Racial And Ethnic Groups

African Americans came to the United States as slaves about 400 or 500 years ago and did not do so on their own free will.

From slavery to the present day the social and economic tie downs of African Americans in the United States has been the oppression of the working group. Rule in American has always depended on using the color question to hold down African Americans.

The secret has been to segregate and divide the south were most blacks were restricted to, from the rest of the country by keeping conditions in the region very poor.

Until now the struggle of blacks could achieve at most concessions reform from the class that was in control of the nation. The last such social reform, desegregation and affirmative action came from struggles of the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s , these reforms are under attack like social security and health care.

The use of technology to eliminate jobs is putting millions of blacks into permanent poverty and unemployment. These blacks are becoming a new class whose need for food, clothing, and freedom can not be met under our current system because they are excluded from it.

Now more than ever, the struggle of the majority of the blacks is being expressed in terms of survival : home , food , clothing , education , healthcare and whole lot more.

I can identify culturally with the struggles of blacks today only because I am African American myself I however can not come close to identifying with the struggle of the 1950’s and the 1960’s. It is very hard to fully understand how hard