JOAN AJOKU
STRUGGLES OF BLACKS AND THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT
The suburban underclass primarily comprised of blacks and low-income individuals have been
subject to suffering and societal challenges derived from continuous racial segregation and racial
influenced activities. This essay seeks to highlight an argument, that the lengthened racial
marginalization and unequal treatment blacks faced in the Jim Crow era, and the mishandling they
endured in the Broken windows era, fueled the Black Lives Matter Movement, which seeks to reclaim their right to space and deteriorate black racism.
In the Jim Crow era, African Americans experienced “white terrorism” and racial social control (Thompson-Miller, Feagin, & Picca, 2015). Blacks experienced racial exclusion from neighborhoods, towns and various public amenities that were created for everyone (Thompson-Miller, Feagin, & Picca, 2015). They were restricted from public amenities like: bathrooms, drinking fountains, restaurants and public transportation (Thompson-Miller, Feagin, & Picca, 2015). Blacks were constantly subjected to surveillance, which led to constant public harassment(Thompson-Miller, Feagin, & Picca, 2015). Blacks faced intense discrimination in local institutions such as courts, banks and schools (Thompson-Miller, Feagin, & Picca, 2015). These racial activities suppressed and oppressed the black population.
The Jim Crow era, which was characterized with extreme racial segregation, caused many black Americans to not meet their basic psychological needs. Many African Americans lived in poverty and lacked adequate access to physical resources like food, water, shelter and all the necessary resources needed to sustain their survival. In some cases when they possessed these resources, they were denied the opportunity to use it because of white superiority (Thompson-Miller, Feagin, & Picca, 2016).
In this era, Whites created a broad racial frame to justify that African Americans were deserving of their subordinate position and whites of their superordinate position (Thompson-Miller, Feagin, & Picca, 2015). They used this racial frame to justify the hardships and slavery they subjected Blacks to. Blacks were labeled as criminals, dirty and subhuman (Thompson-Miller, Feagin, & Picca, 2015). Whites viewed Black Americans as unworthy not only to eat together, but also unworthy to share the same public facilities with them (Thompson-Miller, Feagin, Picca & 2015). Black Americans suffered poor healthcare in this era, they were made to wait for long hours until all whites were attended to, before they could be seen by a doctor (Thompson-Miller, Feagin, Picca & 2015). Even when blacks had severe health problems, they were subjected to an unequal access of public services. On the public transportation, Whites put signs up indicating that all colored people must ride at the back of the bus only (Thompson-Miller, Feagin, Picca & 2015). When a Black American rioted against this segregation, t...
