Racism & the Titanic Struggle of the Colored People of America

the arrest and incarceration of any Freedom Riders who violated segregation ordinances.

It was just a couple of days later, on May 24th, 1960, that the Freedom Riders left Montgomery, Alabama for Jackson, Mississippi. Although they were protected by the Highway Patrol and National Guard, they were promptly arrested when they attempted to use the white-only facilities upon arrival. They were charged with trespassing and incarcerated in jails throughout the state, with some Freedom Riders even being imprisoned within the infamous Mississippi State Penitentiary, otherwise known as “Parchman Farm”. Shortly after, the Kennedys issued a state urging a ‘cooling off’ period due to the ongoing and escalating violence. They argued that these Rides and the turmoil which they had ushered into the country had become a source of embarrassment for the nation on the global stage. The United States had become the focus of international scrutiny for its dismal civil rights record, sparking widespread outrage which was contributing to the building pressure on American political orders to at last take action. Organizations such as CORE and SNCC criticized these calls for a ‘cooling off’ period, and their response was to create the Freedom Riders Coordinating Committee so that they could continue the Rides into the months ahead. More than sixty Freedom Rides were launched throughout the South from June to September, with more than four hundred Freedom Riders participating. They fought against not only segregation

in interstate transportation, but also in other aspects of public life, such as restaurants and hotels.

In September, the CORE and SNCC leadership began planning for the “Washington Project”, a mass demonstration which could potentially mobilize thousands of non-violent protestors within the capital city. The purpose of this demonstration was to apply pressure on the Kennedy administration to back the Civil Rights Movements. In the end, the Washington Project wasn’t necessary. Instead, the federal government petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to outlaw segregated seating, permitting passengers to sit wherever they may please, regardless of their race. On November 1st, 1961, ‘white’ and ‘colored’ signs were removed from terminals, drinking fountains, toilets and restaurants were no longer racially separated and lunch counters began serving customers of all colors.

THE LEGACY OF THE FREEDOM RIDES

The Freedom Rides of 1961 brought national and international focus to the Southern segregationists’ blatant disregard for their unconstitutional practices and their shocking acts of violence against black citizens. There’s no doubt that the Freedom Rides marked a

significant evolution in the strategies and approaches of the Civil Rights Movement. Importantly, civil rights leaders and activists realized that non-violent initiatives

could actually deliver positive outcomes, even in the face of violent opposition from white supremacists. The Freedom Rides also represented an unprecedented level of engagement between the federal government and Civil Rights Movement leaders, something which resulted in tangible and meaningful outcomes.

Moreover, the Freedom Rides inspired participation within other civil rights campaigns directed towards racial equality and justice. These campaigns included voter registration in the South, freedom schools as well as the Black Power movement. In the years and decades to come, the magnitude of what the Freedom Rides had achieved would only become more apparent. In 1964, the passage of the Civil Rights Act officially outlawed racial discrimination within public and private facilities. The following year, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed in order to outlaw discriminatory voting practices. Reaching these milestones was far from straightforward, with various activists facing physical violence, imprisonment and even murder as they fought for their rights to reside as equal citizens in America. The Freedom Rides were pivotal to the Civil Rights Movement. The horrific injuries and suffering which were inflicted upon the Freedom Riders shocked and disappointed many Americans throughout the United States. The problem of racial segregation in interstate travel, as well as within other aspects of public life, was brought to the forefront of the American political, religious, and moral conscience. Indeed, John Lewis, who happened to be one of the thirteen from the original group of Freedom Riders, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986. As a Democrat, Lewis continued to represent the district of Georgia until his death in 2020.

A MODERN PERSPECTIVE

The story of the Freedom Riders, and the trials, tribulations, and challenges that they faced, is incredibly evocative and thought-provoking. Something which should resonate strongly with the collective conscience upon closer inspection is the realization that a long and arduous path still stretches out before us when it comes to attaining true racial equality. The momentum for the movement that promised to inspire and instigate radical social changes during the 20th Century can’t afford to lose any impetus, especially in these fraught times.

Arguably, revolutionary change has never been more necessary. The era of legislated and overt racism may have become a bleak memory of the past, but the undertones of racial discrimination and marginalisation are present in one form or another in every component of contemporary society. Fundamental institutions such as education, justice, politics, and entertainment continue to perpetuate stereotypes, beliefs and attitudes that undermine the identities and histories of

the Black Community.

