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The ongoing struggle for equality: African Americans and women

Question: Through Harlem Renaissance movement African Americans received new spotlights. Through 19th Amendment (female suffrage) women gained greater influence in the American society. However both African Americans and women's status still remained inferior. Assess the validity of this statement using the following documents.



SK, you did well. I really like how you addressed the question, I really wished you could have used more outside information. I really liked how you used a majority of the documents. I just like how you discussed the effects and more analysis. Below is an example of good analysis: . "As Americans’ leisure time was more sufficient, women, as well as men, enjoyed many pastime activities including sports, dancing, and movies (Document A). However, all of these changes did not receive positive attention. Quite a few Americans, most likely men, opposed to having women vote and change so substantially; “Women should not and can not form a separate political party” (Document C). Granted, the women were still successful in gaining the right to vote, as the African Americans also experienced many changes in their lives."

T:8 F:7 A:9 D: 8

Annie :)

great job.

Your thesis was clear, yet the introduction did not really build in. It would be better if you have some more analysis of the time period and social atmosphere of the time period. Thesis: 7 Facts: 8 You mentioned specific date for female suffrage. Moreover, you included some famous figures like Louis Armstrong. Documents: 8 You used most of the document. Your analysis of documents was fairly good and comprehensive. Analysis: 7 It would be better if you give more direct analysis between the documents' themes and the social status of women and blacks.

**Doc A** Roaring Twenties: Flappers (video)
media type="youtube" key="3svvCj4yhYc" height="344" width="425"

**Doc B:** "Lament for the Dark Peoples" by Langston Hughes, 1924.
I was a red man one time, But the white men came. I was a black man, too, But the white man came. They drove me out of the forest. They took me away from the jungles. I lost my trees. I lost my silver moons. Now they've caged meIn the circus of civilization. Now I herd with the many-- Caged in the circus of civilization.

**Doc C:** "Are Women a Menace" //The Nation//, 9 Feb 1920
Women should not and can not form a separate political party. Women who agree on social welfare programs and equal citizenship rights may well disagree on the tariff and the League of Nations. But women have, unfortunately, certain jobs to do that will never be done through the direct initiative of the political parties. Until the citizenship laws are changed; until maternity is protected and compensated; until illegitimacy is abolished and the care of all babies assured; until birth control is legalized-until these questions and a dozen more attended to, there must be a vigorous, nonpartisan organization of women.

Doc F: Racism and the bitter memory of Reconstruction figured prominently in the 1920s Klan movement in Alabama:
//I am a very old lady, lived over my three score years; born and reared in the Deep South. I am an admirer of the Ku-Klux Klan because my Father was one of the great many who cleansed our public offices of Negroes, carpetbaggers, and scalawags.I can very well remember the Reconstruction Days when the White people of the South were oppressed and mistreated by this ungodly corruptible group. And it was this same group who hated the Ku Klux Klan of that time. . . .I have watched the Ku-Klux Klan in its ups and downs; I have also watched those who so bitterly hate this great organization; have found the haters alwayes hadsomething in mind they wanted to keep covered up, but they know each time when the Klan rises their evils will be uncovered. . . . I can remember my Fathersaying the Ku-Klux Klan will never die. "It was here yesterday, today, and forever." And I firmly believe God has a working hand through this great organization, for ifit wasn't for the Ku-Klux Klan in the Reconstruction Days, America would long have been a mongrelized nation. So today God sees the need of a Ku-Klux Klan as neverbefore a nation as full of corruptible filth as America has. . . . Instead of carpetbaggers and scalawags of years past, America has become infiltrated with worse. . . .[I]n the last thirty years Communism began to grow in America. It has set up fronts such as the N.A.A.C.P and other Jewish controlled organizations as peddlers to create hate and brainwash the minds of the American people [to]. . . just about destroy our Christian faith, our freedom of rights, and the American Way of Life. . . . [W]hen you find a hater of the Ku-Klux Klan check his record; watch him; he is full of corruption; he has something in store for himself and not for others. . . America needs cleaning. The evil ones are in power, as it was in the carpetbagger and scalawag days. Your Father and mine had the guts to clean America. Where are your guts?. . . The Ku-Klux Klan will never die and my prayer is this: O God, bless the Klansman that he may fight to keep America free from ungodly things forever more, and their race as pure as the Lily of the Valley. . . . God bless the Klansman, his home, his family, and his country. Above all, God, bless those who hate the Klan, for they know not what they are doing with their brainwashed minds, Amen.//

Doc I: The Stroll and the Jazz Age
The Stroll was the name given to State Street between 26th and 39th streets. In the 1910s and 1920s, it was the best-known street in African American culture, rivaled only by Seventh and Lenox avenues in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. The Stroll was jammed night and day. In the evening the lights blazed, and the sidewalks were crowded with patrons attending the jazz clubs and cafes. With the Stroll's businesses, such as the Royal Gardens Café (later renamed the Lincoln Gardens Café) booming, Chicago was America's jazz capital during the twenties. Musicians from New Orleans and other parts of the country followed their audiences to the city as part of the Great Migration. One of the most famous groups, King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band (1917–22), featured a changing lineup of great musicians, including the powerful instrumentalist Louis Armstrong.

