How did we get here? Understanding Racism in the United States

The outrage that is sparking throughout the nation is a result of years and years of oppression against Black people in the United States, and not only the unjustified murder of George Floyd. It is crucial to analyze the painful history of racism in this country to be able to understand what really ignited the current protest and the Black Lives Matter movement. Only history can explain how we got to a point where racism, police brutality, white supremacy, inequality, mass incarcerations, and many other civil rights issues become the unjustified norms to many.

As promised, I will dedicate my blog this week to shed light on the movement by briefly connecting the dots between the past and the present. This way, you as a passionate reader, will be able to identify where and how you can start contributing to the elimination of racism and discrimination in this country. Only with knowledge of the past, we can learn how to change our present and future.

It all goes back to the years between 1525 and 1866 when more than 12 million people were kidnapped from Africa and sold as slaves around the world as part of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. (Encyclopedia Britannica). About 300,000 arrived in the United States and were later sold as slaves in interregional trades (aka. Domestic Slave Trade) that traded African-Americans across the nation for cotton or tobacco labor. (Smithsonian Magazine). The trade of slaves was then officially legalized for the first time by the Massachusetts Body of Liberties, making Massachusetts the first state to legalize slavery. (Mass. Body of Liberties) Additionally, Virginia enacted the Herdiatry Slavery in 1662 that made children of enslaved mothers slaves for life. (Hereditary Slavery). In the 17th century, African-Americans trade for slavery sharply increased as the sugar and tobacco plantation arose in North America. (Encyclopedia Britannica).

Later, in 1787, the United States Constitutional Convention enacted the Three-Fifths Compromise that counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for congressional and taxing purposes. (James Madison- The Journal of the Constitutional Convention). Such cruel treatment also expanded to banning Black people from voting, learning how to read, and from marrying anyone outside their race. (Id.)

In 1808, Congress outlawed the trade of slaves by enforcing the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves that stated no new slaves were allowed to be traded in America. (Act 2 Stat. 426 (1807)). However, the Act did not prohibit the domestic trade of slaves within the United States’ borders, and it continued for years in different states, not only the South. In 1740, one-fifth of New York City’s population consisted of slaves. (Thomas Davies – These Enemeices of their Own Household). In 1860, the total population of the United States comprised 13% of enslaved Africans, with Virginia having the highest numbers of slaves followed by Georgia and Mississippi (Id.) Although it is hard to give accurate figures, the estimated number of slaves in 1860 tripled to 4 million, with more than half concentrated in the southern states that were dominant in cotton production. (Id.). The horrific act of slavery was not limited to the inhumane ownership of African Americans but also consisted of sexual harassment to enslaved African-American women and brutal punishment of males by owners. (Id.)

The high number of slaves traded in the United States increased the tension between the northern and southern states over slaves leading to the bloody Civil War in 1861. (History). Two years later, in January 1863, Abraham Lincon officially stated that “slaves within any state, or designated part of a state … in rebellion, … shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” (Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation“). However, slavery was not entirely abolished by the proclamation until the passage of the thirteens amendments in 1865. (13th Amendment).

Although Blacks were no longer inhumanly enslaved in the United States, they still lacked equal rights that White Americans enjoyed for years. Nevertheless, Blacks officially acquired the rights of equal protection and citizenship in 1868 with the passage of the 14th Amendment. (14th Amendment). Black people were also formally able to vote as citizens of the nation with the passage of the 15th Amendment in 1870. (15th Amendment). By having the right to vote, Black’s influence significantly increased in the United States after winning the southern states’ government in elections, which led to the establishment of many white supremacist racist organizations, such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). (Smithsonian Magazine). The KKK used voter fraud, extreme violence, and intimidation to compress the influence and the voices of the Black community in the nation. (Id.). The Black community was accordingly oppressed in the most brutal ways possible economically, politically, and socially.

The vigorous efforts of white supremacists against Blacks in America, during what was known as the Reconstruction era 1865-1877, continued for years, and it gained more support in 1896 from Northerners who moved South. (History). Such support resulted in the enactment of Jim Crow Laws, laws enacted by southern states enforcing racial segregation between Black and White people. (Wrong on Race by Bruce Bartlett). The legislation mandated racial segregation in all public facilities in the states and was legally upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson. (163 U.S. 537 (1896)) In this case, the Supreme Court ruled Jim Crow laws constitutional as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality, a doctrine that was later known as “Separate but Equal.” This meant that states were legally and constitutionally authorized to separate schools, railroads, hotels, theaters, restaurants, barbershops, and even water fountains and bathrooms to be septated by color, one for Blacks and one for Whites.

The ruling of the case continued until the Supreme Court reversed it in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education that made racial segregation of children in public school unconstitutional even if the quality was equal as required in Plessy v. Ferguson. (347 U.S. 483 (1954)) (ruling that “separate education facilities are inherently unequal,” thus, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment). Even though the ruling concerned public schools, it implied that other segregated public facilities were also unconstitutional. However, the decision did not explicitly mention any method to abolish racial segregation altogether and only required states to “desegregate with all deliberate speed” in Brown II (349 U.S. 294 (1955)).

