Race Relations in America: A Historical Overview

After the Big War

After World War I ended in 1918, the United States was going through a very tough and confusing time. Imagine everything changing at once! Here is what was happening:

  1. A Big Sickness

    • There was a global sickness called the Spanish Flu that started in April 1919. It made many people very ill and caused a lot of worry everywhere.

  2. Searching for Jobs

    • Soldiers were coming home from the war, but the economy was not doing well. This meant there were not enough jobs for everyone. When people are worried about money and jobs, they sometimes start competing and getting angry with one another.

  3. Unfair Rules (Jim Crow Laws)

    • There were laws called Jim Crow laws. These laws followed a rule called "separate but equal." This meant that Black people and white people had to stay separate in schools, parks, and even on buses. This is called segregation. Even the leaders of the country at the time said it was okay, even though it was very unfair and not equal at all.

The Red Summer of 1919

In the year 1919, there was so much fighting and hurt that a leader named James Weldon Johnson named it the Red Summer. He used the color red to describe the violence because it was a very bloody and scary time for Black families across the country. It was an epidemic of unfair treatment where people were targeted just because of the color of their skin.

Hero Soldiers Coming Home

Black soldiers had just returned from fighting in the Great War in Europe. They were true heroes who helped save democracy in other countries. When they came back, they expected to be treated fairly and given the same rights as everyone else at home.

  • A famous writer named W.E.B. Du Bois said, "We return from fighting. We return fighting." This meant that since they fought for other countries, they were now going to work even harder to fight for their own rights in America.

  • Sadly, instead of being treated like heroes, many of these soldiers were met with mean attitudes by people who were afraid of change.

Moving to the City (The Great Migration)

Between the years 1915 and 1919, a huge group of 1,200,000 Black people moved from the South to big cities in the North and West, like Chicago. This was called the Great Migration.

  • Why they moved: They moved because they wanted better-paying jobs and to live in places where the laws were more fair.

  • The Problem: Because so many people moved so fast, some white people in the cities got worried about their jobs and acted mean and violent toward their new neighbors. This caused a lot of tension in neighborhoods.

Stories of Conflict

There were big fights, called riots, in many cities where people got hurt:

  1. Chicago

    • The city had many days of fighting where hundreds of people were hurt and buildings were damaged. It was a very chaotic time.

  2. Elaine, Arkansas

    • In this small town, Black farmers tried to join together in a group called a union to make sure they got fair pay for their hard work.

    • Instead of listening to them, white groups and even the local police attacked them. This was a very sad and cruel time where many people were killed just for wanting to be treated fairly.

Being Brave and Standing Up

Even though things were scary, Black Americans did not give up. They showed a lot of courage and started a new movement:

  • The New Brave Generation: There was a name for people who decided to stand up for their rights—they called themselves the "New Negroes." This meant they would not be pushed around anymore.

  • Working Together: People joined groups like the NAACP. They used the law, the courts, and newspapers to tell the truth and demand fairness for everyone.

  • Powerful Words: A poet named Claude McKay wrote a famous poem called "If We Must Die." It told people that even when things are very hard and scary, they should be brave and stand tall together. One part says, "Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back."