Civil War or Civil Rights

When folklore becomes myth — and myth becomes reality, the Truth is that much harder to identify. It appears that although the South lost the Civil War, a lot of the fears or responses to the fears still exist today, which leaves me wondering — are we still dealing with the Civil War or is this just a matter of Civil Rights? Is there a difference? What does Black leadership look like today, and which one are they fighting or fighting for? Who and where are we today as a nation, a region, a community, and an individual?

While touring the Atlanta University Campus grounds (AUC) — Morehouse, Spelman, Clark, Morris Brown, I saw this sign across from the Morehouse campus, and it made me think more about “Leadership” in the Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The caption at the bottom of this sign says, “Our 150 Year Journey 1864–2014.” Are we basing our school curriculum and Leadership out of fears from years ago or fears today, or are fears from the Southern white community no longer relevant when it comes to how we educate students at predominantly Black schools — especially at the ones in Atlanta since this is what my project is on.

I searched “fears” against four different periods in history when Southern Whites were afraid of Blacks: Slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and Civil Rights. When I looked at Southern whites’ fears about blacks being freed during slavery, a few fears I found were racial mixing, competition with the poor (taking of jobs), a crime wave (fear that Blacks would retaliate). Well, when the slaves were freed, some of the same fears carried over or new fears were added during the Reconstruction Period.

During the Reconstruction period, new issues were Blacks having the right to vote and being able to influence “white” politics. This was also a time when Southern whites felt the North was telling them what to do, which did not make them happy. This worry brought on Black Codes. Black Codes rules were numerous and meant to keep Whites in power. Some Black Codes involved an annual tax up to $100 be paid by Blacks wanting to work jobs outside of farm or servant labor, he/she had to pay an annual tax up to $100 or Blacks had to have written proof of employment — for if they were unemployed, they were breaking the law.

After Reconstruction came the Jim Crow Laws of the South, which brought on groups like the KKK, who were tasked to scare blacks from voting and trying to assimilate into White society. Their purpose was to maintain White supremacy.

The Civil Rights movement and changing laws came along to end Jim Crow laws. By this time, Southern whites had already perpetuated years of stereotypes and myths about Blacks. These stereotypes and myths attached the following stigmas to Blacks: unclean, shiftless (lacking ambition or incentive), unintelligent, oversexed, second class citizens, etc.

This sign near the Black Colleges made me wonder if HBCUs Leadership’s approach to how HBCUs prepare young Black adults for the world has changed or if these schools still find themselves giving the same motivational speeches and advice that HBCU Leaders have done for over 100 years? Are HBCUs still arming their students with the tools to combat those stereotypes? How does predominantly white schools prepare their students for the world? Am I perpetuating the myth that HBCUs are for only Black students when I only reference Black students when talking about HBCUs?

I interviewed a graduate of Spelman University and got a different perspective of HBCUs. I will share this on my next post.