As told by Hugh, (1999) African Americans are not natives of the American continent; their ancestors were from the African continent that had been sold as slaves during the Trans-Saharan trade. The colonialist had opened up Africa trade with over sea countries; Africans were merely tools of trade to the slave sellers who sold them to over seas where there was need for cheap labor in farms. Up to until 1865 most of African Americans were slaves though there very few who were free but compared to the enslaved one their number is negligible. Many major events after the emancipation of slaves in 1985 have shaped the present day social, cultural and political stature of the African American community. These events are linked to one another through time; in fact each major event lays a foundation for the next that follows in line.
1865-1876, the Times after Emancipation
According to Hugh, (1999), emancipation of slaves was actualized in the year 1865.Though it was not African Americans only who had been enslaved during the era of slavery, they made majority of this pack. Then the year 1865 became a pivotal turning point in the history of African Americans. The few years that followed 1865 were years of change not only to the freed slaves and the former slave owners but to the nation at large, although some of the Americans had not owned or been slaves, they had lived with them and slavery touched their lives in one way or the other. The years following 1865 were marked with not only change in history but the social; economic and political structure all together took a new trend.
Booker, (1995), explores the life of the African American after the 1865 freedom. His mother was a slave and he spent his early childhood in the farm where she worked, he tells of how during the slavery age African was not allowed to get any form of education. Though he carried books for one her mistresses, he himself could not read the books and he envied the young boys in uniforms very much. Such African Americans found themselves that needed peopled who had a formal education and had to struggle to get education which was needed for one to break into the class of white collar jobs. The uneducated were left to do odd jobs which were hard with minimal wages or offer unskilled labour in factories and farms. They had gained freedom from slavery but financial freedom was far from becoming a realized by most African Americans.
The former slave masters were finding it just as hard to adjust to the new life without slaves as their former slaves (Hugh, 1999). African Americans had been granted freedom and the law which had formerly oppressed them was now being changed to accommodate them. They had been declared citizens with equal rights to protection by the law as any other American, they were now free to formalize their marriages and had even been granted the right vote, these was changes were not welcome by most of the white organizations and groups .The Ku Klux Klan was particularly one the groups that was not happy at all with the turn of events. In a meeting held in 1867 the Klan members chose a new leader Nathan Forrest who had been a former slave owner and hoped would lead the group in suppressing the Africans. These unhappy groups propagated violent crimes against Africans that included beating, murder, arson and the infamous lynching by the Klan (Wade et al 1987). According to Wade et al, (1987), the Ku Klux Klan which started as a social group later disintegrated into the hater group of this period.
As reported by Hugh, (1999), the history of African Americas during this era (1865-1876) is marked with the freedom of slaves and the changes that it brought along to the social and political structures of the nation. The changes that were not so welcome to white who had been considered superior during the slavery era, these resulted in violent crimes against the African Americans from white groups, individuals and even the police who were supposed to be protecting them, wide spread racial discrimination and oppression.
1877-1820, Crime in the South
Being the era immediately after the slave emancipation era, most of the events and happenings of this era were aftershocks of slave emancipation (Hugh, 1999). The most pronounced character of this period was the violent crimes propagated by white individuals, groups and sometimes even the state. The worst hit by the trend were the southern states were the crimes were more violent and more pronounced. Wade et all, 1987, asserts that these crimes were aimed at suppressing the rising prominence of African American and were propagated by individuals and groups like the Klan and police also played a big role in oppressing the African American. The participation of the police maybe due to the fact there were almost no black police, they were very few because they had not yet broken into such ranks and were still recovering from slavery.
