Nowhere is this more evident than in the Trayvon Martin case. The national media had convicted George Zimmerman from day one without having a fraction of the evidence that the police originally had. They painted a portrait of racial hatred where there was absolutely no evidence to suggest this. They have tried to intentionally incite racial division the whole time. George Zimmerman had been a mentor to a black child. Hardly the actions of a racist, but this fact wasn’t mentioned very often.  Old photos of Travon were presented showing a young innocent teenager, while a mugshot of George Zimmerman was the only picture to be displayed. There were pictures of Zimmerman in a tie, but in no way could Zimmerman be presented to be a respinsible hardworking citizen. One thing is certain. Zimmerman has no chance at a fair trial. The only acceptable outcome for the media and certain minority groups is a conviction.  This is not the type of justice that this country was founded on, and it’s very frightening to think that it may soon be illegal to defend oneself against a violent attacker.

According to a number of crime experts, lawyers and other notable personalities, George Zimmerman should have been arrested the very night the shooting took place. However, the police ignored a lot of vital procedures and information that could have shined more light on the occurrence of that evening.

Trayvon Martin was targeted by Zimmerman as a suspicious looking black person acting strange and wearing a hoody in the rain. But the facts are that Trayvon Martin was just an unarmed black teen walking from a convenience store with a bag of skittles and a bottle of tea.

Like thousands of minorities across the United States, Trayvon Martin was a victim of racial profiling. It occurs when a person is judged negatively based on skin color, clothing type, language and education as well as other outward eternities.

Racial profiling is a result of misinformation or negative experiences accumulated over time regarding a certain race or group of people. Whoever represents this race or group of people are targeted on a night and day basis. Countless incidents of racial profiling, some deadly, are reported daily across the country. Place does not matter. Racial profiling occurs in the South as well as in the North, directly and indirectly.

Racial profiling can result in a number of misfortunes, including mental and psychological stress, exclusion from the mainstream of society, physical assaults as well as death. In the sixties, massive marches, beatings and death were common outcome of racial profiling. Who would have thought massive marches are still relevant regarding the same issue in the 21st century?

So what’s the solution? The only way to deal with racial profiling in American is to recognize that it is still a major factor in American society today.  Trayvon Martin’s shooting and possible cover-up is a living testimony that has burst through the anonymity of social media to challenge the hearts of all Americans. This problem will not go away. If it is ignored it will escalate. Trayvon Martin’s voice will continually call out for help until significant change occurs in this nation. Therefore, Americans must come together in honest dialogue to find a solution which will allow all to live in peace and harmony or as close to it as possible.

In order to deal with the problem of racial profiling, educational programs dealing with Race and Understanding must be developed in communities across America. These programs must emphasize how working together as citizens of a neighborhood or community is the key to building a strong and thriving nation. A common purpose must be established in the minds and hearts of all Americans who desire to represent good citizen hood of this nation. Individuals who resist racial acceptance will be part of the problem, regardless of race or color. Seeking unity is the only way. Trayvon Martin’s death could be a prelude to a massive transformation of the American consciousness regarding race or the gradual downfall and decadence of a nation operating against the very idea it stands for: equality and freedom for all.  

One must be living in a cave on Mars to not have heard of what went down; Zimmerman shooting Martin after following him due to the young man looking “suspicious”, wearing a hooded sweatshirt while carrying nothing but a can of iced tea and a pack of Skittles candy, with Zimmerman calling 911 and the dispatcher telling him to not follow Martin, but the neighborhood watch captain not only disobeying the dispatcher’s request, but getting into a confrontation with the high school student which eventually led to his death.

Zimmerman, in a recent interview, said that the killing was in self-defense as Martin was fighting with him, pounding his head on the pavement, breaking his nose, and going for his gun. 

However, several factors dominate my opinions in this issue:

1.  Regardless of what the African American teen was doing to the 28-year old Zimmerman, that does not justify ending someone’s life. Despite Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law that says it’s OK to carry and use a gun to protect oneself, no matter what Martin may have done to “provoke” Zimmerman, it was Zimmerman who murdered that poor – and as it turned out, unarmed – kid.

And no matter how anyone slants or angles it, murder is murder.

