Module: HST5317 Race in the United States: Slavery to Civil Rights
By: Mezhegan Dauod
The history of America is heavily intertwined with the notion of freedom and liberty. The history of Black Liberation is this essay’s focus. This essay will explore three forms of resistance deployed by Black Americans and assess and compare how effective each method was in relation to the impact it had on Black Liberation. Firstly, the passive means of resistance, such as running away from slavery and publishing anti-slavery works. Secondly, the active forms of resistance through the long Civil Rights Movement via their legal battles and civil disobedience. Lastly, the modern form of resistance, the Black Lives Matter movement capitalising on mass media to draw attention to their cause. These three forms of resistance will be compared on their effectiveness and success in achieving Black liberation.
Firstly, Black Americans resistance was deployed by the slaves. This was achieved by enslaved people running away from southern states and reaching northern states. As a result of this, bounties were placed upon runaway slaves with substantial rewards for the capture of these slaves. Despite this, 400,000 slaves had escaped from slavery by 1860. David Waldstreicher stated that ‘the act of running away itself challenged’ the notion of slavery. Given that enslaved people were considered and viewed as property, there were expectations that the enslaved people would return to the role that was expected of them. Thus, once they were captured, the enslaved people would return to their dictated role rather than an autonomous being. The greatest accomplishment of running away from slavery was the network of Underground Railroads created. These were safehouses for runaway enslaved people. A prominent figure was Harriet Tubman, not only a runaway slave herself but she also helped over 70 slaves runaway. However, this method of resistance was limited to the individual who were lucky enough to escape. Thus, this was not an effective means of resistance because if these runaway slaves were captured, they would have to return to their masters. The historical significance and bravery of the enslaved people who ran away cannot be ignored. These men and women who escaped faced uncertainty and lived in fear of being captured. However, despite running away being a form of resistance deployed by Black Americans, it was not a sustainable method. Unlike the active form of resistance deployed by both the Civil Rights movement and the All Black Lives Matter, which will be explored further on.
Another prominent figure who escaped slavery was Frederick Douglass in 1838 and was a prominent abolitionist and writer. Douglass’ publication of his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave sold over 11,000 copies. Douglass’ publication caused some sceptics to question the authenticity because they believed that a Black man could not produce such a high piece of literature. Douglas was the perfect example of defying the slaveholders theory that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity needed to assimilate into American society. Furthermore, the speech given by Douglass, ‘What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?’, drew parallels between slavery and when America was under British rule as a colony. Douglas’ speech immediately distances Douglas from his white audience by repeatedly stating ‘the birthday of your National independence’. This was to highlight that the Fourth of July was a day of celebrations for all Americans but could not truly be celebrated when so many were enslaved. Therefore, Douglass’ intellectual work was a form of passive resistance because it challenged the slaveowners' understanding of Black people and their capabilities. However, one shortcoming of both Douglass and Tubman was that their influence was relatively limited and not widespread. Thus, this limited the influence that Douglass had across the entirety of America.
The second form of resistance deployed and the most effective form of resistance was the active form of resistance. This is known as the Civil Rights Movement (CRM), the time period explored in this essay will be between 1954 – 1968. It was an organisation which aimed to end racial discrimination and gain equal rights under the law. The CRM has achieved many ground breaking accomplishments. As mentioned before, the short comings of the passive form of resistance was its inability to reach a wide audience and ability to achieve long-term and political change. The historical significance of the CRM was the passing of the Civil Rights Act 1964, which ended segregation in public places and put an end to employment discrimination on the basis on sex, race and age. Additionally, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed to ensure that that fifteenth amendment of the American Constitution was enforced by ending racial discrimination. Both these acts were monumental legal and political achievements by the CRM because it allowed Black Americans to be seen as equal before the law and was passed to safeguard Black American’s liberties. The Voting Rights Act removed any barriers meant to prevent Blacks from voting in the South such as literacy tests. The Southern States ability to prohibit Blacks were limited and diminished as the CRM progressed. Thus, the CRM was the most successful form resistance deployed by Black Americans because the CRM was able to achieve its goals effectively and through peaceful methods.
