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U.S. History 1877-Present 2: Responses to Jim Crow 760 Views
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Description:
Today we'll learn about opposition to Jim Crow and how Booker T. Washington could have been one of those rich self-help gurus in today's world.
Transcript
- 00:04
There were many ways that black Americans resisted Jim Crow some
- 00:08
undermined the system without appearing to do so like Cooper secret double [Double agents wearing glasses and hats]
- 00:12
agents many chose to play it cool they carefully navigated through the complex
- 00:16
maze of rules and restrictions trying to make sure they in their families had a [Man and woman in a maze]
- 00:20
future Booker T Washington, a former slave and spokesman of black vocational
Full Transcript
- 00:26
learning was their guru he encouraged self-help and you know going with the [Washington giving a speech]
- 00:31
flow Booker T hoped this would help his people get an education, get better jobs
- 00:36
and ultimately gain economic independence... Booker T Washington
- 00:40
believes black citizens had to worry about proving themselves worthy of
- 00:44
social equality before they could fight disenfranchisement in segregation he's
- 00:50
quoted as saying the whole future of the Negro rested largely upon the question
- 00:54
as to whether or not he should make himself through his skill intelligence
- 00:58
and character well Booker T's approach was kind of like a secret sneak attack [Man appears from thick grass]
- 01:02
on the system of oppression not all african-americans were particularly
- 01:06
thrilled with Washington's sneak attack scheme young people were feeling bolder
- 01:11
than Washington unafraid of white authority and not wanting to play by [Black Americans protesting segregation]
- 01:14
white rules...... Well many blacks were coming to believe that white resentment and
- 01:21
retaliation was unavoidable on the road to success the intimidation harassment
- 01:26
terrorism and violence they endured convinced them that the American Dream
- 01:30
did not apply to them for them it was the American Nightmare and yet there
- 01:35
weren't cries of viva la revolucion why not well first of all there were a few [People protesting in the street[
- 01:40
little mini revolutions but they were sporadic and unorganized and they just
- 01:44
led to more white violence anti-black violence was everywhere so rising up
- 01:49
wouldn't exactly have been a winning strategy white lawmakers, business owners, [People in a meeting room]
- 01:54
employers, landlords, educators, religious leaders and politicians were all
- 01:58
encouraged they were racist jerks but at least they learned the value of
- 02:02
cooperation black women and men who were too on top of their game were
- 02:06
immediately shoved back down because a black person being as successful as a
- 02:11
white person that sounded like crazy talk... From the
- 02:15
late 19th century through the 1950s federal government put on a blindfold [Uncle Sam wearing blind fold]
- 02:19
when it came to the treatment of blacks in the south and really throughout
- 02:22
America the feds basically said well you guys are on your own good luck we're
- 02:28
guessing African Americans were about as surprised as a kid who's sick of her [Young girl playing with a Jack-in-the-box]
- 02:31
jack-in-the-box
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