2.  As was stated, the 911 dispatcher, when told that Zimmerman was following Martin as he was walking home from the convenience store, told him “You don’t need to do that”; in other words, he didn’t follow the dispatcher’s directions and continued to follow the teen, heading for the inevitable confrontation.

Putting it plainly, if Zimmerman had obeyed the 911 dispatcher, Martin would be alive today, and I wouldn’t be writing this article.

3.  This is a very important question that one must ask:

If Trayvon Martin were white, and especially if he were a 17-year old white female, would he have been followed or have been under suspicion?

I firmly believe that at least 98% of the population (including me), white and other races as well as black, would have answered the above question with a huge “NO!”

Zimmerman has stated that he is not a racist, but the fact that he felt that a young black male teenager walking around a well-kept gated community and wearing a “hoodie” was “suspicious” tells me otherwise; that despite what he has said, he harbors racist feelings.

And though he may not realize it, that makes him a racist at heart.

4.  It seems that the media, at least in some circles, is indirectly portraying Martin as, well, not exactly the helpless victim here as reports have surfaced of not only him fighting with Zimmerman, but of him being suspended from school because an empty bag that contained marijuana was found among his belongings.

To put it another way,  it seems to me that some folks are portraying Martin as a thug of sorts who brought his death upon himself, which would NOT have been the case if he were a teenage white cheerleader or some other upstanding young white person.

And that, I feel, is another form of racism, as I haven’t heard any media speculate that perhaps the young man was feeling threatened by Zimmerman and felt that he was acting in self-defense when he was fighting him.

Ultimately, none of this surprises me as American history is full of many instances of black men getting racially profiled, being thought of as criminals and treated like less than human beings by police and others like Zimmerman because of the color of their skin.

I can speak from personal experience, having been racially profiled several times while I was in my 20s during the 1990s, including getting handcuffed in front of my house due to my “fitting the description” of some stalker. 

The big difference in my experiences was that I didn’t fight back at my town’s cops, which was a good thing as who knows where I would be today if I had acted like Martin.

As for all of the protests of this senseless act going on across America, including the Reverend Al Sharpton leading the protest in Sanford and people of all races wearing hoodies in solidarity (including the NBA’s Miami Heat), it warms my heart that whites as well as blacks are deploring what Zimmerman did and calling for justice. But…

I am concerned that to many, if not most whites, will make the mistake of this murder defining what racism is in this country, much like the Ku Klux Klan burning crosses, or bigots saying the “N” word, or African Americans not being able to sit in a lunch counter – those are only outward examples of blatant racism and does not go into what racism is, which is rooted in what people feel in their hearts.

It is easy to wear hooded sweatshirts and condemn tragedies like Trayvon being killed, but it’s what is in the heart that truly defines whether or not one is a racist, and people need to keep that in mind and look into their own hearts in this matter.

Meanwhile, while putting Zimmerman in prison and having the Sanford police chief fired will not being Trayvon Martin back, it absolutely must be done in order to bring justice.

As was said, regardless of the circumstances, murder is murder.

And if I were Trayvon’s family, I would waste no time in suing Zimmerman and the Sanford police force for everything they have, and millions more, in civil court.

After all, if O.J. Simpson can be found liable in the death of his ex-wife Nicole and Ron Goldman, despite him being acquitted of those infamous murders in 1995, then Zimmerman can easliy be found guilty of the same – and so needs to be.

Summing all of this up, it goes without saying, of course, that my pronounced sympathies goes with the Martin family, and I dearly hope that justice is done.

Just think about the parents who have lost their child because because of an over protective citizen. The man could have wanted to be a law enforcement officer and that was his chance. The whole thing is quite upsetting and deserves much more attention. An innocent life is taken because of over reaction. This doesn’t sit well with me and if I have to I will walk with freedom rights activist, civil rights activist and the president. I do not tolerate any form of racism and refuse to sit quietly when our children are being killed in their own neighborhood. 

What if it was your child or your relatives child?  Would you really feel comfortable sitting back and allowing such actions to take place? People are becoming careless and hiding behind their discriminating ways to continue with harmful actions. Something needs to be done and I believe change will surely come. It may not be the 50’s or 60’s but some things changed and some stayed the same. It takes actions other wise the words are meaningless. Lets protect our children and pray that they make it home safely. Just because it is said that one is Innocent doesn’t mean it is so.

