Running head: UNFAIR TREATMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS 1

Unfair treatment of African Americans

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UNFAIR TREATMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS 2

Unfair treatment of African Americans

African Americans have suffered unfair treatment for more than two centuries with

varying degrees. In some of these periods, the treatment of African Americans was utterly cruel

and inhumane (Heuman & Burnard, 2010). The suffering during the slavery and segregation

years is genuinely despicable. However, it is even more worrying to note that African Americans

are still suffering unfair treatment today, many years later. This is despite the significant progress

and efforts by the government to establish long-lasting change (Schweninger, 2020). The slavery

and segregation practices brought suffering to countless African Americans; the current

discrimination on a racial basis continues the negative legacy.

One of the earliest journal entries on African American slavery in America is dated

August 1619 where 20 African Kidnaped from Angola by the Portuguese were sold to British

colonists in the colony of Virginia (Schweninger, 2020). However, historians offer that there is

the likelihood that Africans were present in America as captives as early as 1400 within the

region that later became the United States (Schweninger, 2020). Unfair and cruel treatment of

slaves began right from the time of capture and transportation from Africa to America.

Business people in the slave trade were more focused on profits, and hence their focus

was to transport as many slaves as possible. The transportation ships were divided into small

rooms where slaves were bundled together, chained tightly to plank surfaces, and with little

space to move about (Schweninger, 2020). The conditions were unhygienic, and the individuals

suffered from dehydration and dysentery. It is no wonder that many died while on transit.

Historians estimate that about 20 million Africans were transported from Africa (Schweninger,
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2020). Once in America, they were sold off to their new owners, which meant more misery for

them.

Slaves supplied the much-needed labor in North American colonies, and they had to do

this for the rest of their lives. When the American Revolution took place, colonies in North

America broke away from the colonist to form the United States; Slavery was retained

(Schweninger, 2020). The Framers of the Constitution were also cautious not to limit the

practice. Under the constitution, slaves were considered as lesser people, and for the purposes of

taxation and representation, they were regarded as three-fifths of a person (Heuman & Burnard,

2010). Slaves worked in tobacco and cotton farms. Being owned properties, slaves had no voice,

and their entirely at the mercy of their owners. Slaves were exploited working from sunrise to

sunset, and even children were not spared, and they worked as well (Heuman & Burnard, 2010).

Slave families were usually split where members were sold off or sent to live and work in

different places (Schweninger, 2020). Overall, the slave life was unfair and cruel for African

Americans.

The question of slavery was one of the primary causes of the civil war. The northern

states had abolished slavery much earlier, but the southern states depended much on slave labor,

and settlers there were not ready to let go of the slavery institution (Schweninger, 2020). Among

other things, this led to one of the most significant internal conflicts in American history. At the

end of the war, the Northern States won, and slavery was finally abolished, which was made

official under the 13th Amendment (Schweninger, 2020).

The abolition of slavery was created hope for African Americans, and freedom meant a

lot to them. Under the 14th Amendment, the definition of citizenship was broadened where
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former slaves were to be granted equal protection under the constitution (Schweninger, 2020).

After abolition, there were efforts to empower the former slaves, like giving them land, but the

efforts went only as far. While black people had been given freedom, they literary owned

nothing and were therefore vulnerable. In the south, former slaves had low status, and the white

southerners were determined to keep it that way (Heuman & Burnard, 2010). As the order was

restored in the south and the states reestablished, civil authorities suffering for African

Americans became eminent. State governments there began to enact the infamous black codes.

These constituted a series of laws that had been designed to restrict what former slaves could do.

Such restrictions were to ensure that African Americans were available to offer their labor

(Luxenberg, 2019). While they were not slaves, African Americans set laws made sure that their

civil rights were at the minimum.

The 15th Amendment that came into effect in 1870 gave all American citizens, regardless

of their color or racial background, the right to vote. This saw African Americans winning

elections in southern states during the reconstruction period. The influence that the blacks began

to garner began to worry white southerners (Luxenberg, 2019). The result was the rise of

protective societies like the Ku Klux Klan that unleashed constant violence on blacks. The

efforts were to disenfranchise and suppress the African Americans so that they could not vote.

Within a few years, the blacks' political gains were reduced to nothing (Luxenberg, 2019). This

was made worse by the fact that they had attained no economic progress, and they had not

experienced any improvement in their social status.

White supremacy gained control in the southern, and segregation laws, popularly termed

Jim Crow laws, began to take effect in the post-reconstruction period. Segregation was put into

effect in every area taking African Americans as second-rate citizens (Luxenberg, 2019). Black
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children were to attend separate schools. Again, black Americans had to stay in separate hotels,

means of transport, and theaters, among other establishments, always getting the short end of the

stick (Luxenberg, 2019). Black movements ignited by notable personalities like W.E.B. Dubois

cropped up as African Americans sought to fight for their civil rights. African Americans'

movements on civil rights continued throughout the 1950s and early 1960s (Luxenberg, 2019).

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 supported racial equality and empowered the federal government to

protect American citizens from discrimination on race and religion.

All forms of segregation were ended, and African Americans could now attend

previously prohibited public accommodations. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

sought to facilitate equal treatment of African Americans among other minorities in the

workplace (Taylor et al., 2018). Equal voting rights were enhanced as biased registration

procedures that often sidelined African Americans were scrapped off as the Civil Rights Act

required (Taylor et al., 2018). Technically, discrimination continued, and African Americans

received significant hostility throughout the late 1960s.

Much has been done since then with laws and policies meant to improve the lives of

African Americans, but they still face racism, injustice, and discrimination today. Even after

America got its first black president, Barack Obama, African Americans continue to receive

unfair treatment on the basis of their skin color (Taylor et al., 2018). As recent studies show,

African Americans are more likely to receive unequal prison terms, inadequate healthcare, and

more prone to premature deaths. Another study has shown that 45 percent of African Americans

have been racially discriminated against in their effort to rent an apartment or even buy a home

(Taylor et al., 2018). Others have been discriminated against in job applications, equal pay, and

consideration for promotions. An issue that has been in the limelight is the interaction of African
UNFAIR TREATMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS 6

Americans with police; racial profiling has been cited several times (Taylor et al., 2018). There

have been series of killings of African Americans by white police officers, with the recent one

being that of George Floyd. The death of Floyd attracted protests unrest, and the police

responsible were held accountable, with the key suspect found guilty of murder (Taylor, 2021).

Overall, African Americans have undergone unfair treatment for generations, and while much

has improved, a lot needs to be done to stamp out traces of injustices and discrimination based on

race and skin color.

UNFAIR TREATMENT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS 7

References

Bleich, S. N., Findling, M. G., Casey, L. S., Blendon, R. J., Benson, J. M., SteelFisher, G. K., ...

& Miller, C. (2019). Discrimination in the United States: experiences of black

Americans. Health services research, 54, 1399-1408.

Heuman, G., & Burnard, T. (Eds.). (2010). The Routledge History of Slavery. Routledge.

Luxenberg, S. (2019). Separate: the story of Plessy v. Ferguson, and America's journey from

slavery to segregation. WW Norton & Company.

Schweninger, L. (2020). Unrequited Toil: A History of United States Slavery by Calvin

Schermerhorn. Civil War History, 66(1), 78-79.

Taylor, R. J., Miller, R., Mouzon, D., Keith, V. M., & Chatters, L. M. (2018). Everyday

discrimination among African American men: The impact of criminal justice contact.

Race and justice, 8(2), 154-177.

Taylor. D. B. (2021). George Floyd protests: a timeline. The New York Times. Retrieved from,

>https://www.nytimes.com/article/george-floyd-protests-timeline.html