It was earlier reported by Huggins (1973) that democracy which was thought to be there was just but a false front, the African Americans had been given the freedom to vote but it was far from being realized. They were forced not to vote by use of violence and as a result African Americans had no political say and the white 'democrats' remained in power. The nation was now divided along racial lines; racial discrimination was part of everyday life even racial segregation. African Americans were discriminated in many ways they were not allowed into some neighborhoods, they couldn't get decent jobs or their children could not attend some schools, Oppressed as they were though, they were making giants steps elsewhere. They had not been allowed into schools during the slave era but now there were schools albeit low standard ones for the African American young stars and these would later help bridge the gap in social classes between the African Americans and their fellow white citizens. 1877-1920 is the era In the African American history that violence against African Americans rose; discrimination and oppression rose and though they tried to fight these forces, oppression of the African Americans remained until much later in the era of civil rights activists.
1921-1945, the Harlem Renaissance
It had further been reported by Huggins (1973) that this is the period during the history of African Americans often referred to as the Harlem renaissance. Harlem in the city of New York had been a white neighborhood up to until the dawn of the 20th century during the great migration when Africans were moving the southern fleeing racism crime against them and the industrial revolution which saw former slaves who had worked on farms move into cities in search of employment. The influx of Negroes into New York City saw the transformation of Harlem into a predominantly black neighborhood. According to Huggins (1973), Harlem renaissance was the period when the African Americans experienced success in fields which they hadn't ventured into during the slave era. The era saw Africans excel in fields such as music, literature and art, the African culture was flourishing.
As if in a perfect relation to the views by Huggins (1973), it has recently been reported by Bruce (2008), that the boom in African culture could be attributed to a number of factors among them and maybe the major contributing factor being the emancipation of slaves in 1965. After freedom from slavery the Africans had been allowed to get education and the participants of the Harlem renaissance were either children or grand children of the former slaves, who had benefited from emancipation by getting education and they were free citizens who could venture into any field. The migration of African Americans who were fleeing violence and racism also resulted in flux of former farm workers into the towns in search for jobs resulted in conglomeration of Africans and Harlem became the heart of African American community.
According to Bruce (2008), the Harlem renaissance saw Africans gain confidence. Discrimination was so rampant during these time but the African Americans were set to defy the oppressive system. Violent crimes such as lynching of Africa Americans, discrimination, oppression by the police persisted through this period but the African Americans were also gaining confidence as more and more were succeeding and breaking class barriers. Not only were the numbers of African Americans who were educated and had respectable jobs increasing but they were also gaining financial powerful and becoming a stronger force with each passing day.
Bruce (2008) further argues that the period of 1921-1945 could be said to be the time when Africans broke ground was very important era for African Americans because not only did they define themselves as a distinct social cultural group but they were beginning to gain ground. They had had drawn attention of the nation and in fact some of the fellow country men were starting to appreciate their culture expressed through literature, music and other forms of art. This era laid a stepping stone for the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s
1946-1976; the Era of Civil Rights Movement
It has been reported by Bruce (2008), that the period of African American flourishing had done a great deal in preparing not for only the African Americans but also the nation for the years of civil rights movement that followed it. The African American had gained the much needed confidence through education, having some financial power and also through the success in literature art and music during the Harlem renaissance era that had made prominent African Americans in music, literature and even rich business men were coming up.
Another driving force in their quest was the independence in Africa as was seen in the report by Raymond (1961). Bruce (2008) argues that most of the African nations which had been colonized were gaining independence and these was a inspiration, getting a lot of encouragement from the struggle of their African brother's independence, they set out to attain equality and put an end to racial discrimination for good. The rise of the civil rights movement could also be attributed to rise of powerful African American attorneys who represented fellow Africans and offered public education to African Americans on their rights.
This period in African American history was marked with coming up of a number of rights activists, notable among them Martin Luther King and Malcom X (Raymond 1961). They educated fellow African Americans, and mobilized them to carry out boycotts and peaceful demonstrations. The African Americans were protesting against violence that marked this era and was propagated by hater groups such as the Klan. Racial discrimination was also a problem which the African Americans had put up with for so long but which they wanted to put an end to. Segregation was still deep rooted and the African community detested it so much. The African Americans were not allowed to mix with whites and private and public facilities such as schools, restaurants, housing facilities and neighborhoods, public transport and even recreational facilities like parks with the African Americans not allowed using those designated for whites.
