The social organization of Black communities
Theme: Freedom
In American society, black and white societies lived separately and each culture had distinctive features. The Black community had social organizations that created a network of relationships and helped the black members stay connected and maintain a sense of community. Before the 1960s, African Americans created communities and organizations which played a significant role as they improved the political, economic, and social status of Blacks. Black communities were characterized by pyramid shape; the people in the upper class were very few, people in the middle class were few, and people in the lower class were many. On the other, the white community had a diamond structure; people in the lower class were few, people in the middle class were many and a small upper class. Many African Americas lived below the poverty level and by 1960, only 13% of black workers had professional jobs. However, African Americans created social and support networks that developed a sense of community. In other words, Black communities created social organizations that gave blacks identity. Even though social organizations did not have the power to control the local governments, the communities allowed Blacks to express their culture and social conditions through visual arts, drama, music, and poetry. The Black parallel society allowed African Americans to overcome white exclusiveness, and racial discrimination. In general, social organizations of Black communities brought changes in socioeconomic status, and increased black participation.
Hunter & Robinson (57) states that in search of freedom, Blacks created villages, both small and big. For example, The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 allowed the free slave to move to places such as Nova Scotia, Sierra Leone, North Buxton, Ontario, and rural South among other places to search for freedom (Hunter & Robinson, 57). Freedom and racial survival influenced urbanization and migration. Due to the high African American population, Blacks formed interconnected chocolate cities, homes, and communities. However, the municipal and state government forced the Blacks to move out cities and for this reason, Blacks moved to rural, South and created homes in this region (Hunter & Robinson, 58). In these regions, activist groups established a movement to express their grievances toward police brutality and reinvestment. The many villages created chocolate cities which empowered the Blacks to navigate their way and keep moving despite the different sets of constrictions. With direct collaboration, Black people were able to achieve employment, family reunion, and community connections (Hunter & Robinson, 58). They had the power to protest against oppression, racism, residential segregation, white domination, marginalization, poverty, and violence. In chocolate cities or rather in their new homes, Blacks achieved freedom through bringing regional customs and cultures traditions, and more importantly, they relieved themselves from White domination (Hunter & Robinson, 59). Through creating villages and valuing their traditions, they were able to achieve political, social and political power.
Nash (38) asserts that the social organizations for Black communities made the African Americans establish their own American Revolution, and ultimately led to the creation of the largest free black community. For example, in Philadelphia, African Americas protested against the Stamp Act, corrupt colonial master, monarchical tyranny, among other negative experiences. In 1775, Blacks entered a resistance movement and formed the antislavery group. The slaves were aware that some masters gave the slaves freedom and for this reason, they continued to demand freedom (Nash, 38). By 1780s, the Black community had gradually decreased due to deaths. However, during the Revolution period, many slaves including Moses Johnson and other Southern slaves escaped and formed religious organizations such as Black Methodist. However, they could not maintain religious sensibility and therefore they established the Free African Society in 1787 (Nash, 44). This was a Black organization which also known as a black mutual aid organization. The purpose of the social organization (created by escaped slaves) was to organize social life, gather strength, select leaders, find their racial identity, and live an independent life. The article for the Free African Society stated that "We, the free Africans and their descendants, of the city of Philadelphia" (Nash, 97). The members of the social group were Moses Johnson, Cato Freeman, Richard Allen, and others. The members could hold a meeting every month and they also welcomed recruits. In the meeting, they discussed the abolition of slavery and freedom.
Focusing on the theme of freedom, it is important to note that social organizations in Black communities played a significant role in helping the Blacks gain freedom. The social organization did not only allow the Black to build chocolate cities where they enjoyed their customs and cultural traditions but they also allowed the slaves to form a free black community or in other words a free black life in Philadelphia (Nash, 97). The slaves believed that one day they would come out of slavery and build a biracial society that declared that all men are equal and have inalienable rights. During the 18th century, whites believed that African Americans were inferior and unfit for freedom. However, the free Black citizens were able to form independent organizations and these organizations helped them develop a sense of being and self-support. They recognized the obstacles and boundaries and used their limited resources to triumph. Haggard (29) adds that The Free African Society of Philadelphia included all people apart from immoral people. Widows and children benefit from education, death benefits, connectedness, and other benefits.