A truly equal society would be one where an individual’s experiences in the public and private spheres are unaffected by the color of their skin or ethnic roots. Addressing the invisible and unspoken manifestations of racism in homes, communities and institutions will require a thorough dismantling and restructuring of the ideologies upon which modern society has been founded. Remembering the legacy of the Freedom Riders is critical because it is a legacy which must be honored and fulfilled to this day.

RACISM

RACISM

& THE TITANIC STRUGGLE OF THE COLORED PEOPLE OF AMERICA FROM SLAVERY to the ABOLITION

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

- Transcription Declaration of Independence.

For over a hundred years, racism – the blatant elevation of one race over another – continues to thrive in the United States. The evidence is everywhere; from the incarceration of predominantly black males and the skewed treatment of different races by law enforcement to economic opportunities and outright

denial of basic rights; Black people continue to suffer under the heavy shackles of racism. The preponderance of racial injustice in the 21st century is an anomaly that should not be discussed, yet the same issues dominate headlines.

The murder of a Black man by Officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis in 2020 shows that even currently in our existence, racism still has a firm footing in the United States. George Floyd’s death led to widespread outrage and ignited the Black Lives Matter Movement one that was so massive that it reverberated around the world. Yet, what changes has that brought us? Has that by any means unraveled the intricate thread of racism that has been woven deep into the fabrics of a nation that professes to be g

a haven for people of all races and colors? It may be too soon to answer these questions, but the one thing George Floyd’s death proves is the existence of the monster of racism.

Racism can be traced back to the 16th century when more than 10 million people were taken from Africa to the American Coast in what has become known

as the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. The number of

slaves transported out of Africa climbed to 30,000 in the 1690s and was nearly tripled in the century that followed. By 1790, there were about 700,000 slaves in the United States which accounted for about 18

percent of the country’s population at the time. These African men and women were forcefully uprooted from their original homes and brought to the Americas specifically to do grunt work. These slaves would work and toil in American fields, helping to lay the foundation of an economy that benefit current dwellers; they toiled in the cotton fields, rice, tobacco, and plantain plantations in several parts of the new world. Slave owners also made money from trading their slaves, with humans marketed as mere commodities.

Inhuman treatments, mutilations, whipping, branding with hot irons, rape, murder, and other despicable acts were inflicted on these people. It was even worse for the slaves who tried to escape, Thomas Brown, a South Carolina slave speaking about his experience said; “I was severely punished by a board cut full of holes to raise the blisters, then I was whipped with a strap to burst the blisters, which were then salted and peppered. This burned me very badly.” Bill Collins, an Alabama slave spoke of the cruelty of his master; “He would buckle us across a log and whip us until we were unable to walk for three days.” There are more stories like these, of slaves, whipped to death by their masters and more. There were instances of rape, owners sleeping with their female slaves and in some cases getting them pregnant.

There are records of slave rebellions most of which

were unsuccessful. With the weight of the inhumanity, slaves like Thomas Brown would attempt to flee from g

African Americans harvesting cotton. Illustration originally published in Hesse-Wartegg's "Nord Amerika”; Swedish edition published in 1880.

their masters and their punishment was similar or worse than above, severe enough to deter another attempt. Frederick Douglas was one of the slaves that made a daring yet successful escape from slavery, but his case was one in a million and was not enough to motivate many slave escapes because there were more failures than there were successes and slave owners made a

point of making bad examples of escaped slaves.

Freed Black slaves would form the core of the Abolitionist

Movement, a movement determined to see the end of slavery. This could be the first legitimate organized black movement for the freedom of black slaves in America. Several events, including the Civil War, would contribute to the ongoing discussion about the abolition of slavery. Freedom was granted to slaves on the 1st of January 1863, but that was only to slaves willing to fight in the Civil War. The 14th Amendment would grant citizenship rights to slaves, including the right to vote which would come in the 15th Amendment, but all these rights were overlooked by the Whites who still retained their superiority complex and looked upon Blacks as racially inferior.

THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Freedom did not taste as good as it sounded for Black people who were free only in words. The titanic struggle

to be recognized as full-blooded humans first and then as full-blooded Americans raged on for several years after the abolition was fully achieved. Blacks were still marginalized economically, in education, employment, housing and otherwise and treated as second class citizens even after

the 14th and 15th Amendments granted them citizenship rights. This bid to overcome racial ill and topple the institution of slavery remained the primary motivators of the Civil Rights Movement.