African Americans inspite of adversity and limited opportunities played a significant role in U.S. Military history over the past 300 years. Many believed they lacked qualifications for combat duty and were therefore denied military leadership roles and skilled training. African-Americans were barred from flying for the U.S. Military before 1940, civil rights organizations and the black press put pressure and as a result the formation of an all African-American pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1941 was born known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

All who were involved in the ‘Tuskegee Experiment’ were referred to as the “Tuskegee Airmen.” It was a program of the Army Air Corps to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors, and any one else who kept the planes airbound.

The Tuskegee Institute was known for its commitment to aeronautical training and the military selected Tuskegee because of this factor. Tuskegee had the facilities, engineering, technical instructors, and ideal climate for year round flying. The first students to complete their instruction in May of 1940 were from the Civilian Pilot Training Program. They expanded their program and it became the center for African-American aviation during WW 11.

The Tuskegee Airmen are a group of African-American pilots who fought in World War 11. They were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps.

They were the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces. During WW11, African-Americans in many U.S. States were subjected to the Jim Crow laws.

The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the U.S., enacted between 1876 and 1965, they mandated racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern states of the former Confederacy with a ’separate but equal’ status for black Americans. This separation caused treatment, financial support and inferior accommodations to those provided by white Americans and making economic, educational and social disadvantages systemized. Public schools, places, transportation, restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains were segregated between whites and blacks including the U.S. Military. State-sponsored school segregation was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme court of the United States in 1954 in Brown v.s. Board of Education, and the rest of the Jim Crow laws were overruled by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Since the American military was racially segregated the Tuskegee Airmen were subjected to racial discrimination within the army and outside of it. Through the face of adversity they trained and flew with distinction, mostly made up of African-Americans, there were five Tuskegee Airmen of Haitian descent.

The Tuskegee Airmen overcame segregation and prejudice and became one of the most highly respected fighter groups of World War II.

Proving conclusively that African Americans could fly and maintain sophisticated combat aircraft, their achievements, together with their supporters provided the vehicle for full integration of the U.S. military.

Despite the 477th Bombardment Group ‘worked up’ on North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never actually were in combat; the Tuskegee 332nd Fighter Group was the only operational unit who were first sent overseas as part of Operation Torch, then were sent to Sicily and Italy before they were deployed as bomber escorts in Europe where they were successful in all their missions.

The Tuskegee Airmen began with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks fighter-bomber aircraft, then shortly with Bell P-39 Airacobras in March 1944, then later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts in June to July 1944 and finally their most commonly associated aircraft, the North American P-51 Mustang in July 1944. When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-51’s red, the ‘Red Tails’ name was given and bomber crews applied a more gushy ‘Red-Tail Angels’ nickname.

President Clinton on November 6, 1998 approved Public Law 105-355 and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site at Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama was established to commemorate and interpret the heroic actions of the Tuskegee Airmen during WW11. This national center has a museum and offers interpretive programs run by a public-private partnership.

The African Diaspora is defined by African Union as “[consisting] of people of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union.” Meaning, the dispersing of Africans throughout the globe. These Africans contribute to the culture they eventually assimilate into. However, actually assimilation does not take place. They do not merely leave their culture behind and take up the one of their residence. They rather, bring part of their African culture into their new culture. They bring in language, art and customs.  Even today, people of African decent bring in forms of music, such as jazz and hip-hop. 

The African people have influenced culture and the economy way before present times. In fact the Schomburg Center for Black Culture says, “The transatlantic slave trade was fundamental to the development of the colonial economy; and after the War of Independence, the domestic slave trade was the engine that enabled the expansion of the cotton economy not only within the United States but also, through trade, to the international scene. In the twentieth century, black migrations from the South were crucial to America’s urban industrial development. They transformed a southern, rural population into a national, urban one, and the black presence throughout the country has influenced American legal systems as well as social and cultural policies and practices.” 

