Extremism In African American History

Extremism is a complex idea that has the potential to create progress in the world as well as mass destruction. Many people take to extremism to eliminate injustices, and extremism comes in many different forms. During Great Britain’s rule over India, the British treated the Indians with little respect and repressed the people for almost 200 years (McGregor). Due to the cruelty of the British, the Indians began to practice nonviolent civil disobedience. Though their methods were nonviolent, they were extreme; Millions of Indians died to gain their freedom (Haynes). It took many years and lives lost, but India eventually gained its freedom and it was because of the extreme measures they took. People turn to extremism when they feel as though …show more content…
In American history, there have been multiple accounts of African American liberation groups. These groups have continued to pop up because they feel as though they are being repressed by the American government and society. They have been alienated from American society from the very beginning of American history. Africans were brought over to America as slaves for the European Americans. Life as a slave was brutal, and they had a very little chance of escaping their owner. Slaves were stripped of basic human rights, slaves could not carry firearms, testify in court, buy or sell anything, hold property, participate in politics, congregate in groups, travel without permission, or legally marry or be parents (Boston). Slavery was abolished from the constitution in 1865, but that did not bring an end to the alienation of the African Americans ("America 's Historical Documents"). In the first half of the 1900’s, Blacks still did not have basic human rights. They were segregated from whites, they had separate bathrooms, separate drinking fountains, separate schools for their children, Blacks were forced to the back of buses, and they even had a different side of town than whites ("The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution”). These injustices lead to the rise of black liberation groups such as, The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Revolutionary Action Movement, and The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense Organization of Afro-American Unity ("Civil Rights & Black Liberation Organizations and People"). Many of these groups participated in extreme methods in order to get what they wanted. The Black Panther Party of the 1960’s went as far as to carry loaded guns through the California State Capitol building and read Executive Mandate Number 1. The group did not break any laws, but this was a protest that