African American Experience: From Slavery to the Presidency

In 2008, the United States witnessed a milestone: Barack Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, became the first African American to be nominated for the presidency by a major political party. His subsequent election suggested that American society had finally surpassed some of the racial divisions that had plagued the country. But racial inequality persists and issues such as financial disparities between African Americans and other groups and protracted prejudice and discrimination still need to be confronted. This volume also celebrates the indelible marks made by African Americans on culture, speech, art, music, dance, literature, politics, law, athletics, and more.

Starting in the 1870s, Jim Crow laws began to appear across the South. Their aim was to enforce racial segregation, consolidating power in the hands of whites. This book examines the impact of these laws and other challenges that African Americans faced between the Reconstruction period and World War I. Topics discussed include the rise of groups promoting white supremacy, laws designed to quash African-American voting, Plessey v. Ferguson, the success of Booker T. Washington and the Tuskegee Institute, racially motivated riots, and the formation of the NAACP.

One of the most important chapters in American history, the civil rights era represents the path of recognition, acceptance, and lauding of one of America's greatest assets: its black American citizenry. This resource guides readers through the key events, successes, and trials of the civil rights movement, from the Montgomery bus boycott to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Though significant racial challenges remained even after the dismantling of legal segregation, that only makes studying the civil rights era all the more relevant for students in the twenty-first century.

This extensive guide details the political and economic forces that affected the expansion of slavery and how slaves, freed black Americans, and white liberal politicians fought for the freedom of slaves and for the basic rights of dignity and protection that they had not previously enjoyed under the law. The book sheds light on the collective and sometimes little-known contributions of African Americans to their own freedom and traces the economic disparity between the freed slaves and the rest of America, the rise of terrorism targeting African Americans, and the politics that eventually led to the Jim Crow era.

In this illuminating text, the origins of the slave trade in Africa and the effects of the practice of slavery on the political and economic history of the United States are explored. King Cotton, the slave hierarchy on southern plantations, the relationship of the slaveholders and slaves, the slave codes that regulated the absolute control of slaves, the ensuing slave rebellions, and the abolitionist movement and those who spoke out against the atrocities of slavery are among the many topics examined in this comprehensive historical resource. An informative timeline highlights key events and facts.

Away from the bustling nightlife of 1920s Harlem, a literary and cultural rebirth was taking place among African American writers, artists, and performers. Producing works that reflected the racial realities of the era between the end of the Civil War and the beginnings of the civil rights movement, these cultural luminaries helped define a new black consciousness. Readers will learn how the Great Migration and changing opportunities for African Americans informed the vibrant creative period known as the Harlem Renaissance. Bridging social and literary history, this volume provides an interdisciplinary overview and serves as a companion to multiple subject areas.