This is due to the large number of African people brought in by the slave trade. With a larger population than the whites, they carried a heavier influence. Even though they were discriminated, after years of continuing their cultural customs and language, it diffused into the South of the United States, and by today throughout the whole country.  

Not only was the cotton industry greatly impacted by the Africans, the iron industry benefited greatly. “Iron making was practiced long ago in West Africa. Many slaves brought to America carried the knowledge and skill of t his trade with them. It has been suggested that American ironmasters may have deliberately sought Africans with iron making knowledge and that they were the “backbone” of the American iron industry.” (Catoctin Mountain Park) 

Besides the industrial contributions, the people of African decent have given us many traditions. National holidays are designated to celebrate African heritage and African heroes. Two of these holidays are Kwanza and Black History Month. Their influence isn’t only present in North America. In Cuba, many Afro-Cubans assisted in the revolt that put Communist Fidel Castro in charge. In fact, Che Guevara, for those who do not know Che was a huge part of the revolution and a martyr for Communism, said that “The people of the streets [the Africans] are at the heart of this revolution.” Where ever the Africans seem to have gone, they made a positive impact on their community. This shows the value of their culture and heritage. Could this be a slight positive affect of the slave trade?

Not Listed, “African American Influence.” Catoctin Mountain Park. 

2003. National Park Service. 6 Dec 2006

 HYPERLINK “http://www.nps.gov/archive/cato/culthist/african.htm” http://www.nps.gov/archive/cato/culthist/african.htm

Not Listed, “The African-American Migration Experience.” Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. 2000. 6 Dec 2006

 HYPERLINK “http://www.inmotionaame.org/home.cfm” http://www.inmotionaame.org/home.cfm

 HYPERLINK “http://www.african-union.org” www.african-union.org 

Image by Kheel Center, Cornell University via Flickr

How else can you explain adult women and men trampling each other over re-released retro sneakers. A person would have to be controlled and out of their mind to think such actions sane. This is the oldest trick in the book that my people fall for over and over again. The elite have warehouses full of old stuff just ready to be released to the public again. How else can you explain the constant recycling of old styles coming back again. I have mentioned countless times in my other articles this culture creation, it is real. The shoes cost $180.00, but Nike doesn’t tell you about the spare change some kid in China was paid to make them. I thought more than 10% of the population was unemployed, and plenty of people on welfare so how can so many afford this ?

These are not Air Force One’s but does it matter ? Wikipedia

The cops had to be called for assistance as if they expected such behavior. Are my people really that predictable, the answer is yes. Wake up my people and ask yourselves what is going on here ? You don’t have to be a conspiracy nut to see the set up. The cops conveniently on standby, the immediate news crews from major networks. The people who purchased these shoes gave a conditioned response.The wearing of these shoes will not make you cooler. It will not make you play basketball like Micheal Jordan. If I’m wrong in saying the black person is controlled then why would these people be out at six in the morning. I hate stereotypes as much as anybody, but most blacks I know don’t even get out of the bed into 11A.M

The Nike Jordan shoe has been nothing but a tool to cause more harm. Think about it, even back in the day how many stories you heard of stabbings, shootings and robbery because of Jordan’s. The shoe is a  status symbol in the black community and that is just sad. When I was in high school every black kid I knew had to wear these shoes. If you wore anything else you got dissed daily. The same thing will happen to all the kids in school who won’t have this new retro pair. Intelligence is not respected now days, and I feel sorry for the kids who have parents smart enough not to buy them. I’m talking about kids but all I see in the video on-line are adults setting a bad example. This greedy, superficial materialism needs to stop especially in the black community. How can you feed your kids, pay bills or make it out the hood ? The black person is tricked into buying junk they can’t afford constantly. If you can afford it even in this economy good for you, but the shoe is still not that important. If you don’t learn from history you will repeat it, and with these stupid shoes that’s what’s happening think about it.

After experiencing guys like Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, former Republican Party chairman Michael Steele, and Ward Connerly, who singlehandedly made getting into top public universities in California that much tougher for young blacks and Latinos with the passage of his Proposition 209, which killed affirmative action in the state and lowered black admissions in schools like UCLA to record lows, this former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and head of the National Restaurant Association didn’t phase me at all.