The Jim Crow Laws, which were designed to keep Black people in further darkness, was established in the 1870s. These laws separated Whites from Blacks and simply meant that Black people could not use the same public facilities as Whites or go to the same schools, live in the same towns, or marry. Black people could not vote either. It was the height of the whole inhumanity as this division showed how the white community viewed the freed slaves.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois or W.E.B Du Bois would become a prominent voice for racial equality in 1909. He, alongside some prominent Black Leaders and White Americans who were in support of equal rights, would form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored

People (NAACP). This organization fought to secure equal employment, education, housing, and other opportunities g

for African Americans. The pressure from this organization and other like organization led to the executive order against employment discrimination from Franklin D. Roosevelt.

By the 1950s the Civil Rights Movement had taken on a more energetic turn, becoming a flaming inferno as the Blacks began a wider agitation for equal rights and inclusion. There was a student walkout led by 16-year-old Barbara Johns at Virginia High School which led to the decision from the Supreme Court to end segregation in the school system. People of all types were involved in the movement, it was not divided by age or education, which is one of the reasons why the movement was successful.

Matters came to a head on the 1st of December 1955 when

Rosa Parks stood up against segregation. When the bus driver asked Rosa and three other Black people to stand for some white men who could not find a seat in the white

section of an Alabama bus, she refused to get off her seat. Her subsequent arrest would ignite a fiery Civil Rights Movement that would change the course of history. The massive boycott and protests that followed were major catalysts that changed the American landscape. The Bus Boycott would last from December 1955 to November of the following year, almost a whole year before the Supreme Court ordered the desegregation of the bus system. Martin Luther King, Jr. became the spearhead of Black Advocacy and his non-violent style of agitation and won several people over to the fight for equality. Besides himself, there were other prominent Black Leaders involved in the Civil Rights Movement including Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Malcolm X, and many others who helped to change the course of history.

There were other movements and protest to completely kill the Jim Crow Laws. Most of the segregation issues, whether it is in housing or business were gradually torn down between the 1950s and 1960s. There was a sit-in organized by kids in North Carolina where they went into the white neighborhoods where blacks were not welcome. And the Freedom Rides that were a series of political protests segregation by Blacks and Whites who rode buses together through the American South in 1961. The Civil Right Act was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. It would be expanded to include voting rights in 1965. The Civil Rights Act abolished all segregation based on race, religion, or national origin in all places of public accommodation like courthouses, parks, restaurants, theatres, sports grounds and more. Blacks were free to live wherever they wanted, work wherever they desired and go to school wherever their cognitive capabilities could get them a place. No restaurant, drugstore or service provider could deny a man service because of the color of their skin.

It was not the end, but that little victory will lead to several other laws aimed at making the American landscape a fair playing field for people of all races and all colors.

“The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 represented precisely such a hope; that America had learned from its past and acted to secure a better tomorrow,”

- Aberjhani

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY RACISM AND A CONTINUED STRUGGLE

While the abolition of slavery and the passing of the bills that set African Americans free happened several years ago, Black people are still struggling under the heavy weight of racism. There had been a migration from the overt evil we have come to know to something more insidious and institutionalized. In the early days, this evil was out there for everyone to see but now the wickedness continues to thrive in the shadows, the shackles are still there, holding the Black man down in places where his voice cannot be heard no matter how loudly he yells.

The most blatant signs of racism can be found in the place where African Americans would have sought protection in the first place, in the justice system. Where would a man seek justice if the courts gfail him? Statistics show that African Americans are

five times more likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts. This does not necessarily mean that there are more criminal tendencies in the Black people than in White. Studies have shown that contrasting racial policies, practices and beliefs are the major reasons behind the incarceration of several Blacks and others. Of course, there is no possible reason why White people are the less incarcerated people in the whole system.

In such states as Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, Vermont, and Wisconsin, the incarceration of Black to White people occurs at a rate of 10:1, double what you get from most of the other states sitting at a much-skewed rate of 5:1. In twelve states of the United States, 1 in 20 adult Black males are in prison. The statistics show a decidedly imbalanced justice system that seems to stereotype and incarcerate a particular race most times, without due diligence. How do you reconcile the fact that in twelve of the fifty states, more than half the prison population is Black?

Statistics from the United States Department of Justice provided statistics that measured incarceration rate from 1978 – 2014 which showed that

African Americans are incarcerated at the rate of 1,408 per 100,000 residents while Whites are incarcerated at the rate of 275 per 100,000 residents. The system keeps more Black people in shackles, not because of proven crimes or anything that is remotely related to the maintenance of the people’s safety, instead, we have a racial bias at the forefront of it all. The skewed image these particularly disturbing statistics paint to the uninitiated is that Blackness is synonymous with criminal activity. One may argue that the rates above are old and out of date, but research findings published in 2018 shows there were 2,272 inmates out of 100,000 Black men. These statistics will become particularly disturbing if one understands the fact that whites make up about 63 percent share of the U.S. adult population while blacks held only 12 percent, these numbers that are sharply reversed when the prisons are mentioned.

