19.1.1

Segregation & Discrimination

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Segregation and Discrimination of Black People in the USA

Black Americans faced discrimination and segregation solely because of their race.

Illustrative background for The North of AmericaIllustrative background for The North of America ?? "content

The North of America

  • Black Americans faced discrimination and segregation solely because of their race.
  • In the North, this was by discrimination in jobs, education and housing.
  • Black people were limited to having badly paid jobs, so they could only afford to live in the poorest areas, called ghettos.
Illustrative background for The South of AmericaIllustrative background for The South of America ?? "content

The South of America

  • In the South, segregation was enforced by Jim Crow laws.
  • These separated black and white people in all aspects of life such as education, housing and transport.
  • African Americans could be arrested, beaten and lynched (murdered) both if they did and if they did not follow these laws.
  • Southern states were allowed to enforce these laws because states could have their own laws, separate from federal (national) laws.
Illustrative background for Racism in the Deep SouthIllustrative background for Racism in the Deep South ?? "content

Racism in the Deep South

  • Many white people saw blacks as lazy, stupid and criminal and would not socialise with them in any way.
  • In the Deep South, policemen and judges were racist; black people could be beaten to confess to crimes they didn’t commit or imprisoned for no reason.
  • Black people were not allowed to sit on juries, and if a black person was murdered it was often not investigated.
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Assistance in wars

  • WW2 saw one million black soldiers fighting in segregated units, including a group called the Harlem Hellfighters.
  • At home, many worked alongside whites in factories to produce weapons.
  • The reliance on its black labour force embarrassed the US during the Cold War for claiming to be the leader of the free world while still treating their own black citizens so badly.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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