**Doc J: History of African American Suffrage in the United States, Dr. MMcDonald1**
media type="youtube" key="JwzO3KphFi8" height="344" width="425"

Doc J: THE NEGRO SPEAKS OF RIVERS, by Langston Hughes
I've known rivers:I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flowof human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln wentdown to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turnall golden in the sunset. I've known rivers:Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. 1922

Courteney

Question: Through Harlem Renaissance movement African Americans received new spotlights. Through 19th Amendment (female suffrage) women gained greater influence in the American society. However both African Americans and women's status still remained inferior. Assess the validity of this statement using the following documents.

The “Roaring Twenties” of Twentieth Century America was marked by change and modernism in many social aspects. The Harlem Renaissance and the ratification of the 19th amendment are the most notable of the 1920s. It is a curious thing then, that although many positive changes took place, these changes failed to completely empower women and African-American to the status of White male Americans.

Women experienced a great empowerment of both their political, economic, and social status, particularly in the Roaring Twenties, but they were still considered inferior to White, American men. In the video clip, //Roaring Twenties: Flappers//, women are shown smoking, dancing, and doing other liberal activities that would have been deemed unacceptable before the early twentieth century--they gained more social liberties (Doc. A). In 1920, women won the vote, and thereby increased their political status to voters (Doc. D). From //Percentage of Women Employed in Professional Service Occupations// it can be inferred that the number of women in professional careers were rising, and along with it, their economic power and independence (Doc. G). In an article from //The Nation//, the writer addressed whether women should be allowed to have political liberties and form organizations; the writer argued that they had no choice, as no one would be willing to give them equality unless they actively opposed their current situation--although women gained many rights and liberties during this time period, they were still considered inferior which drove them to form organizations and vie for complete equality (Doc. C).

Although African-Americans did gain some rise in their status, it wasn’t official and far less than that given to women. The Harlem Renaissance was marked by talented African-American writers, artists, and musicians as well as pride in being a part of African-American culture. For example, Louis Armstrong was a talented and renowned Jazz musician of the Harlem Renaissance, and even White Americans who lived far away from “The Stroll” traveled far to hear him perform (Doc. H and Doc. I). Another talented output of this Renaissance is Langston Hughes, an African-American writer who wrote poetry on the status of minority groups in America--although his success and talent show the rise of Africans in America, the devastating situations he describes in them display their overall griefs (Doc. B and Doc. J). Away from the center of the Harlem Renaissance and crowded cities, rural communities responded to social and political change by means of violence and aggression. For instance, the //Lynching of William Brown in Nebraska// shows how some (mostly residents of farming communities or Ku Klux Klan members) wanted to preserve the old order and sometimes resorted to violence against weak minorities like African-Americans (Doc. F). Although African-Americans were gaining more status socially, it was often only in urban communities, and even there they were considered beneath and inferior to the White race.

The Roaring Twenties were definitely a time of social, political, and even economic change for women and African-Americans, especially in urban centers. However, these two groups failed to gain complete equality with White, male Americans. Although women were given the vote and experienced a social and political rise, they were still considered inferior. In the case of African-Americans, they were not given any official privileges although they proved to be just as talented and intellectual as other Americans as demonstrated by the Harlem Renaissance. In conclusion, the two groups had to fight for their liberties one step at a time whether big, as the vote for women, or small, like the display of talent and intellect.

T: 7 F: 8 D: 9 A: 8

Your thesis tells me what your opinion is, but it doesn't seem to be strong enough. "It is curious thing" this tells me that you are not quite sure. You could improve by stating some examples, for example change 'postive changes' into some examples that you might know. Great use of facts and you used all documents fairly well. Amazing Analysis

Annie Park Throughout history, African Americans and women were known to hold a lower status than whites and men. During the roaring twenties, however, this changed. African Americans and women gained a higher standing in society. Still, although both African Americans and women ascended in the social hierarchy, their positions remained generally low.

One of the reasons why African Americans and women were still looked down upon by whites and men was that they enjoyed having fun. The pleasure they took in doing normal routines was one part of their characteristics, but whites and men used this against African Americans and women as a flaw and practiced condescension on them frequently.

During this era, the image of women changed from homemaker to partygoer. Flappers, for example, started emerging from society – these women enjoyed fashion and dancing – they were basically hedonists. As shown in Document A, flappers spent most of their time dressing up and going out to dance parties, dressed in short skirts and with their hair tied up – they displayed an image that was bound to be criticized by the public.

Although society still condescended women, there were still a few significant achievements made by women. Looking at Document D, in August of 1920, women finally gained the right to vote. This would put them at the same level as men in terms of how much their opinion affected the government. In Document G, a graph of the percentage of employed women over a period of time, it’s apparent that the number of women with jobs continually increased throughout the roaring twenties.

As for African Americans, the roaring twenties was an era of opportunity. As shown in Document H, it was the time when a few African Americans, like Louis Armstrong, started to appear in the spotlight and gain some fame. That is a very big step up in comparison to just less than a decade before, when African Americans were lynched and severely mistreated (Document E). At that time, they were basically forced to conform to white American society and culture – in Document B, an African American person wrote a poem about how the white men took everything away from them - their belongings, their homes, their freedom.

As the decade of the roaring twenties went on, conditions for women and African Americans ameliorated. But although this was an era that was full of new opportunities for them, it was also an era in which they realized that changes could not be made so quickly. It would be long before women and African Americans would catch up to the status of whites and men, but the roaring twenties was most definitely a big step up.