KKK was a white supremacist
organisation that was founded in 1866.
The purpose of the KKK was to intimidate
and terrorise the black population of the
South into submission.
In 1915 the KKK experienced a revival as a
result of the film “The Birth of a Nation”. It
depicted the KKK as protectors of the South
against “black terror”.
The KKK claimed to be devoted to “100%
Americanism”.
By the 1920’s the Klan attacked all nonProtestants, immigrants and blacks in the
USA.
The KKK had links to many powerful
Americans and despite scandals in the
1920’s relating to sex and corruption the
Klan were a symbol of white terror and a
threat to Black American Civil Rights.
The Great Migration
• From 1918 many Black Americans began to move North
in search of better wages, better jobs and an escape
from segregation and fear.
• However, many poor whites were also looking for jobs
and saw black Americans as unwelcome competition.
• Blacks now found themselves segregated into “ghettos”.
• In 1919, several northern cities experienced “race riots” ,
including Chicago and Washington, due to the lack of
adequate housing.
• Positive feature of migration meant that there was
now a political voice for black Americans.
Lack of Voting Power
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By 1900 no black person in the South was able to vote easily,
despite having the right to do so.
• To be able to vote in America, you had to register your eligibility to
vote with the State Government.
• Many of the Southern States made it very difficult for blacks to
register to vote.
• Examples of these voting qualifications were:
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Literacy tests
The ability to understand and interpret the Constitution
Residency and property requirements
Tax that had to be paid before registering
Lack of Federal Support
• Scottsboro Boys – In 1931, nine black youths were
wrongly convicted by an all white jury of the rape of two
white girls. It was 1950 before the last of the boys was
released on parole. The federal Government did not
force the Southern State Government to do so.
• Federal Government did not address the inconsistencies
of “separate, but equal” in State Governments.
• Federal Government allowed various qualifications for
voting in the South (decided by state governments),
again, did not intervene.
• Inequality of education opportunities of black children,
especially in the South.
Booker T. Washington
• Son of a slave.
• Believed that black people could only achieve an equal
place in society if they were educated first.
• Founded the leading institution for black education in the
South.
• Believed blacks should not antagonise whites for political
and social equality.
• Thought black people should stress their opportunities,
not their grievances.
• Believed the only way black people could win
acceptance was through hard work and education.
W.E.B Du Bois and
the NAACP
• Believed in true and absolute racial equality.
• Became the first leader of the NAACP.
• Worked within the legal system to improve employment,
housing, voting right and education for black Americans.
• Du Bois placed the responsibility for racial inequality on
the whites.
• Refused to accept that blacks were in any way inferior.
• Wanted complete racial equality the removal of any
negative treatment based solely on race.
Marcus Garvey and
the UNIA
• The UNIA, led by Marcus Garvey encouraged
black culture and pride.
• Garvey believed that racial discrimination was deeply
rooted among whites and it was impossible for them to
change.
• He urged blacks to separate themselves from the
surrounding white culture and embrace their heritage.
• He thought all Black Americans should move back to
Africa and start their own self-governing Republic.
• By 1922, the UNIA claimed to have a membership of 6
million.
• Garvey was discredited in 1925 when he was found
guilty of fraud and was deported.