In fact, Cain and those other black conservatives I mentioned have continued a tradition, for lack of a better way to put it, that goes all the way back to Booker T. Washington 100 years ago. Washington’s Atlanta Compromise speech in 1915, in which he urged African Americans to “cast your buckets where you are” and, for all intents and purposes, accept the Jim Crow segregation and racism that was an essential part of the U.S. landscape was a landmark speech for a white, mainstream, and conservative America in which the notion of blacks being able to ride in the same trains, eat in the same restaurants, and go to the same schools as whites was unthinkable and abominable.

When I read Newsweek magazine’s cover story, “Citizen Cain”, in their October 17 issue, it merely reinforced my conviction of Cain continuing Washington’s legacy, as well as leading me to understand why Cain’s political and social views are the way they are.

For instance, in discussing Cain’s background, the article mentioned that he grew up in segregated Atlanta, the son of a chauffeur/barber/janitor who admirably worked extremely hard to provide for his family and eventually buy the family their own home, which was considered a monumental achievement for blacks in those days.

When it came to standing up for civil rights, however, that’s where I completely understood the roots of Cain’s convictions as according to the story, Cain said that him and his family “…saw (sit-ins and Freedom Rides) every day on TV and read about it in the paper, (but) Dad always said, ‘Stay out of trouble,’  and we did.”

In other words, aside from sneaking a drink in a white water fountain as a youngster, Cain, by not standing up for his civil rights, tacitly accepted being seen as an unequal human being among the whites in Atlanta and mainstream Georgia society in general – he sat down in the backs of buses and stayed away from lunch counters who had policies of not serving blacks without complaint, as well as go to predominantly black Morehouse College when, as salutatorian of his high school, he was rejected by Georgia Tech.

In my view, that was going along with the unfair status quo at a time when Rosa Parks was committing herself in the front of a Montgomery, AL bus, and Martin Luther King was committing himself in Birmingham and Selma. Not to mention those nine young people who committed themselves at Little Rock Central High School.

So I understand how and why Cain’s views developed the way it had, but as the self-proclaimed “CEO of Self”, Cain may have committed to making himself better, but where was his commitment to making his fellow blacks better off? 

I mean, here he was happily content to making his way though segregated society – or at least accepting it – while people like King were getting beaten, jailed, and killed so that every person of color, not just African Americans, could enjoy the same rights that whites enjoyed from birth.

After I read “Citizen Cain”, the prevailing thought in my mind was, “No wonder!”

No wonder that Cain feels that being poor and not having a job is the fault of the poor and unemployed themselves; I’m sure that his thinking goes along the line of, “My daddy made it through hard work, and so did I, so I really don’t see why you can’t either…and as for racism and you thinking that the white man’s the cause of all your problems, get over it.”  

That conviction is what has made Cain so popular with white conservatives and is a prevailing factor of him being a serious contender for the GOP nomination this summer. White conservatives can point to him (as well as Connerly and Thomas) and say, “See? I’m not a racist!”

What Cain, like so many other conservatives, ultimately refuses to understand is that you can’t tell people to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps if they don’t have boots at all; that it’s impossible to win a race if you have your legs tied together, or win a fight with one hand tied behind your back.

That’s the gist of the situation that the poor are in, and no 9-9-9 tax plan is going to solve that; how are people, black or otherwise, who are barely getting by on minimum wage, going to be able to give away 9% of their income without going under?

As former civil rights leader Joseph Lowery said in the Newsweek article, “He’s done nothing to further black people’s lives. All he’s doing is saying the racist stuff the mainstream GOP candidates can’t say and he’s having the time of his life doing it.”, meaning that like too many other conservatives, Cain doesn’t really care about poor people.

Or his fellow blacks in my opinion.

As for his chances of becoming our 45th president, I hope Cain gets the nomination, because Barack Obama will surely torch him in the general election and, with his impeccable campaigning skills, win by a landslide. But…

Realistically speaking, I don’t think that’s going to happen, because there won’t be nearly enough white conservatives who will be willing to vote for, and accept, a black man as their nominee for the White House.

Sure, there will be quite a few whites who will vote for Cain, as seen by the various straw polls, but there will be too many whites who just can’t see a black man as President, no matter how much he shares their views.

