The actions of state government is also a factor which contributed to the continuation of the discrimination. By 1890 65% of black American school aged children in the south were unable to write, compared to 15% of white children due to little state intervention of education laws to encourage educational advances for African American children, this was a factor which state government had control over, and by not taking action to ensure equal education for African Americans, the State Government was preventing any sort of economic development of blacks and therefore leaving them in the stereotype created of them. During the period of Reconstruction the northern states attempted to impose their wishes regarding the new status of African Americans on white southerners. The Southern states resisted changes being made, including those that affected freed slaves, as farming was a huge sector of the Southern economies, which relied on the slave labour of African Americans. By 1877 the Confederate state governments had largely re-established their right to run their states in the way they wanted. Civil rights for blacks were basically theoretical. By doing this, and being allowed to override Federal Government policies meant that African Americans were denied their rights from the 14th Amendment. After the 15th Amendment, which prohibited state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on the citizen’s race colour or previous condition of servitude, state governments implemented complex rules and additional voting requirements to prevent African Americans from being able to vote. State governments frequently refused to conform to Federal Government laws, by doing this the state governments forced the African Americans to remain in the lowest level in the hierarchy by preventing any progression or growth towards equality. With lynching reaching it’s peak between 1880 and 1910, the State Government were at their most inactive. They did very little to prosecute or stop lynching, cases were rarely brought to court, and even if they were, all-white juries would not convict. This created a constant climate of fear and had a huge impact on the whole black community, this meant that blacks hastened to oppose their treatment, and prevented any change from the usual discrimination they faced. By 1941 housing conditions for most blacks were primitive, de facto segregation remained in the north and sometimes in public places as well as residential areas. In the 1950s, State Governments in the south were passing legislation attempting to maintain segregation, this showed how little respect the South had for Federal legislation regarding civil rights and meant that discrimination towards African Americans would continue in the south independent of any new Federal laws to protect them. The events at Little Rock in 1957 clearly demonstrate the southern state governments determination to maintain segregation and oppose any Federal laws encouraging it. In the 1980s, state governments cut welfare provisions and the growth of the illegal drug market changed the environment for those African Americans left in inner cities. Blacks in these areas became trapped in a life of poverty and drugs, preventing them from education with nobody to articulate their problems. Overall the State Governments played a very key role in the continued discrimination towards African Americans during this time, any Federal Government laws or amendments created to protect blacks, were not continued by southern state governments, preventing any real change for African Americans.
The role of the Federal Government should also be considered for their part played in the continuation of the discrimination towards African Americans. Though President Johnson was successful in abolishing slavery and African Americans had gained full rights as US citizens, he said nothing about the civil rights of the freed slaves, allowing the southern states to develop their own Black Codes to limit African American civil rights, and allowing the continuation of discrimination. The Federal Government also failed to renew the mandate and closed the Freedman’s Bureau in 1872 which showed the loss of enthusiasm for matters concerning the inequality and poor treatment of blacks. By 1915, there were no African Americans in Congress or even slate legislatures. This demonstrates the lack of change in attitudes of the Federal government, as well as the lack of progress of the African Americans, only furthering their discrimination. By 1941, little sympathy had been shown to taking action on black civil rights in Congress, the Presidency or the Supreme Court. This also shows the loss of enthusiasm for the progress of blacks or their cause. With no blacks higher up in the government, there was little voice fighting in the corner of the African Americans and discrimination continued. By 1992, figures of unemployment in blacks was twice the national average, whilst unemployment rate for black male teenagers was 50%. With the federal government ceasing to guarantee equality in factors such as unemployment,housing and health care the federal government are therefore ceasing to guarantee equality in general. Overall, the federal government did make attempts to discontinue discrimination but with the state governments not cooperating and refusing to follow federal legislation, there was little the federal government could do to change the situation and discrimination continued and electing many racial Presidents did little
The attitudes and actions of the ordinary US citizens should also be considered as a factor which continued discrimination of African American. From 1880 onwards lynching of African Americans had become common place and was often a public event attended by many. This included wrongly accusing a victim,usually of raping a white woman, then beatings and torture before the victims murder, often by hanging. The obsession with rape of white women by black men reveals the fear that relationships between races could lead to a mulatto nation and destroy the whole concept of rigid segregation which was developing. It was not long before laws banning inter-racial sexual relations were introduced. Though laws prohibited sexual relations, it was likely to influence white people to refuse any relations with blacks, only continuing their discrimination and widening the gap of segregation further. In July 1919, a teenage black boy was stoned and drowned for accidently drifting towards the white’s only section on Lake Michigan beach, 13 days of riots ensued after Irish and Polish workers attacked the city’s black ghetto. This demonstrates the violent hatred from the Northern whites and showed that racial discrimination was not confined to the southern states. This clearly highlights the fact that racial hatred and discrimination was widespread and opinions of few could very easily lead to sporadic violence and deaths. In September 1957, when Little Rock High School had been officially desegregated, the Little Rock Nine faced an angry mob of over 1,000 white Americans, protesting against their attendance. This demonstrates the huge resistance from white Americans following the Brown vs. Board of Education trial, with many white Americans issuing violence towards the Little Rock Nine, discrimination towards them continued. By 1992, blacks and whites continued to live apart from each other, ignoring a a few integrated upper middle class areas like Philadelphia’s Mount Airy. Poor black ghettos were still prevalent in inner cities. This demonstrates that still even more recently, attitudes of white Americans still maintain some discrimination towards African Americans, and despite many changes in legislation, opinions cannot be forced into change.
Overall I think the most important factor which continued the discrimination towards African Americans. Despite the Federal Government taking increased interest throughout the period in civil rights, State Government did not always enforce changes in legislation, and prevented any progress for the Black Movement. No matter what changes occurred in the laws or changes in education, healthcare or housing, there was little that could strongly influence and change public attitudes and opinions, even now the southern states still have KKK members and many Americans still have racist attitudes towards African Americans despite legislature giving blacks equal rights and citizenship.