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During the colonial expansion of empires into North America or “The New
World”, the same expansion occurred in the African continent.
As North America began to be seen as a strong resource of raw materials
and goods, manpower was needed in order to gather and build these
products in order to reap benefits to the mother nation.
First Nations people were the first of a major demographic people to be
used as slaves in order to satisfy demand of resources.
However, as the future began to unfold; the First Nations population
began to decline rapidly due to wars with the Europeans and diseases
that the indigenous people were very susceptible to.
Why Africans?
During the 16th century, Africans began to be deported from their native
land to North America in order to satisfy manpower demands of European
powers.
They were sold for very cheap prices to landowners in modern day United
States.
African slaves would be forced to do labor jobs around the land such as
picking cotton, sugar industry and overall day to day operations of the
land.
Over time, Africans could work over years without wages to eventually
earn their freedom.
Treatment of African Slaves
By 1860, there were approx. 4 million slaves living in the United States due
to the transatlantic slave trade.
Not only did slaves maintain a good portion of the population but also
were seen as valuable due to their work in the cotton industry that helped
the American economy.
During the American civil war in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed
the Emancipation Proclamation that effectively ended slavery in the
United States.
However, the brutal mistreatment of the African American people still
continued…
Segregation: Late 1890’s
After decades of segregation, the need for basic human rights in America
was a major goal of the African American people.
Being disenfranchised (the taking away of voting rights) as well as
discrimination due to segregation still gave African Americans a rough
quality of life.
After the World Wars, where African Americans fought as apart of the
United States army, activist ideas were being made by veterans in order to
guarantee rights for the entire African American population.
During the 1950’s to late 1960’s many protests, civil disobedience cases
and resistance to segregation began that eventually led to progression of
African American rights that we still see today.
Key Events of The Civil Rights
Movement
1. Rosa Parks: Refuses to give up her seat on a bus, is arrested and receives
national attention. Her case leads to desegregation on public transit systems.
2. Little Rock High School: First American high school that is desegregated and
nine black students are allowed to attend classes.
3. Black Panther Party: Revolutionary party created for the progression of African
American rights.
4. Tommie Smith and John Carlos: During a medal presentation at the 1968
Olympics in Mexico City, two African American athletes raise their black
gloved hand during the American national anthem to salute the human rights
movement.
5. March on Washington in 1963: A major protest in order to eliminate racial
discrimination in employment, housing and education.
Martin Luther King
Similar to the United States, Canada was also known for taking in African
slaves during the early colonial period.
Although there are differences due to our multicultural nature in Canada
to that of the United States, we have done our own injustice to African
settlers.
An example of this is Africville.
What is Africville
- Canadian Encyclopedia
What Happened and Why?