The racial stereotyping and the institutionalized racism that has led to more incarceration of Blacks have been a part of the intrinsic narrative which has led to wrong sentencing for many. There is an unstated bias existing in the justice system which continues to put away Black men while protecting Whites. The privilege enjoyed by a particular section of the community continually impoverishes another section, of course, there are other disadvantaged groups but there is no more disadvantaged group than the Blacks.

Racism in the workplace is still an issue, as blacks are often left with poor jobs and are underrepresented in management positions. Currently, only 8 percent of management roles are occupied by Blacks while only 3.8 g

Side view of group of people activists with raised fists protesting on streets, protests demonstration and coronavirus concept. October 2020.

percent of Blacks are CEOs, 85 percent of executive board positions are occupied by Whites. Research published on Harvard Business Review shows that only 2.4 percent of executive committee members in the United States finance

companies were Blacks, while there were only 1.4 percent Blacks in a managing director role. In the education sector, only 7 percent of higher education administrators were Black. The discrepancies can be found in all sectors of the United States economy, from businesses, law, politics and elsewhere. The African American people were always kept on the wayside, like discarded goods that would not be applied elsewhere.

The worst indicator of modern racism in the United States

is found in the numerous Black deaths experienced at the hands of law enforcement officers. The brutal murder of

Black men in the hands of police officers might number more than Black people saved by the police. Eric Garner was wrestled to the ground in 2014 by a New York Police Officer on the suspicion of selling cigarettes illegally. His life was lost based on suspicion alone. He was recorded as saying “I can’t breathe” eleven times, a phrase that was recorded once more in the events of 2020. On the 22nd of November 2014, Tamir Rice was shot dead in Cleveland, Ohio by a police officer. The heartbreaking part of Tamir Rice’s case was that he was only twelve-years-old. The shooting occurred after a report of a juvenile pointing a gun which was probably fake at passersby. The officer who shot Tamir reported that they had asked Tamir to drop the weapon but instead of dropping that, he pointed it at the police.

Imagine a White kid of the same age pointing a fake gun at passersby, would the officers have reacted in the same way? There is a bias that made the officers react that way, the institutionalized racism that made grown men scared of a child is one that clearly shows the problem of the system. The saddest part of this evil remains that none of the officers who murdered Tamir were ever brought to justice. The Justice Department Announced the closing of investigation into 2014 officer involved shooting in Cleveland, Ohio stated on December 29, 2020; The Justice Department announced today that the career prosecutors reviewing the independent federal investigation into the fatal shooting of Tamir Rice on November 22, 2014, in Cleveland, Ohio, found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges against Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) Officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback. The department notified counsel for Mr. Rice’s family of the decision and sent a letter to Mr. Rice’s family explaining the findings of the investigation and reasons for the decision.

In 2015 Walter Scott was stopped in North Charleston, South Carolina for having a defective light on his vehicle. The struggle ended with Walter Scott getting five bullets in the back, receiving a punishment that was not commensurate with his crime. Alton Sterling would be killed in Louisiana after police responded to a disturbance call outside a neighborhood and just like most, the officers involved did not face any criminal charges. Philando Castile lost his life during a routine check. According to his girlfriend, Philando was only reaching for his license.

Two recent deaths would spike the Black Lives Matter Movement. Breonna Taylor was shot eight times when police officers raided her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky. They had arrived to execute a search warrant as part of a drugs raid, but no drug was found in her home. George Floyd was the next and most prominent of the Black people to lose their lives in the hands of White men. The police arrested him in Minneapolis and thrown on the ground and while the officer had his knee of George’s neck, the victim was recorded as saying; “I cannot breathe.”

Hours later video footage the incident was shared across several social media platforms and soon after people across the globe would join the agitation for the officers involved to be brought to justice, and there was a loud call for an end to police brutality and racism in the United States. It became the biggest Black Movement to date because the officers involved were exposed on global platforms and people across the U.S. protested and demanded that these accused officers were to be held accountable. On May 29, 2021 the Hennepin County attorney, Mike Freeman, announced thirddegree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges against Derek Chauvin, the officer seen most clearly in witness videos pinning Mr. Floyd to the ground. On June 3, 2021 Hennepin County prosecutors added a more serious second-degree murder charge against Mr. Chauvin and charged each of the three other former officers — Thomas g

A pair of shackles from the time of slavery.