In 1865, The Civil War had ended and the era of Reconstruction had begun. The South was in need of serious reconstruction, not only from the loss of free labor due to the Emancipation Proclamation, which had abolished slavery in the United States, but from the battles of the Civil War itself. In this time, Federal soldiers occupied the southern states enforcing the new laws and amendments which had granted African Americans new freedoms as citizens of the nation. African Americans, though free, were segregated from the White’s facilities and education systems. Inspired by their opportunities as free men and women, African American communities quickly began to set up schooling systems, and encouraged one another to educate themselves with hopes that wisdom may hold the key to ending the racial discrimination and inequality they faced in free America. Also, given the right to franchise, they could now create businesses and create wealth. This too gave them hope, the hope that their voices may be heard in federal and state governments.
Though protected citizens under the 13th Amendment, African Americans struggled …show more content…
These struggles dampened their voices in politics and quickly led to the development of clubs, organizations, and other developmental media that gave African Americans structure in the organization of their case against racial discrimination and inequality. Among those leaders influencing this development was Ida B. Wells.
Ida B. Wells was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, in 1862, to her father Jim Wells, a trustee on the board of Shaw University, later called Rust College, and her mother Elisabeth Wells. Her parents taught her the importance of an education and shared with her experiences from first-hand accounts of slavery, as they were born into slavery and then later freed by its abolishment. For Wells, this stressed the struggles faced by the African American and the need for a resolution to racial inequality. In
Though protected citizens under the 13th Amendment, African Americans struggled …show more content…
These struggles dampened their voices in politics and quickly led to the development of clubs, organizations, and other developmental media that gave African Americans structure in the organization of their case against racial discrimination and inequality. Among those leaders influencing this development was Ida B. Wells.
Ida B. Wells was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, in 1862, to her father Jim Wells, a trustee on the board of Shaw University, later called Rust College, and her mother Elisabeth Wells. Her parents taught her the importance of an education and shared with her experiences from first-hand accounts of slavery, as they were born into slavery and then later freed by its abolishment. For Wells, this stressed the struggles faced by the African American and the need for a resolution to racial inequality. In