The power the white society held over the African Americans was strong. Blacks were held as captive slaves to the whites for more than 200 years. The blacks were treated as though they had not been human, just because of their color. As time goes on, African Americans start to realize that it is not supposed to be this way, they must have the same rights as whites. Slowly, the black society began to reach out the rebel. The fight for their freedom was a long challenging process. It started with slavery, rebellion to want their freedom and the challenge of fighting for their freedom once they got a taste of it. African American’s wanted to be free from slavery and segregation, so they took their stand. 

Slavery has always been a problem in the world, but 200 years ago, it was the norm in America. America’s start in slavery was in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 (History 1). At that time, African Americans would be captured from their own country and sold  regardless of their intentions and literally shipped to the America’s packed head to toe. The blacks would be on the ships, chained together for a couple months at a time during the trade. If someone was sick or needed to use the restroom, they used it right where they were, eventually leaving a massive death count. Once they were transported to America, African American slaves would be bought and traded to the white dominance. It is thought to believe that between six and seven million slaves were transported to Jamestown (History 2). Blacks would go home with their new master and begin working. Jobs varied for the slaves: house maids, cooks, field slaves and butlers. Almost all slaves had been whipped or beaten, never treated well. As time went on, the African American slaves began to understand that it did not have to be that way, they were human too, and skin color doesn’t determine power.

African Americans decided to take a stand for their independence. In the 1860’s, most laws that segregated the blacks were gotten rid of. Since the Republican Party was primarily founded to abolish slavery it only made sense to have the Republicans want to remain a part of society (Paielli 1). There was segregation all over the united states but there was a difference between northern and southern legality regarding segregation (Burson 36). Blacks could vote but whites would make them pay a poll tax or take literacy tests. By doing this, it kept the blacks from taking part in the society and it kept them for voting for the Republican Party. As the years went on, segregation was still tough on the blacks, even though they were free of ownership of a white man, and they were not free and equal to do the same as a white man. In the 1960’s, the Jim Crowe laws were enforced and they depicted anti-black social racism. Further on, African Americans began to speak out about the nonsense. They are free but they are not equal, so they wanted their equality.

Stokely Carmichael is an example of someone who spoke out for the Black society. Carmichael went to school in Washington D.C. at Howard University. He was a black freedom activist who created the slogan “black power”. Unlike Martin Luther King Jr., Carmichael leaned more towards the approach of Malcolm X who was a violent protestor. Carmichael was a part of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, although he later changed “nonviolent” to “national”. Through changing the title, it is implied that he became a violent protestor. Carmichael’s “Black Power” speech talks about how it is not right nor is it fair that the blacks are the minority, basically still being treated as property, just because of their skin color. He says, “We are oppressed because we are black.” (Fisk, 317) meaning the because of their physical appearance differences they are not equal. Carmichael refers to slavery with this quote explaining that “it all started because one man decided another man was lesser because of his skin.” The African American population knew that segregation was wrong, and that color should not be a criterion to define one man from another. 

The white supremacy over the black minority is what obviously caused these unfortunate sequences of events. The segregation between the two races has been almost eliminated, although there is still slight segregation between social groups. The African American society has come a long way in their efforts to become free and equal. The peaceful protests and some violent protests have been effective in the efforts of becoming equal. All of these factors are important because they help to show the way America was shaped

 