African-American History

1 . Following the Civil War , there were millions of African Americans that had received

freedom and hoped to secure full and equal membership in society However , by 1900 , with the formation of new laws and the continuation of old customs in both the North and the South there was little hope that this would happen . In fact , the Americans of color were condemned to live in a segregated society that believed that their level of citizenship was below that of the white majority

The denial of the black man 's right to

vote was accomplished through legal maneuvering and violence . In the 1890s many southern states enacted steps to take away this civil right . Among these first steps were literacy tests , poll taxes , complicated registration systems , and finally progressing to Democratic Party primaries that were whites-only

2 . Marcus Garvey , born in Jamaica in August of 1887 , was an African American advocate . He believed that the blacks must stand up for themselves if there was to be a change in the social structure and subjugation of black people everywhere . More importantly he held a belief that black people everywhere would need to bind together to free the African continent from European colonial rule . His goal was increase involvement in the Back to Africa movement and form a nation just for black people

He formed the Universal Negro Improvement Association and worked throughout his life to bring opportunity and success to the African American people . Garvey also founded the Negro Factories Corporation to encourage black entrepreneurship in the United States . Despite being placed in prison he was able to continue leading the movement of an independent Africa . The United States government communed his sentence and forced him to leave

3 . A . Philip Randolph was a civil rights leader and the founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters . Randolph recognized the need for change when he struggled to find a job following his graduation from college . The realization that even with an education , he would be relegated to manual labor had a remarkable impact on him . He chose to campaign for the representation of black workers in the labor market and strove for equal job rights

In 1937 , after years of campaigning for the BSCP , Randolph saw a significant success . The Pullman Company signed with the BSCP essentially the first black union of the nation . Due to this success Randolph achieved greater notoriety and became a popular African-American advocate . This prominence became clear when Randolph was able to get the Executive 8802 issued by FDR . Randolph formed the March On Washington Movement to motivate a change in the labor market . The fear that there would be a surge of blacks into segregated Washington convinced FDR to issue this that created the Fair Employment Practices Committee . Randolph was known not simply for his accomplishments but for his integrity , both among blacks and whites 4 . Despite the decision to end segregation , it wasn 't until the mid-1950s that African Americans combined efforts...