The Life of an African American
Words: 607 @BenLindquist
I, Fredrick Henson, was born and raised in Africa. Life over there wasn't fair, but my family and I managed. When 1865 struck, the food in Africa became contaminated. Expecting a better life, I fleed from my homeland, taking my wife and children with me to the United States. After days of starvation, we finally arrived at the beautiful United States. We were not living a great life once we arrived. Our freedom and rights were blocked. We weren't allowed to vote, carry weapons, serve on juries, marry white citizens, and travel with no permit. The poor and unemployed were arrested due to lack of land and money. This was titled "Black Code." Once the 13th amendment was approved, there no longer was slavery. As for the Black Code, it was removed and no longer considered a law. Life was better in the United States, however, it wasn't great. Us, African Americans, were still being discriminated. In 1866, "Ku Klux Klan" (KKK) arose. Ku Klux Klan was a secret organization who would persecute African Americans and bring back power to southern whites. The members would disguise themselves in hoods and robes. I was told they would harass, intimidate, and murder African Americans and White citizens who supported them. This indeed brought fear to me and my family. I wasn't sure what we were doing wrong. I was working endless hours on railroads and didn't complain about being paid less than others. After a few years, the late 1870s, the Ku Klan Klux population began to decrease. In 1868, the 14th amendment was confirmed and approved. We were finally considered citizens and it was impossible to deprive equal rights. In 1870, the 15th amendment was soon approved as well. It gave citizens the right to vote. However, many women were upset after finding out it did not include their suffrage. Some Women's Rights leaders found it right, though. Due to the disagreement, the women eventually split into two separate groups. Once the Reconstruction ended in 1877, it seemed as though the government had turned their backs on us. We were losing our limited freedom; our voting rights and being separated further from white society. In 1900, the southern states segregated us from the white citizens. We were no longer sharing the same schools, hospitals, parks, nor railroads. When it came to schools, we received fewer fundings than those for whites. Very few African Americans were receiving an education. We didn't have many choices to make during this time period in the South. We would either have to face discriminations, poverty, and violence, or we would have to leave the South. With much effort, Southern whites found ways around these amendments to limit us from having citizenship rights, such as voting. In 1898, most southern states created an absurd law titled "Grandfather Clause." The Grandfather Clause was established, allowing poor whites to vote. On the other hand, if your grandfather did not vote before the year 1870, you were not allowed to vote. Eventually, we left the South and moved to the Northern part of the United States hoping it would be better. They believed we would take their jobs and continued to discriminate us. Real Estate agents prevented us from buying houses located in certain neighborhoods. Business owners would often hire us when there was no other labor source was available and first ones fired if the business was slow. We weren't planning on going back to the South, however. Growing numbers of African Americans began migrating to cities located in the North and Midwest. Sooner or later, we looked to better position ourselves in a quick-changing world.
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