The Experience of Black People in 1920s America

What was the experience of African Americans in the USA in the 1920s?

Although slavery had ended in America in 1865 and 400,000 African Americans had served in the First World War, many continued to experience racial discrimination after 1918.

How were African Americans treated in the southern states in the 1920s?

Many African Americans had been slaves in the southern states of America, and still experienced racism at the end of the First World War.

• ❖ The Jim Crow laws had been introduced to segregate African Americans from white people. They couldn't use the same cinemas, schools or bathrooms and had to sit in different sections on buses.
• ❖ Education was less accessible for African Americans. Only about 1% of those in the south could attend high school.
• ❖ The Supreme Court refused to challenge the Jim Crow laws.
• ❖ Many African American men accused of a crime were murdered by lynch mobs.
• ❖ They had little protection from the government or police.

How did the Jim Crow laws affect African Americans in the 1920s?

The Jim Crow laws were introduced in a number of southern states to keep African Americans separate from white people, and were still in force after the First World War.

• ❖ African Americans couldn't attend the same schools or even use the same books as white people.
• ❖ They had to use different parts of restaurants and different bathrooms.
• ❖ They were segregated on transport, using separate railway carriages, standing on particular sections of railway platforms, and sitting at the back of the bus.
• ❖ African Americans had to use separate cinemas and entrances to shops and buildings.

What was the experience of African Americans in the north of the USA in the 1920s?

Black people in the northern states of America suffered less institutional racism, but still experienced discrimination and prejudice.

• ❖ Beginning in the First World War, about 1.5 million African Americans moved from the south of America to the north in what was known as the Great Migration.
• ❖ Many could only find low-paid, unskilled, low-status work.
• ❖ Their low earnings meant they tended to live grouped together in areas of poor housing called ghettos, still segregated because of their pay. These ghettos included Harlem in New York.
• ❖ There were race riots after the First World War because of the resentment caused by competition over jobs. The number of returning ex-soldiers, and the decline of older industries, meant many white people felt threatened by the influx of African American workers.

What were the effects of racism on African Americans in the 1920s?

The discrimination inherent in American society after the First World War affected African Americans in a variety of way.

• ❖ Fewer educational opportunities meant that black people were less able to get well-paid, skilled jobs. Many had to work as domestic servants, farmworkers or unskilled factory workers.
• ❖ African Americans had less job security and were more likely to lose their jobs in times of economic hardship.
• ❖ The standard of living was lower, partly because of segregation policies and partly because earnings were lower.
• ❖ Black people had fewer voting rights, as some white people tried to stop them voting, and they were forced to take literacy tests to vote in the south.

What organisation were set up by African Americans in the 1920s?

During the 1920s, several organisations that had been founded to promote the cause of African Americans grew and thrived.

• ❖ The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), founded by W E B Dubois, grew to over 90,000 members.
• ❖ The UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association), founded by Marcus Garvey, supported African Americans in starting their own businesses and had more than one million members in the 1920s.

Were there any improvements for African Americans in the 1920s?

Life in the 1920s saw some small improvements for some African Americans:

• ❖ There were some universities in the north, such as Howard College, where black people could get a higher education.
• ❖ The rise of jazz turned some black people into world-famous celebrities. Actors such as Paul Robeson also gained international fame.
• ❖ African American culture thrived in Harlem, in New York, leading to a rise in African American art and poetry.
• ❖ There was a growing black middle class in Chicago and New York. This remained small, but fought for more rights for African Americans.