The Legal And Economic Status Of Black People During The History Of America
Words are meaningful. The definitions are there, even if they change. It is important that all fields of study use the same and agreed upon definitions so that knowledge can be shared. Understanding sociology is easier when you know and use the correct terms. Even though it is used in casual conversation about everything from homework to heat waves, its impact on certain classes must be clearly understood. The word “oppression” is often used to describe the systematic application of social norms and laws to deny economic and political influence to a group of people deemed unworthy by the people in control of the dialog.
To understand the current legal control over black Americans it is necessary first to look at how blackness and its definition were defined. The separation between white and black led to the creation of laws and behavior aimed at subduing and relying on the latter. Pem D. Buck’s “Constructing Race” examines the origins of white privilege in America, beginning with the late-17th century laws prohibiting marriage between black and white women (2001, p.21). The idea was to avoid the blurring of the lines between the two categories of servants, as a result of the old belief that people with darker skin were no different than those of lighter complexion (Buck, 2001). Along with this division, the belief that a person was black if they had enough black ancestry – often 1/32 according to a South Carolina birth certificate law (Omi & Winant 1986, p.11) – grew. It was not based on their physical appearance. In addition to the laws that prohibited interracial marriages, these states also passed the Black Codes. Intentionally, the Black Codes were meant to maintain order within a world of newly freed Africans. But they often restricted those who were deemed to be black to confined positions. Their freedom to move and to change jobs was also severely restricted. The vagrancy laws are a good example. W.E.B. DuBois stated that any black man found wandering and without a job could be arrested. It was almost impossible for a black worker to leave their old job without first securing a new one. Jim Crow Laws were also enacted after Reconstruction. These laws included the separation of rail cars for white and black passengers. Homer Adolph Plessy is a mixed race man who sued after being forced into the black section on a train when he paid for the first class (read as white) accommodations. Plessy lost in 1896 Supreme Court Plessy-v. Ferguson decision, where the court said that blacks and the whites were equals but the legal separation between the races was not an unjust burden. After World War II the G.I. Bill of Rights was created in 1944 for white veterans to receive assistance in areas like college tuition or home-buying. Black Americans, who were already economically depressed, were excluded from the housing boom which followed due to Federal laws and local regulations (Brodkin 1998, p.33).
Black Americans are still struggling to be treated as equals with whites because of the constraints that have been imposed on them by centuries-long enslavement. Our class website points out that black unemployment rates are higher than white unemployment rates. Black men between the ages of 18-29 who had earned a highschool diploma were faced with an unemployment rate as high as 40.7 percent while white males in a similar situation experienced a rate lower than 25.6% in 2010 (Epstein). In the USA, the higher unemployment rate and urbanization rates have been increasing since 1970. (Omi & Winant. 1986, p.11). This has led to a decrease in skills for claiming entitlements and asking for help in schools or other institutions. (Lareau. 2011, p.167). The legal constraints have been removed but policies like anti-drug law enforcement and the laws themselves are still causing black men to be incarcerated at higher rates than they enroll in college (Alexander, 2010). This causes more black males to be excluded from the labor market.
Black Americans, in short, are still significantly less fortunate than white Americans, even today. The ability of those in poverty to escape is severely restricted. The burdens of centuries long legalized discrimination and forced servitude are still very much present. The origins of all this lie in the conception of a white race. If this isn’t oppression then I can’t think of another word.
