African American Women
How do you start a African American research paper? Our expert writers suggest like this:
The struggle for civil rights since the end of Reconstruction, at least in popular imagination, has been one dominated by men. African-American men seem to have the loudest voices: Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph Ellison, Jessie Jackson, the list goes on. But perhaps it is safe to say that an equal share of the struggle has been taken up by women. In the 19th century and 20th century, African-American women have written, marched, protested and organized for the advancement of all African-Americans.
This struggle has not been without is hardships and oppression. The deck seems to have been stacked against African-Americans, and even more so, African American women. After the Civil War, society, especially in the South, used violence in order to keep the newly freed blacks from slavery, quiet and in control.
Early Days of the African American Women's Struggles
Between 1880 and 1930 there were at least 2,018 separate incidents of lynching, in which some 2,362 African-American men, women, and children were murdered. These lynchings often became ritualistic affairs, where victims were mutilated and burned at the stake in a carnival-like atmosphere. At the same time, the practice of whitecapping was spreading, wherein black landowners and sharecroppers were subjected to such prolonged intimidation and violence that they fled their land, making way for white tenants and owners. Northern and Southern urban areas provided some refuge, but a series of riots-Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1898, Atlanta in 1906, Springfield, Illinois in 1908, Chicago and East St. Louis in 1919-saw the white rioters, with the sanction and even assistance of law enforcement officials, beat blacks indiscriminately, destroy their businesses, and force them to leave their homes and abandon their possessions.
Mary Church Terrell and other black women formed the National Association of Colored Women in 1896 as a direct response to a letter by James Jacks, the white president of the Missouri Press Association, who had called all black women prostitutes and thieves. The NACW, according to white, became the African-American woman's primary vehicle for race leadership, whose members saw the social problems of race, gender, and poverty as interlocked. "They believed that if they worked for the poor, they worked for black women, and if they worked for black women they worked for the race." Mary Church Terrell was the NACW's first president.
National Association of Colored Women in Research
But the NACW did not spring out of nowhere. Numerous local groups of African American women had grown up across America during the 1890s.
- Mary Church Terrell, Anna Julia Cooper, and Mary Jane Patterson had formed the Colored Women's League in Washington, D.C. in 1892.
- Journalist Victoria Matthews formed the Woman's Loyal Union several months later in New York City.
- Josephine Ruffin founded the New Era Club in Boston.
By late 1893, there was the Chicago Women's Club. By the time the NACW joined all of these groups together, there were too many to count.
Related Research Paper Topic Suggestions
African American Family - African American Family Research Papers discuss a sample of a paper order on how to order an observation paper, with specific questions to answer on the topic.
African American History - African American History research papers look into the experience of African Americans since the founding of the British colonies to the Civil Rights movement and beyond.
Afroamerican Studies - Afro-American Studies Research Papers on an interdisciplinary field of research and writing that focuses on politics, cultures, and histories of African American people.
Black Americans - Uniqueness of the Back American Research Papers delve into examining and defining African American culture including history, development, and distinguishing characteristics.
Black Churches - Research papers on Black Churches examine the churches that serve the African American community.
Black Church History - Research papers on Black Church history discuss how the African American church came to be after the institution of slavery.
Black English - Black English Research Papers look at this language which rooted from when the African Americans were forced over to America to become slaves.
Black History - A research paper on Black History discusses this important component of culture that aims to preserve the traditional narratives of black culture.
Black Studies - Black Studies essays examine the interdisciplinary academic subject that combines elements of the history, culture and politics of African Americans.
Choose A Major Historical Event - Choose a Major Historical Event research papers choose any one group or major historical event to illustrate how people, places and/or events have been interrelated and impacted. History research papers are available at Paper Masters.
Integration of Schools - Integration of Schools Research Papers look at the 1950's society, and the African American's fight for desegregation of schools.
Jim Crow Laws - Jim Crow Laws research papers discuss the law that imposed severe restrictions on African Americans, including limits on their individual rights and strict segregation laws.
Long Hot Summers of The 1960S - Long Hot Summers of the 1960's Research Papers discuss the civil rights riots that occurred through the years 1964-1969.
Malcolm X - Malcolm X Research Papers examine the life of this man, and his distrust and rage toward white Americans. He became known as " the angriest black man in America."
Million Man March - Million Man March research papers overview the gathering of African American men at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to present a different view of African Americans.
NAACP - NAACP research papers examine one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the United States.
Plessy V. Ferguson - A research paper on Plessy v. Ferguson examine the U.S. Supreme Court decision in support of racial segregation laws that brought about the
Rosa Parks - Rosa Parks research papers discuss this key figure in the civil rights movement.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X - How to write research on the Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley is overviewed by Paper Masters.
The Scottsboro Boys - The Scottsboro Boys Research Paper explores the trial of nine black men in the south during the 1930's, and their unfair trial.
Title Vii - A research paper on Title VII examines one of the 11 Titles of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlaws discrimination.
Warriors Dont Cry - Warriors Don't Cry Research Papers delve into an autobiography on the integration of African American students into white schools.
W.E.B. Du Bois - W.E.B. Du Bois research papers look at this African American scholar and compares him to others of the past such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Custom Written History Research Papers can be found at Paper Masters.