According to Bruce (2008), the success of the civil rights movement could be attributed to the persistence and unity of the African Americans. All African Americans were united working to achieve a common goal; freedom from racial discrimination. Litigation had failed to solve their problems now they devised new methods of putting pressure on the leaders to change the laws. Activists resolved to use peaceful demonstrations, boycotts and sit-ins where African Americans could go into a white only area or sit in the white part of the bar and demand service. Though at first these methods were met with a lot of resistance and violence eventually the leaders and they gave in. Raymond (1961) had told of how Freedom rides also became a common phenomena during the age of civil right activists, the civil rights activists boarded buses to the south states where there was segregation as an act of protest, though at first they met a lot of violence from the Klan, eventually the supreme court of the United States abolished segregation.
As had been reported by Raymond (1961), when the pressure and the tension became too much and the violence from hater group Ku Klux Klan became too much and was threatening to get out of hand, the attention of the media and the leaders finally was caught and the wide spread violence through beating and lynching of the blacks of the southern states were beginning to be noticed and action was needed, that eventually led to the end of racial discrimination and segregation.
During the time there was also a rise in African American crime (Griffin 2007). This could be attributed to the high poverty levels African American neighborhoods. Juvenile delinquency was becoming a common phenomenon, organized crimes increased and gangs were increasing with each passing day in lower middle class and low class settlement that were mostly tenement housing. From Griffin, (2007), the black mafia rose in Philadelphia in 1968 and operated for some years, in the mid 1970s they were at the top of their operations. The notorious gang was able to harass and extort citizens in the neighborhoods for so long by this time there were powerful African American attorneys who were able to defend them in court keeping them out of prison. Such gangs also propagated fear in the areas they operated that residents were afraid to go forward to the police as a result they got away with their crimes because most of them went unreported
1946-1976 the period in African American history that they struggled against the evil of racial discrimination was marked with a lot of violent resistance from the police, hater groups like the Ku Klux Klan even the white citizen's council. In the end legislation of the civil rights came to pass and the fight of the African Americans finally bore fruit.
1976 To Present Day, Politics and Social Life
It has been argued by Griffin (2007) that the period after 1976 could be termed the political era. African Americans have come a long way from the days of slavery when they didn't have even the most basic of human rights even the right to marry, through the age of suppression and oppression in the early 20th century, the mid 20th century was also very important in the political history of the African Americans. These were the times of civil rights movement when they were fighting to attain equality in the discriminative society in which they lived. The civil rights movement period paved way for the present political status of the African Americans.
According to Kendra (2010), African Americans are a powerful political force in the present day American politics. They might have lived through hard times of slavery, oppression, racial discrimination and civil injustice but today African Americans are free citizens just like any other in America and they form a powerful political group. Socially, African Americans are quite a number in the low class in most of the states though that does not mean that there are no successful Africans. Africans Americans have excelled in all the fields, one cant fail to mention the fact that the present day president of America is of is of African descend when recounting how successful African Americans have become. There are many African Americans live in poor neighborhoods which are crime infested and it's the church which steps in from time to time to help out through organizing self help groups and appealing to sponsors to fund community projects (Barack, 1995).
Conclusion
The history of the African Americans after emancipation is linked with events up to the present day (Griffin 2007). There is a build up events where one event lays a foundation and triggers the next in line. If we were to trace the footsteps of African American through time we find that slave emancipation is the turning point. The few years that follow are years of shift in social, cultural and political aspects of the former slaves and slave masters, also called the reconstruction period. After 1876 to around 1920 the reconstruction era is over now the African Americans try to find the way forward against the rising violence from white groups. When the violence becomes too much African Americans are fleeing the south while others are moving out of rural areas into urban areas in response to industrialization. They gather in Harlem and then the Harlem renaissance comes, a time when African Americans experience success and gain the ground that will propel them into and through the period of civil rights movement. The civil rights era clears way and set in place strong foundation on which the freedom and political standing of the present day African Americana is built.
