When the American Civil War ends, the U.S. government enters Reconstruction with three amendments to the Constitution; slavery is abolished and former slaves are granted citizenship and the right to vote. At the state and local level, white Southern Democrats implement laws to suppress the political and economic gains made by African Americans. Under the “Separate But Equal” clause, the U.S. Supreme Court legitimizes segregation and social discrimination; treating black people as second-class citizens. Federal legislation brings the Jim Crow era to an end, yet its long shadow still looms large over the struggle for equality.
Students share their experiences with racism. Racism is a complex system of beliefs and behaviors, grounded in a presumed superiority of the dominant race. These beliefs and behaviors are conscious and unconscious, personal and institutional. In the U.S. they result in the oppression of people of color and benefit white people. Racial prejudice + power = Racism. Racism is different from prejudice. The difference is that, in this country, people of color face systematic and ongoing personal and institutionalized biases every day.
“The worst conversation adults can have with kids about race is no conversation at all,” says author Jemar Tisby. “Talking to kids about race needs to happen early, often, and honestly.” In a new episode of Home School, The Atlantic’s animated series about parenting, Tisby offers advice on how to have a conversation with children about race, from experiential learning to watching classic animated films.
Do you believe that your race correlates to your skin tone? Because that wasn’t always the case. So how did Americans come to believe that race equals certain visible physical characteristics such as skin color and hair? And why is it that certain ethnic groups that were once considered “non-white” became reclassified as “white”? Watch the episode to find out.
The civil rights movement was an organized effort where African-Americans united and rallied to put black progressiveness at the forefront of a nation that sought to minimize and revoke rights. In this episode of Black History in Two Minutes or So hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. we take a closer look at the civil rights — a time where intentional resistance lead to the freedoms we all enjoy today.
Laws are intended to maintain order and promote justice, but what happens when those laws promote and spread discrimination and bigotry? Today Danielle analyzes the discriminatory history US law, tracing its origins in colonialism and chattel slavery up through the Jim Crow era and today's mass incarceration.
What's the difference between race and ethnicity? Can a person have more than one ethnic identity? Today Danielle explores the history and evolution of different ethnicities that make up America.
The 'Red Summer' of 1919 saw white-on-black violence in cities across the U.S. Historian Timuel D. Black describes the injustice and violence of the Jim Crow South that many black Americans were trying to escape at the time. (July 23)
White privilege refers to the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements, benefits and choices that people have simply because they are white.
In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.
A powerful true story that follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson and his battle for justice as he defends a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence.