African Americans and Politics

How did African American leaders differ in their approaches to politics in the 1920s? “We return. We return from fighting.We return fighting.Make way for Democracy! We saved it in France, and by the Great Jehovah, we will save it in the United States of America, or know the reason why.” - W.E.B. Du Bois, 1919

Growing Political Power Great Migration North  political power in the cities. 1928: first black man elected to Congress from Illinois- Oscar DePriest. (Chicago)

Fighting injustice The NAACP’s ongoing protests against lynching placed the crime on the national spotlight. There were still no federal anti lynching laws though. The first federal anti-lynching law was passed in the year…

The Justice for Victims of Lynching Act

2018???!!! More than 200 anti-lynching bills had been passed since 1918, but they never passed the Senate. In 2018, a bill written by Democrats Kamala Harris and Cory Booker and Republican Tim Scott, passed unanimously in the Senate. Most Congressmen thought “a bill like this had already been passed”!

Black Nationalism and Marcus Garvey NAACP fought for integration and justice. Some groups called for black nationalism and to separate themselves from white America. Marcus Garvey: Jamaican business leader Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) Promote black pride, unity, and self-reliance. Led a “Back to Africa” movement- he believed black men and women would never be free or treated fairly in America, and should return to Africa. Alienated many prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance.