The African American struggle to equality

America has undergone many social changes since its inception, as the definition of “We the People” has expanded. When this country was founded only white, property owning, males were seen as full citizens. Then there was a social change as people started to follow manifest destiny and head to the west. It was at this point that Thomas Jefferson, and his ideals about frontier lifestyle began to truly flourish. As a result of his actions, all white men, even those without ownership of land came to be seen as full American citizens. The next group to try to rise up against their social limitations was African Americans. After the end of the civil war, the emancipation proclamation freed to slaves and gave them de jury rights as American citizens. However, at this point in history only African American men were legally supposed to have full citizenship, and there was a massive societal hangover from the previous social system of slavery. Black men were legally seen as citizens but they were still faced with violent opposition if they attempted to vote, or even to live equally in society.
In the 1920’s the woman’s rights movement arrived and was successful in getting woman the legal rights of men although there was much social consideration that inequalities still existed. In 1965 when the civil rights movement hit the country it inspired the American people to update their mindset to catch up to legislation. It was only at this point that African American men and women became de facto citizens of this country both legally and socially.
The most recent expansion of “We the People” was the lowering of the voting age to eighteen years old. With this final addition to an old idea now all adult men and women of this country could consider themselves to be legal and social equals with the same rights and restrictions as any other American citizen.
African Americans have received as much, or more social persecution in this country than any other cultural group. It took strong willed people of all races who disagreed with the way things were being done to change the legal and social makeup of a country. Public opinion is a difficult thing to change, especially when the opinion is one that had been reinforced by family members and even legislation for as long as you can remember. The stereotypes of African Americans were imbedded in the American people through the media and popular culture. It is no easy task to undo lifelong teachings, and change centuries of opinion.
In response to these many well-documented social injustices, some members of the African American community, along with others who shared their indignation at the system, decided it was time to take a stand no matter how small. Although when examined individually the acts of those like Rosa Parks can seem mundane or day to day, in the big scheme of things it was those little acts that began the process of changing social opinion regarding African Americans and what rights they deserved. The same can be said of the “Sit Ins”. It speaks volumes about how bad the segregation had become that the simple act of sitting at the counter in a restaurant could be seen at the time as open rebellion. The Jim Crow Laws were on the books from 1876 to 1965, and during that time it was the duty of police officers to enforce those laws just like any other. Therefore these early attempts to make a mockery of segregation were met by police brutality and an onslaught of the very social degradation that these freedom fighters set out to change.
To change the very infrastructure of a country it takes supreme efforts from those inside the system as well as those who fight against it. Although segregation was the law, there were many intellectuals and politicians who saw Jim Crow as a set of bad laws. Without the combination of strong people fighting from outside the system, and good people fighting within the system, the end of these legal forms of racism would have never been possible.
W.E.B. Du Bois and other African American intellectuals did more for their cause through their writing than they ever could have through public demonstration. Du Bois did not write to the white man asking for a new outlook on black people, but rather to his fellow African Americans, making the argument that they had to work for desegregation. Du Bois knew that radical changes needed to take place in every level of American infrastructure. Through his writing he told of how change was possible if the repressed worked within the system and tried to make wholesale changes to the very government of their country. If was these ideals of possibility that inspired a generation of African Americans to fight for all that they deserved. In 1965, Du Bois writings were still serving as an inspiration to those who finally had the opportunity to change the way America viewed African Americans. W.E.B Du Bois died in 1963. He saw a lifetime of work unfulfilled. It was only two years later that the Jim Crow laws that had so dearly hurt his people would be taken off the books forever. Du Bois never heard Martin Luther King Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln memorial talk to hundred of thousands of cheering supporters about his dream for a better future. Reverend King would have never had the opportunity, however, if Du Bois hadn’t been dreaming about the same thing almost a century before.
It is hard to say that one aspect of the civil rights movement was the cause of the end of segregation. Rather it was the collective efforts of a country to better itself that finally worked in unison to undo years of hate and stereotyping.
Today, as we move forward with the first African American president we are closer now than ever to a world in which a man can be judged on the strength of his character rather than the color of his skin. Barrack Obama is the most recent example of the things we are capable of if we can overcome our old prejudices, and work towards a more perfect country. There was a long time in this country when the idea of a black president would have seemed more than impossible, but there were those who believed it could happen. Racial oppression was the standard when this country was founded. Our founding fathers wrote that all men are created equal, but they were unable to live with the nobility with which they wrote.