We Are All Human Richard Wright 's "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" is an autobiography written from first-hand experiences of an African American man living during slave times. In the time of this writing Wright may have been considered a free man, but he, nor other black Americans, were allowed the same rights as white Americans. Jim Crow laws were laws created to enforce racial segregation in the former Confederation States of America. These laws came into effect after the Reconstruction Era, which ended in 1877, and stayed in effect until 1965. So what happened to “all men are created equally?”
“Separate but equal” was the term used for justification of segregation. This was said so it seemed White Americans were not breaking …show more content…
Black school houses were rundown, without air conditioning, and their teachers were not certified and the books they were given to teach from were outdated. Wright says whenever he moved to Memphis, it was almost impossible for him to get to read a book. They say after a Negro finished school, they had no need to read books. This was to make sure the blacks were as dependent of white Americans as possible.
Blacks were looked at as less, and talked to like animals. But if blacks knew what was best for them, they would always speak to whites with respect, no matter the situation. Wright found himself in a bad position one day. Morrie told Pease that Richard called him Pease. It was very disrespectful for a black to not say sir and ma’am when speaking to whites, since they deemed themselves superiors. Richard couldn’t say that was not true, because then he would be calling Morrie a liar, which was just as bad as not saying Mr. …show more content…
Well I think they ask the same question I did, what happened to “all men are created equally?” During the years of Jim Crow laws, white American did not care how African Americans felt, as long as whites remained in power over them. Whites took away all the rights they possibly could and treated blacks as poorly as possible to keep them from gaining education. Education was key, and that is why whites took it away. If blacks had the same education as whites, they would be eligible for the same jobs, earning the same pay, and that would lead to having power and social statuses. Jim Crow laws were the only way whites felt protected with their former status from slave
“Separate but equal” was the term used for justification of segregation. This was said so it seemed White Americans were not breaking …show more content…
Black school houses were rundown, without air conditioning, and their teachers were not certified and the books they were given to teach from were outdated. Wright says whenever he moved to Memphis, it was almost impossible for him to get to read a book. They say after a Negro finished school, they had no need to read books. This was to make sure the blacks were as dependent of white Americans as possible.
Blacks were looked at as less, and talked to like animals. But if blacks knew what was best for them, they would always speak to whites with respect, no matter the situation. Wright found himself in a bad position one day. Morrie told Pease that Richard called him Pease. It was very disrespectful for a black to not say sir and ma’am when speaking to whites, since they deemed themselves superiors. Richard couldn’t say that was not true, because then he would be calling Morrie a liar, which was just as bad as not saying Mr. …show more content…
Well I think they ask the same question I did, what happened to “all men are created equally?” During the years of Jim Crow laws, white American did not care how African Americans felt, as long as whites remained in power over them. Whites took away all the rights they possibly could and treated blacks as poorly as possible to keep them from gaining education. Education was key, and that is why whites took it away. If blacks had the same education as whites, they would be eligible for the same jobs, earning the same pay, and that would lead to having power and social statuses. Jim Crow laws were the only way whites felt protected with their former status from slave