paper2 draft

First, I want to say that I am not entirely sure if I am approaching this paper correctly. I have only written approximately 2 pages, because honestly I would rather not write 5 pages of something I had to scrap. Tell me what you think.

--The Reconstruction and Advancement of African American Society Amidst the Culturally White Setting of the United States Following the Civil War Period--


Following the American Civil War, and the Emancipation Proclamation, a vacuum was created amidst the established order between Black Americans and White Americans. No longer was the static reality of approximately 200 years of African American inferiority towards the Whites something that had judicial grounding amidst contemporary society, nor was the perceived lower status associated with slavery and skin color something that had as significant an importance at defining the character of African Americans.
The period immediately following the end of the Civil War saw unprecedented movements of black Americans from the south to the industrial and economic centers of the north; New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia all were major destinations. Washington D.C. was also a key destination for many, the lure of possibly having a say in the freshly unified United States for many recently emancipated Black Americans drew many to Washington. Despite the obvious racism that inevitably lingered (asking the majority of men to change the opinion of a people, something ingrained since birth for generations is not a feasible prospect to expect only several months or years after the initial legal change) the Black community was succeeding in furthering their respective society and developing a distinct, African American identity alongside smelting with the larger concept of an overarching “American” society. There were many signs of this renaissance-esque vibrance to be found through the advancing media outlets of newspapers, magazines, photographs, simple videos (several years later, once developed) and social events. Kathy Peiss provides a detailed documentation of the timeline of makeup for women and the cultural significance makeup had for the African American woman. Peiss notes, “ Beauty culture offered Black women good employment opportunities in the sex- and race-segregated labor market: It required low capitalization, was an easy trade to learn and was much in demand.” (Making Faces, 383, Peiss) The integration of what could be seen as an equalizing of women’s rights through makeup and respectability is altogether a separate topic of research, but the social dynamic created by the opportunity of a Black woman to straighten her hair, apply makeup and wear clothing that a White woman might even be envious of, signifies the effort made to show the public their “American-ness” and that they indeed were people to garner the same authority and respect as White peers. Alain Locke’s The New Negro provides an intellectually stimulating reflection from the African American perspective on how to best move forward with dignity as a people recently freed from the shackles of slavery and of the Black cultural movements taking place throughout the Union, specifically Harlem, New York.