Responses of African Americans to prejudice and intolerance
Self-improvement
African Americans faced many problems from the Jim Crow lawsThe laws that introduced segregation in the US South (the laws that kept black people and white people apart). in the South and in the migration to northern cities in the 1920s. However, they also had some successes of self-improvement. Socially, culturally and economically, they made gains throughout the 1920s with black musicians, writers and businesspeople driving the fight for equality.
Education
In the South, schools remained segregationThis meant that white people and black people had to live separately. The areas of society affected by segregation included churches, hospitals, theatres and schools. and educational opportunities were limited. In the North, the 1920s saw the expansion of black societies in universities and colleges, as well as a growing interest in African American history and literary studies. In the 1920s Howard University and Fisk University provided higher education for African American students.
Black capitalism
As more African Americans moved north, they established new black communities and began to develop business links and organisations.
Booker T Washington was one of the founders of the National Negro Business League. This organisation was important in helping to start many black businesses. In cities such as New York and Chicago, a successful African American middle class started to emerge.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Politically, there were fewer successes, although WEB Du Bois and Ida Bell Wells had founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACPThe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was created in 1909 to eliminate race-based discrimination across the United States of America. in 1909 and it grew in importance throughout the 1920s. However, its main campaign - to outlaw lynching - made little progress as many southern states argued that this was a state matter and not a federalPart of the government of the USA as a whole rather than relating to an individual state. one.
Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)
Marcus Garvey called for African Americans to be proud of their racial heritage. He established the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). One of its aims was to reclaim Africa by establishing a strong economic position for African Americans in the USA.
It helped to establish thousands of businesses in the 1920s, including a chain of grocery stores, restaurants, laundries and a publishing house. By 1920 it had more than 2 million members.
Garvey also set up a scheme for black people to emigrate to Africa, where they hoped to establish a society free from the racism they experienced in the USA. Garvey’s scheme failed in 1923 when he was convicted of fraud. However, the idea of ‘black pride’ helped to inspire future leaders of the Civil rights movementAn organised set of activities that brought about a change in the treatment of people from different races in American society.
The Harlem Renaissance
Culturally, the 1920s saw a great shift in the position of African Americans with more interest in African American literature, art and music. A centre of this shift in consciousness was in Harlem, New York, where the Harlem Renaissance reflected a growing sense of pride and self-confidence for African Americans. More than 300,000 black people lived in New York, mostly in Harlem. Musicians such as Duke Ellington and Paul Robeson performed at the Cotton Club and became internationally famous. Writers including Langston Hughes wrote about the racism and poverty suffered by African Americans. Alain Locke published many poems and short stories in his 1925 book The New Negro. White publishers were quick to capitalise on Harlem’s energy with works published in many magazines and books.
