The Experiences of African Americans

This section explores the experiences of African Americans during the 1920’s. Following the abolition of slavery in the United States via the 13th Amendment in 1865, African Americans were formally granted citizenship in 1868 and the right to vote in 1870. However, despite these legal rights, African Americans faced systemic discrimination, social exclusion, and violence, which effectively denied them true equality and access to these freedoms for many decades.

Segregation in the Southern States

In the Southern states, the belief in white supremacy was deeply ingrained. Many white Americans in the South refused to recognise African Americans as equals, resulting in the creation of laws that enforced segregation—known as the Jim Crow laws. These laws institutionalised racial discrimination, particularly in the following ways:

• Separate facilities: African Americans were denied access to the same public spaces as white Americans, including schools, transportation, restaurants, and parks.
• Military segregation: Even in the armed forces, African Americans were segregated from white soldiers.
• Justice system: The legal system was biased, often giving preferential treatment to white Americans while reinforcing segregation.
• Economic exploitation: African Americans, particularly sharecroppers in the South, faced severe poverty due to exploitation by landowners. They were often trapped in a cycle of debt and dependence, making it almost impossible to achieve economic independence.

Many of the states that enacted Jim Crow laws were in the South, including Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia. While these laws were particularly severe in the South, racial discrimination was not confined to this region, African Americans faced prejudice and racist laws throughout the entire United States.

One of the major obstacles to overcoming segregation was the difficulty African Americans faced in exercising their right to vote. Despite being granted the right to vote through the 15th Amendment in 1870, many African Americans were systematically disenfranchised through measures such as poll taxes (which required payment to vote) and literacy tests (which many African Americans, due to poor education, could not pass). These barriers were designed to prevent African Americans from participating in elections and thus securing political representation.

A loophole in the voting laws, known as the grandfather clause, allowed many poor white Americans to vote. If their ancestors had been eligible to vote before the Civil War, they were exempt from the literacy tests and poll taxes. This clause, however, did not apply to African Americans, who had been enslaved before the war.

The Northern States and the Great Migration

In the early 20th century, many African Americans sought to escape the harsh conditions in the South and moved north in what is known as the Great Migration. They relocated to rapidly growing industrial cities such as Chicago, Detroit, and New York, hoping to find better job opportunities and escape the pervasive racism of the South.

While the North did not have the same formal segregation laws as the South, African Americans still faced significant discrimination. Racism in the North was often more subtle, but it was no less harmful. Many African Americans found themselves working in low-paid, menial jobs, with wages lower than those of their white counterparts. Due to poor education and a lack of access to opportunities, they often lived in the poorest areas of these cities, contributing to the creation of distinct African American neighbourhoods in places like Harlem in New York.

The Ku Klux Klan and Racial Terror

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a violent and terrorist organisation that aimed to maintain white supremacy through terror, intimidation, and murder. Initially formed in the aftermath of the Civil War, the Klan fell into decline in the late 19th century but experienced a resurgence in the 1920s.

One factor in the revival of the Klan was the release of the controversial film Birth of a Nation in 1915, which depicted the Klan in a positive light. As the Klan's popularity grew, so did its violence. By 1925, the Klan's membership had surged to approximately 5 million people, and they held a public rally in Washington, D.C. in 1926.

While African Americans were the Klan's primary targets, the group also terrorised other minority groups, including Jewish and Catholic communities. The Klan's actions were often aimed at maintaining social and political control through violence and fear.

Resistance and Activism

In response to the violence and injustice perpetrated by groups like the KKK, African Americans organised and resisted. Lynching, the practice of executing individuals without trial, was a common form of racial terror during this time. Over 400 African Americans were lynched in the 1920s alone, often for minor or fabricated offences. Local law enforcement frequently ignored or even tacitly supported these killings.

One of the most prominent activists campaigning against lynching was Ida B. Wells, a journalist and suffragist. Wells wrote extensively about the horrors of lynching and campaigned for a federal anti-lynching law, though it was never passed. In 1909, Wells helped to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a civil rights organisation focused on promoting equality and justice for African Americans.

Marcus Garvey and the UNIA-ACL

Another form of resistance during this period came from the advocacy of black pride and cultural identity, led by figures like Marcus Garvey. Garvey, a Jamaican-born activist, founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) in 1914. The organisation was dedicated to promoting unity and empowerment among people of African descent.

Garvey believed that African Americans should take pride in their African heritage and, in the long term, consider returning to Africa to establish a new homeland. His ideas, although controversial, were influential and laid the groundwork for later black nationalist movements. The UNIA-ACL had over 1,900 branches worldwide at its height and was a significant force for African American empowerment in the early 20th century.

The Harlem Renaissance

Despite the hardships they faced, African Americans were able to establish thriving communities and cultural movements. One of the most notable of these was the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural and intellectual movement based in the Harlem district of New York City during the 1920s. Harlem became a hub for African American artists, musicians, writers, and intellectuals who sought to celebrate their culture and challenge the prevailing racial stereotypes.

The Harlem Renaissance gave rise to a vibrant arts scene, particularly in the realm of jazz music. Jazz clubs like the Cotton Club in Harlem attracted large audiences, although segregation laws meant that only white people could attend as patrons. The performers, however, were almost exclusively African American, and the club became a symbol of the growing influence of black culture in American society. Key figures of the Harlem Renaissance included legendary musicians such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, who helped to popularise jazz across the nation.

The Harlem Renaissance was not just about music; it also had a profound impact on literature, with writers like Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston using their work to express the experiences of African Americans and to highlight issues of racial identity and inequality. This period marked a significant cultural shift in the United States and helped lay the foundation for the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s.

Despite the significant obstacles and violence faced by African Americans in the early 20th century, they demonstrated incredible resilience and created lasting legacies of resistance, cultural pride, and activism. From the Jim Crow laws and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan to the efforts of Ida B. Wells, Marcus Garvey, and the Harlem Renaissance, African Americans fought for equality and made crucial strides in their ongoing struggle for civil rights. Their experiences during this period were pivotal in shaping the broader movement for racial equality in the United States.