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13th Amendment Ratified
The 13th Amendment was ratified by all states in the United States in December of 1865 abolishing slavery and beginning the advancement of African Americans. Unfortunately, the wave of change did not occur as quickly or as widely as those supporting African American freedom would have hoped. White Southerners refused to accept the changes leaving African Americans to survive extensive racial hatred and violence. -
Exoduster Movement Began
As the extensive racial hatred and violence continued, many African Americans sought an alternative place to call home. Between 1879 and 1880, over twenty-five thousand African Americans arrived in Kansas from Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas seeking refuge, new economic possibilities, and further advancement for themselves. By 1890, that number rose to over five hundred thousand African Americans living west of the Mississippi River. -
Atlanta Compromise
While many African Americans chose to leave the South, many others could not. For them, Booker T. Washington, an African American leader in the South, encouraged African Americans to stay where they were, and focus their efforts in bettering themselves in order to gain advancement. His famous speech given at the Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895 to a predominately white audience became known as the Atlanta Compromise. -
NAACP Formed
While Booker T. Washington's approach worked for some, other African Americans desired a more aggressive approach. W.E.B. Du Bois, another prominent African American leader during this time, founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909. An example of the NAACP's work includes their secretary, Nerney's letter to a local Chicago censor requesting the removal of scenes from the motion picture, The Birth of a Nation due to inaccuracies and criticism of freed slaves. -
The Great Migration Began
Unfortunately, the extensive racial hatred and violence in the South continued. Spurred by advancements in the North, approximately two million African Americans participated in the Great Migration beginning in 1916 to move, primarily, to the Upper Midwest and the Northeast of the United States. Unfortunately, the racial acceptance and equality in the North was not as good as they hoped. Nonetheless, the noneconomic gains outweighed the new economic challenges they faced. -
The Harlem Renaissance Began
Beginning in 1917, the Harlem Renaissance was an incredible African American cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem, New York. Du Bois developed the idea of “Negro Nationalism” which encouraged African Americans to promote African American literature and cultural expression in an effort to bring about civil and political equality and advancement of African Americans. The NAACP’s journal became a popular avenue for publishing the works of African Americans.
