Even after the Reconstruction period ended in 1877 and life was slightly better for African Americans, they were still victims of discrimination, segregation and intimidation. In 1865, after the Civil War ended, the first Ku Klux Klan was established by a majority of white members. The KKK was a social club for confederate soldiers willing to practice and advocate white supremacy. Despite the fact that 13th amendment abolished slavery, the 14th amendment gave citizenship and the 15th amendment granted suffrage to all men African Americans were still ostracized. The African American population was only "free" on paper. When the KKK Act was passed in 1971, the United States government was allowed to act against terrorist organizations, resulting in the end of the first KKK. However, their would be a second and third KKK.
"Birth of a Nation", one of the black and white, silent first films, was introduced in 1915. The film was originally called "The Clansmen" and was by D.W Griffith. Today the film is commemorated for having been a great masterpiece despite its controversial criticism. The Jim Crow Laws, were racial segregation laws enacted between 1876 and 1965. The Jim Crow laws established segregation in public schools, the military, transportation, even restrooms and any public places. The Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case of 1896 was in regard to the Jim Crow Laws. The ruling of this case was to legally establish segregation in the United States. This was when the idea "separate but equal" was introduced.
No comments:
Post a Comment