Segregation and Jim Crow Violence
After Reconstruction newly freed slaves (freedmen) and the former masters struggled to redefine their relationships in society. The racial hierarchy prior to freedom had slaves as subservient to not only slave owning whites but all whites. After the Civil War, freedmen were looking for equality. Many southern whites refused to accept equality. When federal troops left the South after Reconstruction, white southerners resorted to many tools to maintain "White Supremacy."
Social Violence Many of the violent incidents involved etiquette or expectations. Historian Eric Foner explain that The Freedman's Bureau in Texas has a register of murders with over a thousand in 1865-66 -- and they try to give the reason, you know. "Black man didn't tip his hat so I shot him." Political Violence Groups such as Ku Klux Klan and others, like the White League in Louisiana, the Knights of the White Camelia had one purpose and that was to obstruct and destroy the Reconstruction government, to assassinate or intimidate black and white Republican officials, to use violence to prevent people from voting. That sort of political violence to maintain political control continued well into the 1960's Economic violence Blacks who claimed their civil or political rights, people who got into contract disputes with employers, and those that did not follow the social norms were all victims of violence. So were school teachers an any others who were seen a "race traitors." Types of violence The KKK and groups like it would take people out of their houses, have them lie on a rock and whip them. Men would line up to take turn whipping their victims. Sometimes they would burn parts of their bodies. The most extreme form of violence was Lynching. Watch the video below to get more details on terror lynching. |
Health & Violence
Dehumanization of slaves led to experimentation with questionable ethics. During slavery many slaves were experimented on for the benefit of medicine. After Reconstruction lack of health care became a major issue for the freedmen. This lack of health care lead to many preventable deaths. The most shocking instance of unethical experimentation was the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. Watch the video to learn more. |
Terror Lynching |
The Purpose of ViolenceThe purpose of the violence was to keep Black and all people of color in a lower place in the social hierarchy. Violence would disenfranchise people of color keeping them from voting. Without exercising the right to vote, people can't elect representatives that will create laws that will help. Violence also kept the idea of "white supremacy" going. White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to others because of their race. For first hand interviews go to this link. Yet another purpose of violence was to keep blacks working in the plantations. Through intimidation and laws, African Americans were forced to continue to work in plantations. If someone began to succeed economically in the South, they would also be terrorized. The most extreme example of this was the Tulsa Massacre. Watch the video below for more information.
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The massacre of Tulsa's "Black Wall Street"
The Murder of Emmett Till
Yet another example of terror and violence due to segregation is the murder of Emmitt Till. Go to this link to learn about this event.