There were so many lynchings of blacks that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) posted the number of victims at its New York City headquarters. Thus, before World War I, race relations in America were dismal with little hope for change. The Navy limited the ratings for which blacks could apply to coal heaver, messman, steward, and cook. Chief Gunner’s Mate John Henry Turpin, a survivor of the explosion aboard the battleship USS Maine in Havana Harbor, was an exception. Most of the 10,000 African Americans in the Navy during World War I fought to make the world safe for democracy despite their own limited opportunities. Ferguson constitutionally sanctioned “Jim Crow” or separate-but-equal policies. The share-cropping system replaced slavery. The 1896 Supreme Court decision on Plessy v. 1 After that period, the Navy reduced recruitment overall which decreased the number of blacks in the service. In the second half of the 19th century, the Navy adopted recruitment policies that were consistent with the racism, discrimination, and separation of the races practiced by law and custom in American society. The Klu Klux Klan and other racist individuals and groups terrorized and killed blacks and destroyed their property at will with no fear of being arrested. Southern communities implemented the black codes to “keep blacks in their place,” i.e., preventing more than three African Americans from congregating in public and giving them additional requirements to vote. The Navy was racially integrated through 1865. Blacks served on the 700 ships in the Union Navy and eight of them received the Congressional Medal of Honor. (NOTE: The terms “African Americans” and “blacks” are used interchangeably.)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |