Advantages And Disadvantages Of African Americans In The 1950's

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“Martin Luther King Jr. once said I have a dream that my four little 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”.
In the first half of the 20th century, many African Americans struggled for economic equality amidst discriminatory attitudes and policies. Black Americans faced many disadvantages during the 1950's. In short they were discriminated from public services, to cafes and restaurants. After the American Civil War in 1865, black people in the American south were no longer slaves. But they had never gained equality with whites. Blacks had remained second classed citizens throughout their movement to America, with the worst paid unskilled jobs in
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Education was one of the main concerns that blacks had to face because of the lack schooling that were provided. In fact, very few African Americans received any education at all right before schools were established during reconstruction. It was an honor for a black family to receive free education overall. “Many whites did not want blacks to become educated, fearing they would challenge white supremacy and not be content with jobs working in the fields or in domestic service. Black schools therefore received far less financial support than did white schools. Black schools had fewer books, worse buildings, and less well paid teachers. Ramshackle, segregated schools marked black Virginians with a stigma of inferiority and the status of second-class citizenship that they would have to endure throughout their lives” (VirginaHistoricalSociety.edu). “As far as education is concerned, African Americans are given almost no avenue of education on the lower level, which makes it difficult for them to aspire to higher education because they don't have the rudiments to get to that point. Public schools are open to African only in very small communities” (AmericanExperience.com). After all, the schools were however were in control by the white-controlled state governments for funding and over reasoning. As a result, many public school were in many other states, both south and …show more content…
Many black were still treated poorly, many of them still grew cotton under a contract and institutional arrangements. Not many laborer kept their jobs, it was a matter of time for a black men to lose their job. African Americans were limited with their legal rights and began to grow more severe in the south during this era. “Through the early 1900s, many new laws, known as Jim Crow laws, were passed in Southern states creating legally segregated schools, transportation systems, and lodging. The requirement of equality was not generally enforced, however. Perhaps the most important and best-known example of separate and unequal facilities in the South was the system of public education” (EH.net). In the North, opportunity was wider and the pay was certainly better but the region was welcoming of the migrants from the south. One of the major initiatives of the Progressive Era was the women's suffrage movement. However, many organizations that were established to fight for the voting rights of women either marginalized or ignored African-American women. “One of the major initiatives of the Progressive Era was the women's suffrage movement. However, many organizations that were established to fight for the voting rights of women either marginalized or ignored African-American women” (AboutEducation.edu). The Women’s Liberation movement fought to bring hardships of womanhood to light; from