In the search for freedom, African Americans created benevolent societies which were designed to help Blacks in times of natural disaster or white harassment. Free Black men provided the members with the necessary assistance to the poor people, and it as also focused on the abolition of slavery, and Christianity (Haggard, 29). This was a wise strategy that made whites to fear attacking Black. They could not attack an organization that offered support to the widows. In 1790, another organization known as the Brown Fellowship Society was formed and its purpose was to show the white society that Blacks and Whited had mixed blood. Not all Blacks were members of these groups but the main figures were from Spanish and French occupation.
Lesson Learned/ Key takeaway
Focusing on the theme of freedom, the key takeaway is that Black organizations that led to the creation of Black communities gave Blacks the power to challenge white racism and seek self-determination. Through the organizations, Blacks did not only remove the barriers but they also demanded black representation. These organizations were aggressive or in other words, they were not quite but they held meetings, made demands, initiated protests, and other tactics to support the Black Power Movement. I believe that if it were not for these organizations, Blacks could not have the power to express themselves. Note that the movement such as the Panther Party stated that "What We Want, What We Believe” (Bell, 53). This tells that the purpose of the organizations was to communicate that they wanted freedom, power, full employment, decent housing, education, freedom, justice, peace, land, and end the police brutality (Bell, 53). Focusing on the theme of freedom, these are some of the things that the Black community wanted and they believed that if all these things were fulfilled, then freedom would be achieved. I understand that the only way the Blacks could say what they needed is through social organizations. The latter allowed them to express their concerns and social problems.
Another important lesson that I have learned is the power of ethnic-racial socialization. For Blacks to say that they want freedom, employment, justice, peace, education, among other things, there must be ethnic-racial specialization. Focusing on the life experiences of African Americans, I have realized that racial discrimination affected their everyday life. However, they were able to recover from the difficulties in other words, they were able to achieve resilience through ethnic-racial socialization (Burt et al, 648). This means that African Americans had socialization practices such as establishing chocolate cities and coming up with social organizations, and many initiatives. Socialization means that African Americans were able to identify problems, their social conditions, and came up with solutions (Burt et al, 650). For example, Blacks suffered from employment, low incomes, poverty, lack of housing, among other problems. However, despite these unfavorable conditions, Blacks strongly believed that one day they would achieve greater freedom (Burt et al, 665). They had enduring confidence in transforming society and achieve freedom. I have learned that they were able to gain a sense of social stability through the power of ethnic-racial socialization.
The third key takeaway is that focusing on the various forms of racism, African Americans suffered from structural racism. This is because, over centuries, Whites have been the dominant group and it has enjoyed wealth, homeownership, and other political, social and economic benefits (Better, 28). On the other hand, people of color have been deprived of power or they have been restricted in accessing power, and opportunities. This suggests that although African Americans struggled to achieve freedom during the Civil Rights Movement, they did not achieve their goals (Better, 28). Today, African Americans continue to face racial disparities especially in access to social services. They still struggle for equality under the white power structure. I believe that to achieve racial justice, the African community should focus on police initiative and cultural awareness. They should address the issue by putting a racial justice lens and this will allow the Black community to dismantle the racialization and promote equality.
Conclusion
For many years, Blacks have experienced racial injustice. They struggled for freedom and expressed their needs through mass demonstrations and the creation of the social organization. The paper has shown that social organizations enabled the Black communities to support each other, reduce fear, and gain the strength to move forward. The social organizations which enabled the Black to achieve freedom reveal that Blacks were able to develop social values, moral values, religious values, political values, and economic values. These made the Black communities different from white and the difference gave the Black community a uniqueness. The entire paper suggests that even though racialization still exists today, African Americans were able to achieve freedom through networks and organizations. This enabled them to protect their rights and gain hope and strength. Today, African American communities should come together and address the interpersonal, internalized, institutional, and structural racism in modern American.
Work cited
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