The History of African Americans in Commerce Essay Example
In the 19th century, trade was a dominant aspect in the sense that the transportation of goods, and the subsequent exchange was much more prevalent at the time. African-Americans played a significant role in this, and predominantly does it cloud their history. Their involvement in labor, whether as slaves or free men by performing a myriad of jobs is a vital mark in the building and sustenance of the country’s economy. Both individually and collectively, African-Americans found themselves on the receiving end of discrimination on the basis of race in the labor market. This resulted to their fight for their freedom from slavery and recognition as an equally able race either through, unions, movements or revolutions.
Led by the belief that they would overcome discrimination against the oppressors, the Socialist Labor Party was formed in 1872 following the collapse
...of the First International. By organizing black people together, they believed they would wade off the competition in the labor market. At this time when racial segregation became a law and lynching went high, black people (African-Americans) fought back through formation of farmers’ unions, armed defense organizations, religious and political institutions which were a source of inspiration and power in their fight to liberty (Kelley).
At the end of 1865, most of the slaves who lived in camps were evicted from camps. This, fortunately, was before the outbreak of small pox epidemic which they survived. Coupled by post war poverty, their hardships meant that they pooled together the resources they had. African Americans organized fund raisers and such mutual aid societies, as well as building a hospital. They were willing to endure such hard times and challenges, i
pursuit of a better living and future. In post war Atlanta, many black people moved to the city where they set up households and were economically self-sufficient. The reconstruction of the city, mainly done by African Americans, helped them towards living as free people and independently (Hunter).
2. Many scholars argue that African American history is inherently transnational. In what ways and/or in what time periods from 1865 through the 1950s is this argument strongest?
By noting that the African American history is inherently transnational, this means that the history of the black people, born out of movement or migration of black people from various geographical locations who faced discrimination and other forms of bias from white people is a phenomenon which goes beyond national boundaries. At the same time, it notes the fact that it remains a subject of great interest to many characters in which more awareness on the atrocities suffered by black people have to be exposed. Light on the African American history has not been shed in recent times, but for a long while as early as the 19th century, the state of black people or slaves was widely discussed or talked of across the world.
In 1922, during the Fourth World Congress of the Comintern in Soviet Union, Claude McKay, a Jamaican born writer, talked about racism which was deeply rooted in America. He brought to attention to the congress, the evil nature of American Communist Party and how racist, discriminative and intimidating they were to the black people, a topic he would later be asked to expound by the Comintern officials. In 1927, Paul Robeson, a Negro, moved to London and was
confronted by European fascists. He also met African leaders as well as anti-colonial movements from Asia (Kelley).
At the end of the19th century, there was an influx of slaves to Atlanta and Georgia. This movement of slaves from on African country across the Atlantic signifies the transnational nature of the slave trade that took place at the time. Due to the increasing demand for slaves to work in the white people’s farms, the number of slaves who worked in the farms and worked in construction sites increased, a figure which threatened the supremacy of the masters over the slaves. This shows how inherently transnational African American history is (Hunter).
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