Race as a Global Issue in the 1920s

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Ku Klux Klan
The level of violence and lynching
The ramifications of immigration prohibitive policies
Causes of hatred for immigrants
Voting rights denied
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Racism began to take effect in America from as early as in the 1920s. Americans had started getting quite uncomfortable with the black immigrants. They began to oppose the entry of black people into their country in disguise as a purification process (Jones). In order to do this, they formed two groups, which included the White Anglo Saxon Protestant W.A.S.P., and the Ku Klux Klan K.K.K. (Winders). The former engaged legal processes in their effort to stop black immigrants from entering the country by persuading the Congress to pass laws, which hampered the entry of black immigrants. On the other hand, the KKK an informal organization which engaged force and physical coercion to drive people whom they deemed as a threat to the United States the Negroes being among them (Grosfoguel).

The Ku Klux Klan

According to Murphy, hatred leveled against the Jews, Catholics, and immigrants intensified as the membership of the Ku Klux Klan escalated rapidly in 1924 (63). Simmons, the founder of the Ku Klux Klan made the organization a 100% American organization (Murphy, 1990). The new Klan justified their position pretending to be working in the best interest of the American people. The World War I had a major influence on the increase of immigrants in the United States of America. This was due to the labor shortage caused by war hence creating an unprecedented demand for labor and more importantly cheap labor. Black people regarded as a breed of slaves formed the most suitable candidates for the increasing manual labor in the factories.

The KKK was an anti-African-American organization that vowed zero tolerance the black community living in the south. The organization generated fear among the black community by burning their churches, raping the women, committing murder upon the black community, as well as castrating the males. This operation was so fierce that even the white population that did not support the illegal victimization of the black immigrants could not express their concerns for fear of attacks. However, it was during this period that America experienced immense growth in terms of urbanization and technology. Major cities emerged during this period and so did the number of immigrants.

The level of violence and lynching

The black population suffered greatly under the hands of Americans who were fighting to establish the White Anglo Saxon Protestant ‘W.A.S.P’. The Americans lynched many black Americans especially former soldiers soon after the world war. Needle-man in his book referred to an incident that occurred in Chicago where a huge race riot emerged after an African-American accidentally entered a ‘whites only’ beach (23). Twenty-five black Americans and nine whites died in Tulsa in 1921 due to a series of serious race riots as well (Merrill & Paterson). The situation became worse every day drifting further the possible peaceful interaction between the whites and blacks. The level of violence was becoming intolerable and fear and intimidation spread all over the black Americans camps.

The ramifications of immigration prohibitive policies

The Klan’s influence increased and the ramifications of its existence were disastrous to the black community. Enjoying the political support due to its influence, the Klan was able to carry on its activities against the blacks. The First World War was the center of the prohibitive policies with regard to immigration rules. The main intention of prohibiting immigrants from entering the country was to block the Germans whom the Americans saw as a threat to their country. However, these policies affected all other immigrants including the Australians. Deemed as a land of opportunities, America’s open door policy begun to shut down and the already existing immigrants experienced the immense hostility that began to build up against them (Carnoy).

Causes of hatred for immigrants

The hatred between Americans and immigrants was not only political. The Americans blamed immigrants for the social problems experienced during that particular period. McKerche disclosed, “The Americans hated the immigrants for their physical look as well since most of the immigrants were malnourished with quite frightening physical deformities” (87). Consequently, the black community was a victim of the hatred leveled against immigrants. Economically, the blacks as well as other immigrants brought in unmatched competition in the job market. Most of them were very poor living in very difficult conditions and were willing to work with very little pay and under unbearable conditions as opposed to the Americans. For this reason, the Americans hated their existence in their country and were determined to keep them away.

The availability of cheap labor was not something the Americans were prepared to accept and the Klan came in handy to protect the Americans interest by threatening the blacks and making their lives despondent. By this, they hoped they would successfully avert all the troubles deemed associated with the presence of the blacks and other immigrants. Racial abuse and prejudice not only influenced by political fear, but also religious beliefs, social and economic factors played a major role too. The government, despite the fact that it was a democratic government did nothing to support the black people from the oppressive hostility. It showed little or no concern with regard to defending the black citizens whose population had grown substantially especially in the southern states. The blacks among other privileges were not allowed to vote as they were not regarded as Americans hence could not be involved in any decision making process.

Voting rights denied

Any attempt by the black community to pursue a right to vote attracted great resistance and intimidation especially by the Klan. This was the height of blacks’ discrimination as they formed the majority of the Mississippi and Louisiana state’s population (Marger). Despite that fact, the blacks were not in a position to influence any political changes concerning their own governance. This was because the republican government consistently turned a blind eye on the mounting racism and segregation the southern states. That is why most of the political leaders from the south were democrats including Roosevelt although he too did very little to challenge segregation.

Conclusion

Clearly, racism was an issue that began and continued in American soon after the First World War supporting the notion that it was a politically influenced phenomenon. However, as the hatred and riots continued to gain momentum, the reasons broadened up to the religious, social, and economic disparities. The hatred between the native and the immigrants especially the blacks was immense and led to a number of regrettable deaths raising global concerns. This caused the black communities to unite and attempt to fight for their rightful position as American citizens. To achieve this, a number of political movements for the blacks came up. They included the National Association for the Advancement of colored people, the NAACP, and the Universal Negro Improvement Association, UNIA (McKee).

References

Carnoy, Martin. Faded Dreams: The Politics and Economics of Race in America Martin, Cambridge, USA: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print.

Grosfoguel, Raman. Race and Ethnicity or Racialized Ethnicities? Identities within Global Coloniality, Berkeley, USA: University of California, 2011. Print.

Jones, William. The Tribe of Black Ulysses: African-American Lumber Workers in the Jim crow South, Illinois, USA: University of Illinois Press, 1990. Print.

Merger, Martin. Race and Ethnic Relations: American and Global Perspectives, Hampshire, U.K: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.

McKee, James. Sociology and the Race Problem: THE FAILURE OF A PERSPECTIVE, Illinois, USA: University of Illinois Press, 1993. Print.

McKerche, John. Anglo-American Relations in the 1920s: The Struggle for Supremacy, Alberta, USA: University of Alberta, 1990. Print.

Merrill, Dennis, and Thomas Paterson. Major Problems in American Foreign Relations: To 1920, Hampshire, U.K: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.

Murphy, Marjorie. Blackboard Unions: The AFT and the NEA, 1900-1980, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Needle-man, Ruth. Black Freedom Fighters in Steel: The Struggle for Democratic Unionism, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2003. Print.

Winders, Jamie. Changing politics of race and region: Latino migration to the US South, Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University, 2010. Print.

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