Connecting the past to the present for a better future.
In 1854, the senator from Illinois, Stephen A. Douglas revisited the question of slavery in the territories. He felt that the local people were in a better position to determine the needs of the region. He proposed a bill to organize the territory of Kansas. The crisis started when a plan was developed to bring …
After the Civil War, Southern states passed a series of laws that enforced racial segregation. A civil rights activist named Homer Plessy, a 36 year old mixed race shoemaker, challenged one law in Louisiana. He agreed to take part in an act of civil disobedience planned by a local civil rights organization. He was chosen …
The year was 1857 and James Buchanan was president of the United States. Three years prior, a case was brought before the Supreme Court. Slavery in the territories was a hot political issue. When I was a child, I vaguely remember hearing about The Dred Scott case from my Dad and older brother. As much …
In my previous posts, I wrote a lot of content about the black experience and painful struggle in America. As I learn more about the long struggle of black people and other people of color, I will try to include new information. There are many reliable resources available. Europe, Africa and the Americas were bound …
In 1919, my Dad was fourteen years old and living with his parents in Chicago, Illinois. He lived with his parents, siblings, and relatives lived in a mixed race neighborhood. He and his siblings attended integrated Wendell Phillips High School with Italian and other classmates. Years ago, his parents migrated from the South to escape …
World War I was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918. It was one of the largest and deadliest wars in history. America was a segregated society and black people were considered second class citizens. Many black people were of the opinion that it was unfair …
According to the book, The Negro Pilgrimage In America, by C. L. Lincoln, the dream of peaceful relations between the races in the South was challenged by outbreaks of racial violence. Riots, lynching’s and disenfranchisement of black people continued. Only one thing, a law that was fairly administered to all citizens could protect minorities and …
According to the book, The Negro Pilgrimage In America, by C.L. Lincoln, “Segregation presented the poor white with a psychological release so strong that he simply overlooked the common lot he shared with the Negro. Awarded social certification as the Negro’s superior, the poor white flaunted the “white supremacy” code because it artificially inflated his …
For years, Southern states benefited from convict leasing. This practice added millions of dollars in revenue to state and local governments. It lowered the tax rate for average citizens and generated money for infrastructure. The firms that hired out prisoners and the employers who worked them to exhaustion profited the most. It served as a …
In the book, The Negro Pilgrimage In America, the author C. L. Lincoln wrote “The Black person’s place in society became a matter of law in every Southern state during the 1890’s. The long legal history of racial discrimination and segregation in the United States antedates the Civil War.” Lincoln wrote that slavery has been …