Prejudice and Racism Flashcards
Intro
Other historians argue that prejudice and racism was the key reason why there was such difficulty in the achievement of black civil rights.
Knowledge 1
In 1900, majority of black people lived in the Southern states where slavery had been legal until 1865. White people in the South saw black people as inferior to them.
Analysis 1
This was a key barrier to the achievement of civil rights as this view Southern white people had influenced ‘De Jure’ segregation and Jim Crow Laws, in which Southern black people faced severe discrimination and prejudice in their every day lives.
Knowledge 2
Furthermore, in the North over 4000 black people had migrated. Yet, jobs available were low skilled, low income. White people were unhappy with the arrival of black people which sparked racial tension.
Analysis 2
This was an important barrier to civil rights as ‘race riots’ broke out in which over 50 people were killed, over 40 being black. This incident extended the prejudice and hatred towards black people increasing how hard black people would have to work for civil rights.
Counter Analysis
However, although white people (especially those returning from war) were unhappy that many jobs had been taken and it could be argued that this tension in the North was primarily economic and not based on race. Black people were much more accepted in the North.
Evaluation
Clearly, the belief that white people were superior to black people was strong and had a massive impact on the work it took to achieve civil rights. It was also incredibly difficult for black people to live in America.