And these allegations of sexual harassment – shades of Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill in the 1990s – are not helping Cain’s prospects, either.

I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how things unfold. 

Condition of African Americans Before and After the Civil War

Throughout much of the history of the United States, African Americans faced much hardship and unfair treatment. To escape these hardships, many slaves often ran away to the North or even to Canada using various methods, one of them being the Underground Railroad.  Some of the hardships include being enslaved, harassed, and abused. The nation was divided over many issues, one of them being slavery. The American Civil War was started for various reasons, and one of them included righting the wrongs done to the African American society. After the Union won the Civil War and slavery was abolished, African Americans enjoyed more liberties. However, the price of their new freedom came at the cost of new problems, which might make them worse off than before.

Before observing the conditions of African Americans after the Civil war, one should identify the causes of the war and the conditions of the African Americans before the Civil War. According to Adams,  “Past generations have cited the incompatibility of the southern and northern economic worldviews, incompetent and blundering policy makers, the breakdown of the Democratic-Whig party system, and the moral debate over slavery as the critical variable to explain secession and, perhaps more important, the long bloody war that followed.” The war resulted in the freeing of the enslaved in the South, causing the numbers of unemployment to increase greatly, and also destroying the South’s pre-modern agrarian mentality (Egnal). As a result, the North’s style of economy, American Capitalism, settled into the South. However, the South’s economy was still recovering from the war, and large numbers of African Americans moved out to search for work.

One of the most common ways of escaping from the hardships of slavery for African Americans was through the Underground Railroad. This rail consisted of “Conductors” and safe houses. The conductors would take in the runaway slaves and lead them on to the next safe house, where the runaways would continue their journey through the Underground Railroad to freedom. Many leaders, such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman, who were all former slaves, led many across state lines to freedom (Vacca). Even though the slaves were escaped to the Free states, they were not always safe. If they were demanded to be returned to their master, the Northern state would be forced to return them. Because of this Fugitive Slave Act, the slaves would sometimes continue all the way into Canada, and there they would finally be safe.

The most noticeable problem after the Civil War was the fact that the former slaves were now free, but still no longer equal. This was clearly seen through the state laws that placed heavy strains on the African American community. To combat this, several groups for the advancement of Black Rights were created, but discrimination persisted and caused many losses of opportunity for them, such as good education and well paying jobs. Even though there were many obstacles, several pursued their dreams and eventually got what they wanted, like owning a good business or getting a college education.

Segregation was also a major problem that began before the Civil War, but worsened once the war had ended.  As the African Americans moved in search of a new life, they would obviously be confronted by the White community there. Life was easier to live in some communities than in others for the freed slaves. A major part of the Black-White relations had to do with the situation within the communities, which was determined by geography and culture (Bigham). The existence of slavery and practice of paternalism, which is the practice of those in authority restricting the freedoms of their subordinates, in a certain area also determined such relations. Even though African Americans were now free, segregation and Jim Crow laws showed that they were not truly free or equal in the eyes of the people. Because of these laws, African Americans often had to go to separate schools, use separate busses, drink from separate fountains, and do many other things differently from the white community. Literacy tests and poll taxes were another issue that arrived in the Reconstruction era and prevented African Americans from voting freely. The poll tax continued on for African Americans until the 24th amendment was ratified in 1964, which stopped the use of poll taxes. Literacy tests were ceased in 1965 after the Voting Rights act was passed.

One last major problem that occurred for African Americans after the Civil War was the increased hate crimes and violence committed against them. Hostility in the South was far greater than in the North since many white supremacists still resided in the south and committed many of the violent acts against African Americans. The North, being tempered by many abolitionist thoughts and ideals, were often reserved in their actions. Although there were many reason for violence, one of the most common reasons was to preserve the status quo of White domination over the Blacks. While they were enslaved, African Americans were treated well by their masters because they were considered valuable. After they were freed, however, several White racist groups no longer had a reason to refrain from acting violently against them. Several of these organizations were formed, such as the Klu Klux Klan, and committed acts of murder, kidnapping, torture, and terrorism against African Americans. Many people also acted violently because of the fear they had for their own wellbeing. Due such a large population of jobless African Americans after the Civil War, large masses of them moved out in search for jobs. Many whites feared the loss of their own jobs to the now free African Americans and retaliated with violence and threats.