In addition to the court’s verdict in Brown II, the year 1955 also encompassed many events that shaped Black history in the United States. In August 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year old Black boy, was brutally beaten to death by two white men after violating the strict racial codes by allegedly whistling to a white woman. Even though both men confessed to the murder of Emmett, they were “acquitted of murder charges by an all-white-male jury after barely an hour of deliberations.” (History). The cruel murder of Emmett ignited public outrage and later fueled the Civil Rights Movement. (Id.) Then in December 1955, the city-wide bus boycott movement, known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, began in Alabama when Rosa Parks, an African American woman, refused to give up her seat to a white man in a bus as mandated by strict racial codes. (Id.)

“I had been pushed as far as I could stand to be pushed. I had decided that I would have to know once and for all what rights I had as a human being and a citizen.”

Rosa Parks

After the heroic act of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was formed by Black community leaders and was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, the scholar and minster who later led the Civil Rights Movement. A few years after Rosa Parks and Brown’s decision, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was enacted, becoming the first major civil rights legislation that prosecuted those who tried to prevent anyone from voting. (The Civil Rights Act of 1957). The act was a major milestone to the Balck community because even though they were allowed to vote, many states imposed high restrictions, such as difficult literacy tests, that made voting nearly impossible. (Id.).

No matter how big the progress might seem to Black people, the reality was that they still had a long way to win the battle against injustice and eliminate the blatant prejudice they faced daily. In 1960, the Greensboro sit-ins started after four college students refused to leave a “whites-only” lunch counter without being served. (Greensboro Four). Hundreds across the nation joined the cause with peaceful sit-ins and demonstrations but were faced with arrests and trespassing charges. (Id.). In the same year, the Supreme Court ruled again on racial segregation in the case of Boynton v. Virginia that overturned the trespassing conviction of students in restaurants for “whites only.” (364 U.S. 454 (1960)). The Supreme Court further ruled that racial segregation of interstate facilities, including bus terminals, was unconstitutional. (Id.). The decision was later tested by seven Black and six white activists in 1961, who were later known as the Freedom Riders. (Freedom Riders). The group tried to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counter at bus stations in southern states but were faced with violent police arrests and horrific acts by white people who threw a bomb on the bus when it reached Alabama. (Id.) Although the Freedom Riders were able to escape the bus, they were severely beaten by whites. Still, the cause continued by other Freedom Riders across the nation who were also faced with violent acts and arrests.

Despite the continued racial discrimination and violence they faced daily, Black people never gave up their hope of winning back their fundamental human rights. In 1963, the March on Washington took place where “more than 200,000 people of all races congregated in Washington, D.C.” marching for civil rights for Blacks and the establishment of job security to everyone. (March on Washington). Many civil rights leaders attended the March, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who delivered his notable “I have a dream” speech.

” I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The following year, in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that officially prohibited racial discrimination. The celebration of this victory, however, did not last long because of the killing of the civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson by a white police officer in the following year. (Selma to Montgomery March). The killing sparked the peaceful demonstration of 600 protestors in the Selma to Montgomery March, who were violently beaten and teargassed by police. (Id.) The violent turn of events was later known as Bloody Sunday. (Id.) Still, in the same year, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted that banned all literacy tests and allowed the imposing of poll taxes that were later declared unconstitutional in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections. (383 U.S. 663 (1966)).

Even though many devastating events accompanied the civil rights movement, the most tragic consequences were the assassination of Malcolm X, the former Nation of Islam leader and founder of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, and Dr. King. (History).

Despite the significant victories Black people made throughout history, the oppression and racial discrimination against them were far from being over. However, Black’s commitment to fighting for equality always stood stronger than oppressors, and their vigorous and tireless efforts continued for years using different methods in hopes they acquire full recognition of their rights. Black people peacefully protested, publically spoke out, marched, took a knee, and tried many ways to reach justice and equality. Still, latent racism against them in America continued with the increased likelihood of Black people suffering at the hands of the police. In 2012, Trayvon Martin, a 17-years old African American, was walking alone when Zimmerman, a white male, fatally shot him in the chest and was acquitted later by jury. The acquittal sparked outrage throughout the country resulting in the foundation of an international human rights movement known as the Black Lives Matter. (BLM)

The movement gained momentum after the death of Eric Garner in New York, who was killed by a police officer who put him in a chokehold. (Id.) Like Floyd, Eric was only able to fight for his life with words, shouting “I can’t breathe” 11 times before dying.

Years later, today, Black people are still shouting, “I can’t breathe.” More than 400 years later, Blacks are still losing their lives before gaining their fundamental human rights. Michael Brown, Botham Jean, Ezell Ford, Michelle Shirley, Redel Jones, Kenney Watkins, Eric Garner, Stephon Clark, Tamir Rice, Laquan McDonald, Jamer Clark, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Goerge Floyd are just a few names of Blacks who lost their lives to anti-Black racism. There are many Blacks we don’t know of, silently suffering until this very day.

So why, after all these years, Blacks are still excluded from America’s notion of “equality and justice for all”? Why, after all these years, Blacks are not living in a “nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” as Dr. King envisioned? Why are Blacks still can’t breathe in America?

I do not know. But I pray that there will be no more names to be added to the list. I pray that we all work together to eliminate racial discrimination against Blacks in America because Black Lives Matter.

Disclaimer: This is only a brief summary of Black history in the United States. There are many major events that were not included in this article.