African Americans in the 1920s

“Cast down your bucket where you are. Cast it down among the eight millions of
Negroes…” – Booker T. Washington, 1895 Atlanta Compromise

Throughout US history, there is an abundance of racism, segregation and

discrimination towards the African American people. In 1619, the first African slaves
were brought to Jamestown to produce tobacco, tea, cotton, coffee and other precious
commodities. In this time period, 12 million Africans were forcibly transported to the
Americas, where they worked as slaves until 1865, where the 13th Amendment
abolished slavery. Although suppressed by whites and organisations such as the Ku
Klux Klan, African Americans in the 1920s began to work towards social, economic
and political independence as well as freedom from segregation and discrimination.
From this decade, groups in favour of ending prejudice towards African Americans
were formed, such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People) led by W.E.B. DuBois and the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement
Association) led by Marcus Garvey, who, in their own rights, continued the legacy of
Booker T. Washington who had worked towards Black rights in the 1890s.

“We must canonize our own saints, create our own martyrs, and elevate to positions
of fame and honor black men and women who have made distinct contributions to our
racial history” – Marcus Garvey
World War I was a perfect opportunity for African Americans to prove
themselves to their white neighbours, and fulfil the policies of Booker T. Washington,
that in order to achieve acceptance, equality and freedom, they must first prove that
they are worthy of their rights, which was done through service in the armed forces.
However, instead of being accepted by white society, African Americans found that
racial tensions only grew during the 1920s. Starting from the 1910s, a phenomenon
had been occurring known as the Great Migration – the movement of African
Americans from Southern cities to Northern ones as a result of extreme racism, the
threat of lynching and the general aggression from whites. The African American
population grew from 44 000 in 1920 to 234 000 in 1930 in Chicago, and Black
Chicagoans gained access to city jobs, expanded their professional class and even
won elective office in local and state government. However, in places such as Harlem,
New York City, many African Americans were forced into small ghettos due to the
unavailability of housing to them. Despite this, migration to the North meant that
African Americans had become a powerful voting group, one that many white
politicians took interest in (such as the Communist Party of America) and also pushed
for civil rights of African Americans as they realised that racism was not just a
Southern problem.
Another side effect of the Great Migration, and ghettos was the flourishing of
African American culture in the Black, or Harlem Renaissance. This movement was
characterised by the idea of the ‘New Negro’ whose intellect through music, art and
literature would challenge racism and stereotypes to promote progressive politics and
social integration. One such example of the New Negro is Marcus Garvey, the
Jamaican-born founder of the UNIA, who acted the part of a Negro king, established
the African Orthodox Church and promoted a policy of separatism and a move of all
African Americans back to Africa. The Harlem Renaissance saw a new culture
develop in Harlem, the ghetto backstreets of New York City, where African
Americans would reach back to their rich cultural heritage and produce creative works
to express their feelings in the 1920s, such as Jazz music, which employed the minds
of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington and many more. Other
famous figures include Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and Countee Cullen,
who inspired African Americans to remain strong despite the threat of racial violence.
As a result of the Harlem Renaissance and the culture produced there, African
Americans through taking pride in their heritage found empowerment, which lead to
the beginnings of groups such as the Civil Rights Movement, and also, due to the
significant effect they had on white culture (such as the development of modern
music) it was impossible for white Americans to ignore the achievements occurring in
Harlem and other black communities, and allow segregation to continue at such a
large scale.
Despite the cultural developments in Harlem and the formation of the African
American identity, white culture found it extremely difficult to accept their black
neighbours, leading to racial tensions, and often as a result, lynchings. One such
example of racial tension leading to horrific consequences was the Tulsa Race Riots.
In 1921, Tulsa Oklahoma was experiencing an economic boom thanks to the
discovery of oil. Due to this African Americans also prospered, although confined to
the Greenwood section of the city, also referred to as the Black Wall Street, due to a
number of wealthy black entrepreneurs residing there. At this time, membership in the
Ku Klux Klan was rising and there was an active chapter in Tulsa. On Memorial Day,
a riot was triggered by a report in several white newspapers that a white, female
elevator operator had been allegedly raped by black youths. In response to this,
rumours circulated around the city that a mob was going to attempt to lynch the
youths, then a group of armed African Americans bolted to the local police station in
order to stop the lynching mob, that did not exist. A confrontation followed where
shots were fired and several whites killed. As news of the events spread through
Tulsa, thousands of whites caused uproar through Greenwood as they ran through the
Black Wall Street, killing African Americans and vandalising, burning and looting
homes and businesses. However, when the National Guard was called in, only blacks
were arrested (around four or five thousand), and as a result of the day’s violence,
around 35 blocks of Greenwood were destroyed, $1.5 million worth of damage
caused, and reports of up to 300 African Americans killed, and only 20 whites. Today,
white citizens of Oklahoma have only recently accepted the blame for the hundreds of
deaths as a result of the Tulsa Race Riots.

