Racism, Discrimination, and Segregation in America

Origins of Racism “Scientific Racism” Ethnocentrism “One Drop” Rule Race is a social construct!  Race: category of people labeled and treated as similar because of some common biological traits, such as skin color, texture of hair, and shape of eyes  Race has no “scientific” basis, e.g., DNA

Slavery Not always tied to racism. Lasted from 1607 – 1865 The word “slave” comes from sclavus meaning “slavic people” or people from East or Central Europe. Slavery was a part of many ancient civilizations including Aztec, Sumer, Egypt, Syria, Greece, Persia, Byzantines, Vikings, Arab and African kingdoms. Lasted from 1607 – 1865 “Inferiority of race” used as a justification System of deference resulted Deference = submission or courteous yielding to the opinion, wishes, or judgment of another. 13th Amendment Freed the slaves in 1865 (end of the Civil War) 14th Amendment made African Americans US Citizens in 1867 15th Amendment gave all American men the right to vote in 1868

Strange Fruit Billie Holiday Abel Meeropol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs Billie Holiday Abel Meeropol

Lynching Definition: to lynch means to put to death (usually by hanging) by mob action without due process of the law or legal sanction. Term coined in 1830s after vigilante William Lynch. Many types of people were lynched throughout history, from outlaws in the American West to immigrants in American cities, but that the vast majority of lynching victims have been African-American men. Between 1882 and 1968, mobs lynched 4,743 persons in the United States, over 70% of them African-Americans. By the late 1920s, 95% of U.S. lynchings occurred in the South. By 1950, lynchings virtually disappeared due to anti-lynching efforts headed by the NAACP. Without Sanctuary: Photographs and Postcards of Lynching in America http://www.withoutsanctuary.org/main.html

Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Definition: a white supremacist group originating in the South after the Civil War. The KKK has been responsible for countless acts of terrorism, violence, and lynching all intended to intimidate, murder and oppress African Americans, Jews, and other minorities. Membership 1920 = 4,000,000 1930 = 30,000 1980 = 5,000 2008 = 6,000 Alleged Klan Members: Harry Truman Warren G. Harding 16 Senators 11 Governors ? # Representatives

Jim Crow Laws Definition: Laws that separated/segregated African Americans and other non-white racial groups from White Americans. Some commonly segregated spaces as a result of Jim Crow were: schools public areas transportation restrooms restaurants

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

The Plessy decision made Jim Crow laws legal. Therefore, according to the Supreme Court, segregation is legal. Definitions: De jure = by law De facto = in practice

Emmett Till 14 year old from Chicago visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi (1955) Supposedly whistled at a white woman in a grocery store on a dare The woman’s husband and his half brother went to Till’s house that night Till was kidnapped, beaten, shot, and then his body was dumped into a river Till’s mother insisted on an open-casket The 2 men went to trial, but were acquitted by the all white jury members Later, in exchange for $4000, the men told Look magazine how they brutally murdered Till The Death of Emmett Till: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjfGcRM35xg Matthew Shepard http://www.matthewshepard.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Our_Story_Main_Page

Civil Rights v. Human Rights Definition: a contract between citizens and their government, where the government spells out rights afforded to its citizens. Definition: inherent rights that all people have simply because they are human. Not necessarily guaranteed by a government. Examples: Right to bear arms Freedom of or from religion Right to vote Freedom from excessive bail Examples: Right to food and water Right to marry Right to refuse to kill Right to rest and leisure BUT, there’s a lot of overlap. Many of the rights found in our US Constitution are also found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For example: freedom from slavery or servitude, freedom from cruel or unusual punishment, right to equal protection under the law.