Racism against African Americans

Racism against African Americans dates back to the colonial era, and it continues to be a persistent issue in American society in the 21st century.

Racism Against African Americans Media

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  White segregationists (foreground) trying to prevent Black people from swimming at a "White only" beach in St. Augustine, Florida in 1964

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  Reproduction of a handbill advertising a slave auction in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1769

• Ashley's Sack (Slave Sack c. mid-19th century).jpg

  Ashley's Sack, a cloth that recounts a slave sale separating a mother and her daughter. The sack belonged to a nine-year-old girl, Ashley. It was a parting gift from her mother, Rose, after Ashley had been sold. Rose filled the sack with a dress, braid of her hair, pecans, and "my love always".

• Crowe-Slaves Waiting for Sale - Richmond, Virginia.jpg

  Slaves Waiting for Sale: Richmond, Virginia, 1853

• Lynching-of-will-james.jpg

  The mob-style lynching of Will James, Cairo, Illinois, 1909. A crowd of thousands watched the lynching.

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  During the 1921 Tulsa race massacre thousands of Whites rampaged through the Black community, killing men and women, burning and looting stores and homes. It's estimated that 300 people were killed.

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  A group of White men pose for a 1919 photograph as they stand over the body of the Black lynching victim Will Brown before they decide to mutilate and burn it during the Omaha race riot of 1919 in Omaha, Nebraska. Photographs and postcards of lynchings were popular souvenirs in the U.S.

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  White tenants seeking to prevent Black people from moving into the housing project erected this sign. Detroit, 1942.