“I was frequently whipped and also put into an electric chair and shocked and
strangling drugs would be put in my nose to make me tell that others had killed or
shot at white people and force me to testify against them” – Alf Banks

One of the many goals of the NAACP was to make Black Americans aware of their
political rights, including their right to vote. They also wished to see an end to the
lynching of African Americans throughout the US, and with the help of the Tuskegee
Institute compiled information that revealed that from 1890 to 1921, there had been
more lynchings than executions, and that of the 4096 known lynchings, 810 of those
had been for rape or attempted rape. In 1922, the law known as the Dyer Anti-
Lynching Law was passed through the House of Representatives with more than two-
thirds in favour of the bill, but failed to make it through the Senate, due to the lack of
political will in the 1920s to see an end to lynching, and also because of the influence
of the Southern Democrats. However, due to the research undertaken by the NAACP
and the Tuskegee Institute being released in the press, and thus, to the general public,
the outcry leads to a decrease in lynchings.
In 1923, the NAACP gained an impressive legal victory against the courts of
Arkansas in what is known as the Moore versus Dempsey case. In the Elaine,
Arkansas riot of 1919, 5 whites were killed, allegedly by African Americans. As a
result of this, over 700 African Americans were arrested, 67 sent to prison and 12
sentenced to death, after being tried by an all white jury. Walter White, a member of
the NAACP, took interest in the case and after travelling to Arkansas posing as a
newspaper reporter, and into Phillips County where the ‘massacre’ took place, he
published what he had found. The NAACP then hired black and white lawyers, who
argued that due to the mob that had circled the courthouse on the day of the trial, the
12 men had not received a fair trial. On the 19th of February 1923, the Supreme Court
decided in the favour of the NAACP, the case was handed down to the lower courts
and all 12 men were freed.

“Until your produce what the white man has produced, you will not be his equal” –
Marcus Garvey

Marcus Garvey, the founder of the UNIA believed that the only way to
establish African Americans as an independent group was through capitalism. On
January 30 1920, the Negro Factories Corporation was created in Delaware, whose
purpose was to help African Americans rely on their own efforts. By May the same
year, the corporation had taken over the management of the steam laundry in Harlem,
and was also opening millinery. Soon afterwards in June, the organisation had
commenced the production of UNIA uniforms and insignia at the Universal Tailoring
and Dress Making Department. Throughout America, UNIA branches were
encouraged to buy into their own buildings and open their own businesses, such as the
Panama branch, which ran a bakery. The shares however, of these establishments
were open to only to members of the UNIA. In 1921, the Negro Factories Corporation
fell victim to organisational mismanagement, and ceased operations. Although the
company never reached the height of Garvey’s vision, it gave hundreds of African
Americans hope by providing people with employment in Harlem, as well as
assistance through aid societies, small loans and death benefits.
Another organisation set up to help stimulate the African American economy
was the National Urban League, although established in 1910, helped African
Americans migrate from rural to urban areas during the 1920s, its purpose being “to
promote, encourage, assist and engage in any and all kinds of work for improving the
industrial, economic, social and spiritual conditions among Negroes”. In 1921, the
Department of Research was created by the League for the purpose of surveying
Black populations in northern cities, resulting in the discovery African Americans
faced regarding employment, sanitation and hygiene, and education. By addressing
these problems, the League quickly grew, and is still in action today.
 One of the main problems facing African Americans when seeking
employment was that union membership was discouraged throughout the 1920s, by
the American Federation of Labor (AFL). This, along with the increased job
competition brought about by migrants, lead to a weakened labour movement in the
US. All African American unionists were banned from condemning the activities of
the Ku Klux Klan, and the anti-labour behaviour of capitalists (who believed African
Americans were associated with the increased industrialist power) lead not only to
increased racial tension, but also further economic competition between lower classes.
The Communist Party of America had hoped through their own establishment, the
American Negro Labor Congress that all African American unionists would be
brought together, in order to assist their own political fortunes. This movement
however had little support, with less than 200 African American members in 1928.
Due to the difficulties African Americans had with finding work should they be part
of a union, as well as the increased racial tensions brought about with taking up their
rights to be part of a union, memberships declined from 5 million to 3.5 million by the
end of the 1920s.
Despite the difficulties African Americans had finding work, when actually in
employment, the pay differences between white and black workers, especially in
factories, were small. Unfortunately, the jobs open to African Americans were
generally limited and concentrated around unskilled labour, which was often
unpleasant, and dangerous, such as working in blast furnaces in steel plants, or in the
killing and cutting departments of meat packing plants. Also, because of the
reluctance of blacks to join unions (many employers banned union membership) they
were more likely to be hired at times of strikes. The Ford Motor Company hired large
amounts of African American factory workers, starting with only 50 in 1916, and
increasing to over 10 000 in 1926. Unlike motor companies in Detroit who refused to
hire African American workers, Ford treated their black employees with the same
policy as their white employees, including the amount of working hours paid, with
only a 40 hour, 5 day week for workers, unlike companies in the steel industry which
supported a 12 hour day. The lack of education in African Americans, with the
average standard of highest education being the 5th grade (the average for whites
being 8th grade), lead many to seek work at the Ford Motor Company, and by the end
of the 1920s, accounting for 7% of the total workforce.

As a result of all that occurred in the 1920s African American USA, many
examples of what were achieved, and what happened can be seen today, in modern
America. For example, the Harlem Renaissance which saw the flourishing of Jazz
Music in New York, helped lead to the music we hear today. The NAACP which
gained legal victories, such as the Moore versus Dempsey case, and helped win
Blacks civil rights, is still operating today, as America’s oldest and largest civil rights
group for ethnic minorities. The Great Migration, and willingness for black workers to
prove themselves, established African American populations in all major cities in
America, making them a huge driving force in politics, and incorporated them into
what we now see a slightly less racist, more accepting society. America, as we know
it, would never have occurred unless African Americans had been there to influence
the growth of one of the largest capitalist societies in the world.
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