Freedom In African American Society

One of the underlying principles that the United States lives by is the basic right of freedom. The idea of freedom has been enriched in our nation 's history and has been used in our everyday language of our everyday lives. The basic inalienable right of “freedom” has never applied to the African American community; inevitably it would be linked to “slavery” instead. During the establishment of early America to the modern age America, there has always been a systematic system of oppression created by white supremacists to put the minority of the African American community at the bottom. As one who live in racially divided society, the line between being black or white would be the basic essential of determining where one would stand …show more content…
White performers blackened their faces with burnt cork or greasepaint, dressed in outlandish costumes, and performed “buffoonish styles of singing, dancing, and vernacular, minstrelsy depicted black people as infantile and pathological” (Ogbar 13) in human beings that were unfit in American society. This negative misconception of the black community had branded and defined who they really weren 't. As Jack discovered the negativity that was brought upon his people, he would gradually shift away from his true identity. Bing able to experiencing first hand on how the white population spoke about blacks in the negative light, Jack would have to prevent any suspicious accusations from the white general public and continue to conform passing as a white male himself and not associate himself with his black mother in …show more content…
The black population was concentrated in certain jobs and industries they were either the last one hired and the first fired, as a result, many there was an excessive disproportionate amount of unemployment. Many whites that were struggling rallied around such slogans "No Jobs for Niggers Until Every White Man Has a Job" and "Niggers, back to the cotton fields—city jobs are for white folks " (Zhang 42). As a result, many African Americans found themselves stuck in the pits of poverty as they were losing jobs to the common white man. Since Jack was able to pass as white, “It got me this job, where I still get $65 a week in spite of the depression” (Hughes 52). Jack was able to obtain a stable occupation that makes a good decent amount of money at the time where the depression had hit the United States. He has it as an advantage for himself; he would have to keep his true identity a secret. As a result, that would influence him to conform and keep passing as a white