Furthermore, the most important historical achievement of the CRM was the Brown v Board of Education 1954 which overruled the Plessy v Ferguson Supreme Court ruling of 1896, which stated that schools could be separate but equal. It was a watershed moment in the CRM as it ruled against segregated schools because it was found that schools were ‘inherently unequal’. While the ruling stated that schools were to be desegregated with ‘all deliberate speed’ this was taken advantage of by Southern States as they delayed doing so. Despite this, the historical significance of the Brown V Board cannot be ignored as it managed to remove the biggest obstacle to Black Americans, the Plessy Ferguson ruling. This is because, a Supreme Court Ruling can only be overturned by the Supreme Court. Therefore, the CRM was the more effective form of resistance deployed by Black Americans because the CRM used a peaceful and legal methods in order to gain recognition. The other passive forms such as running away from enslavement was illegal at the time and risked Black Americans being forced back into enslavement.
Additionally, the CRM had great promise and potential as the CRM managed to deliver on both fronts. This was demonstrated through the success of their protests. For example, the Montgomery bus boycotts was highly successful because it led to the Browder v Gayle case. The District Court ruled that segregation on buses violated the Constitution. The boycott lasted from the 5th of December 1955 until the 20th December 1956. While it did take over a year for the bus segregation to be overruled, the bus boycott had great support from the Black community. The boycott also had detrimental impact on Baltimore’s economy. The boycott also created a sense of unity within the Black community as an effective system of carpools was created and Black car owners volunteering their vehicles for others. Therefore, the boycott was highly successful for two reasons. Firstly, it was able to achieve its goal of desegregation. Secondly, the high level of dedication of the boycotters paid off and united many black Americans under a common goal. Thus, the active form of resistance via protest was highly successful as it managed to mobilise the majority of the Black community within Baltimore. This was something which the passive form of resistance lacked; unity and widespread support.
The last form of resistance deployed by Black Americans is through the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. The BLM movement demonstrates the political maturation of the fight for Black American liberation. The movement reached the tipping point through the death of Mike Brown who was fatally shot by a white police officer and how his body was treated after his death, which sparked wide spread outrage. This led to many people protesting in the streets and standing down with the police. This was greatly effective for two reasons. Firstly, the police officer responsible for the death of Brown was forced to resign. Secondly, the protest was able to illustrate that violent policing does not simply occur in an isolated situation. The death of Brown was not the result of that individual police officer but rather as a consequence of the inequality which is present within American society. The success of BLM is enhanced by access to modern forms of communication such as social media. An example of this is Twitter, the hashtag has been used to trend and draw attention to cases of inequalities faced by Black Americans. The aim of the BLM is to demonstrate that all lives are not equal until Black lives matter. Thus, the BLM is successful in being able to effectively use social media to spread awareness for their cause.
Additionally, the BLM also shows the development of the fight for racial equality as the movement deals with modern forms of racism such as microaggression. This is was coined by professor Chester M. Pierce used to describe the insults and dismissals that were inflicted by non-Black people on African Americans motivated by prejudicial and derogatory opinions. Social scientists Sue DW et al. have described the microaggression as the ‘new face of racism’. Thus, the BLM movement has adapted to deal with this new form of racism by actively demanding that people in power such as politicians and celebrities to apologise for their microaggressive behaviour. For example, Donald Trump, president of USA came under fire for describing Baltimore as a ‘rodent infested…no human being wants to live’. Trump came under fire for his microaggression through social media. While this modern form of resistance is great in achieving immediate short-term changes such as the removal of violent and racist people from positions of power. Furthermore, there has been some resistance to the movement by stating that ‘All Lives Matter’, which demonstrates that the movement has not been able to coherently illustrate and communicate the aims, goals and messages of the movement.
In conclusion, the most effective and successful method deployed by Black Americans was active resistance carried out through the CRM. The CRM was able to work within the restrictive society and become successful through peaceful and legal methods as demonstrated by both the Montgomery Bus Boycotts and the Brown v Board ruling. Slaves running away from slavery was a great form of resistance but it lacked the wide range success that the CRM was able to achieve. Both the Voting Rights Act and Equal Rights Act were federal law and thus had to be enacted by all states. The BLM movement has been successful in achieving short-term and immediate results. However, the biggest shortcoming of the BLM is that it has not been able to generate nationwide police training to prevent police shootings. Despite this, the BLM has adapted to tackle the modern forms of racism effectively. Therefore, the CRM made the greatest headway for Black Liberation and protecting the civil liberties of Black Americans.