It can be concluded that the status of the African Americans were both improved and worsened after the Civil War. Some things, like being free from slavery and having the opportunity to have a new life and become educated were part of the good that came out of the Civil War. However, many problems that did not previously exist also came to be due to the changes both politically and socially. Even though they were considered equal to white men, African Americans were still discriminated against though segregation, abuse, and strong violence. Many of their hardships occurred because of a series of events that were probably not thought through, such as the Civil War ruining the South’s economy and sending masses of unemployed African Americans all over the nation. Because of the fear of losing jobs to the freed slaves, many white Americans retaliated out of fear and used methods of violence, hate speech, and other similar things to try to drive the blacks away, or to prove their supremacy over the African Americans. Despite these hardships, the African American community continued to thrive and grow by forming strong groups that would eventually bring them true equality.

Works Cited

 Adams, Sean Patrick. “Clash of Extremes: The Economic Origins of the Civil War.” Journal of Southern History 76.2 (2010): 448+. US History Collection

Bigham, Darrel E. On Jordan’s Banks: Emancipation and Its Aftermath in the Ohio River Valley. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2006. Print. 

Boyer, Paul S., Clark, Clifford E. Jr., and Kett, Joseph F. The Enduring Vision, A History Of The American People. Houghton Mifflin College Div, 2004

Boyer, Paul. Holt American Nation. Holt Rinehart & Winston, 2001

Egnal, Marc. Clash of Extremes: The Economic Origins of the Civil War. New York: Hill and Wing, 2009. Print. 

 Faverty, Brenda. “Bigham, Darrel E.: On Jordan’s Banks: Emancipation and Its Aftermath in the Ohio River Valley. “History: Review of New Books Winter 2006: 39+. US History Collection

Vacca, Carolyn S. “emancipating New York: The politics of Slavery and Freedom 1777-1827.” Afro-Americans in New York Life and History 32.1 (2008) P127+ US History Collection

In that article I highlighted some reasons for this. Amongst them are Africans practice the extended family Life, Africans are their brothers’ keepers, Africans love to share and hero worship. I noted specifically that “Due to the extended family life, Africans are their brothers’ keepers. What affects one affects so many. In Facebook, I have friends from Asia (India), Europe (Britain), and the USA. Issues we the Africans discuss are not same with the ones I discuss with friends from other parts of the world. We Africans discuss things that are even seen by some as irrelevant or inconsequential. But to us in African, it matters. We want to know how our third and fourth cousins are doing in their schools are business.”

The above is a proof of what science-daily.com just published. What affects one affects another. When I was first diagnosed of Kidney failure in 2002, it was my wife that willingly and voluntarily donated one of her kidneys to save me. She was not compelled. She did it of her own account. The story clearly portrays the real African. Again when that graft failed, my immediate junior sister donated one of her kidneys to keep me living. We do not want to be alone. We love to share even our lives for one another. Of a truth we have our peculiar problems but that does not make us inconsiderate about the need and pains of our people.

A study conducted at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center which science daily published says “researchers found that African American donate almost exclusively to their family members for living kidney transplants as compare to the Caucasians.” The study also found that “African Americans are more likely to donate to their parents compared to the Caucasians and were slightly less likely to parent to child donation.” It further has that “Caucasian donors were more likely to be related to the recipient than the African Americans.”

According to Reeves-Daniels (one of the researchers for this report) “one of the most surprising findings was that majority of African-Americans kidney donors were men and younger that the white donors.” This gives me a sense of joy and pride that Africans are their brothers’ keepers. Africans should hold their heads high anywhere they find themselves. I believe strongly that God has men and women of great potentials in every race and tribe all over the world. The idea that some are second and third class is from the father of all liars the devil. We should not underestimate our strength in unity. African leaders should sit up and make Africans proud of their continent by establishing democratic and corrupt free government. This will ever make us to be proud of our black race and continent that God gave us. AFRICA I HAIL THEE! AFRICANS KEEP THE GOOD BROTHERLY SPIRIT. I will ever be proud to be an African. God Bless Africa and Africans.