African Americans Status in 1890 Essay

There were many problems that African Americans faced in the 1890’s some of which still exist in today’s society. African Americans have come a long way and earned many rights but still live with the hardships that they had in the 1890’s. The status of African Americans at this time in United States history was not good. Blacks had a very hard time living especially in the south. The problems that blacks dealt with were primarily found in the south where they were not accepted. Segregation became huge across the entire south after the Supreme Court ruled that â€Å"Separate but equal† was legal in the Plessy v. Ferguson case. Everything was separate but it was almost never equal. Whites always had things better than African Americans did. Blacks could not ride in the same train cars as whites. The national government gave blacks the right to vote but southern state governments took away that right through the use of poll taxes and literacy tests. A big problem that blacks faced was trying to stay alive. Many blacks were killed for no reason during this period of time. Jim Crow laws were set up to keep blacks from enjoying the same rights and privileges that whites enjoyed everyday. The Ku Klux Klan was set up by whites who had hatred for blacks. Blacks in the south feared for their lives and their families’ lives everyday. It was certain that African Americans would be confronted by racism each and everyday in the south. Relationships between blacks and whites have greatly improved in the last century but things still are not perfect and it is unlikely that they ever will be. The greatest changes were made during the civil rights movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s when blacks stood up for themselves and gained their rights as American citizens. Laws were finally passed that made literacy tests and poll taxes illegal. Segregation came to an end after Brown v. Board of Education turned over the ruling made in Plessy v. Ferguson. There was no longer â€Å"Separate but equal†, it was now just equal. Although many big steps have been taken to stopping racism and segregation it still exists in our lives today. African Americans still see racism everyday even though they are now doing many things with whites. Blacks and whites have been able to peacefully interact with each other for decades but you still see newspapers talking about segregation and racism. The overall improvement has been very significant. Comparing today’s society to the 1890’s show a lot of good change yet there are still problems in our society with race relations.