In the wake of the Civil War, we began to see the foundation for the creation of the lives of African Americans in American society. We saw these foundations set with the enactment of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. These amendments called for the abolishment of slavery in 1865, defined what it meant to be a citizen and created the Equal Protection Clause in 1868, and created black male suffrage in 1870. Along with these amendments, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 allowed black Americans to use public spaces. All of these laws created serious discontent amongst politically elite whites that wanted to maintain the existing racial conditions without violating the Constitution. In order to maintain this racial status quo, white Americans turned to the laws of segregation.
With their newly gained freedom, African Americans wanted to prove that they were not simply victims of the deplorable inhumanities of slavery, but rather they were people who were constantly thinking of ways to better themselves politically. One of the ways they attempted to accomplish this political improvement was through the use of self-reliance. For the first time in their history, Africans were able to call themselves Americans and make demands about their own lives. Black Americans demanded better wages, and sought to improve themselves through the education they had previously been denied for so many generations. In 1896, the Plessy v. Ferguson case resulted in the ratification of separate but equal laws. African Americans were allotted almost the same rights as white Americans, but they were forced to utilize their rights separately. The most notable example of the results of this act can be seen with the segregation of schools. White children and black children were sent to separate schools, and the schools created for the blacks were of significantly less quality compared to the white schools.
In Remembering Jim Crow, we are told that segregated schooling was a method that “still worked to engender feelings of inferiority among African Americans” (154). Unlike white children, black children were taught to believe that they did not deserve bus rides to and from school, new books, new desks, decent libraries, and even decent teachers. Yet again, African Americans were forced to handle the trials and tribulations that came with achieving a sense of equality. It was African American parents and communities that ultimately still sought to improve the education of their children by furnishing the schools, providing timber to create heat during the winter, donating tools and even their time to teach skilled labor. Even with drawbacks to a segregated education, hope was instilled in many African Americans because schooling “represented a place to affirm black children culturally” and to “[promote] black liberation” (154).
By maintaining a Jim Crow education system, both black and white children were exposed to the realities of American society at a young age. White children were able in this sense to both experience first-hand their superior societal statuses in society and be taught in school about them. Likewise, black children understood they received meager, dilapidated supplies, while the white children received all the newest educational equipment. These attitudes and perspectives were instilled into children and aided in perpetuating the system for future generations. African American institutions worked diligently to provide the opportunities to these children that this race did not have access to in the past. While the two school systems were in no way “equal”, any education for African American children was a step in the right direction for their future advancement in society. African American leaders realized this was the route that needed to be taken in order to gain even greater freedom in society.
ReplyDeleteTaylor, I agree with you completely. Instead of being separate but equal, black schools emphasized how much worse off black kids were compared to white kids. The black education systems got hand-me-down books, and hand-me-down teachers. While white schools relied on the state to provide them with most of the things they needed, black schools relied on the church and private homes. They were forced to get by on their own. By getting around these amendments, the white elitists got just what they wanted. Separation from the blacks while still being above them on the socioeconomic and educational ladders.
ReplyDeleteHow does the history of African American education apply to Affirmative Action? We've seen how African American's have had a very obvious disadvantage in their education. Not only did their formal education begin at least 200 years after the formal education system for white children, but when one was established for black students, it was severely underfunded and had fewer resources. This disadvantage "stunted the growth", if you will, of African American advancement. Affirmative Action intends to make up for this deficit by spurring the educational growth of African Americans partially through scholarships that are only awarded to African Americans. Some would say though, that it is unacceptable to award a race-based scholarship regardless of the race to whom it is awarded, because it would be considered racist for a scholarship to only be awarded to white people. I contend, though, that education is such a vital step towards equality that affirmative action is a necessity. Although it may not be 100% effective, it is sure a step in the right direction.
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