African Americans Did Not Improve Much Essay

How far do you agree that the lives of black Americans did not improve much between 1945 and 1955? (30 marks)

There is a great deal of evidence to support and argue the statement above regarding the lives of black Americans and whether they did or did not improve much between 1945 and 1955. Black American’s social position, especially in the South, did not improve much, neither did their voting rights. There was also a huge racially motivated backlash to the Brown v Topeka ruling which did not help to improve the lives of black Americans. However in the North there were a number of social, economic and political changes within the education system and other institutions such as the interstate buses, which aimed to improve lives of black
The report made in 1947 highlighted the problems of lynching, police brutality towards black Americans, voting rights, discrimination in the armed forces, lack of employment and education and finally the discrimination in the area of health. All of these factors showed just how much African Americans were not receiving the equal treatment as white people. However the report was not meant to be negative, as there were many recommendations that federal governments should enforce to ensure equal civil rights for all Americans. Despite this the report was not totally useful, as many of the recommendations did not lead to de facto change, as many local governments were racist and just ignored the report. Instead, President Truman used his government power to oppose new reforms such as the Executive Order 9980 which enforced equal employment opportunities and the Executive Order 9981 which called for racial equality in the armed forces. The report and direct action taken by the President suggested improving the lives of black Americans between 1945 and 1955 was beginning to happen, although the political changes did not successfully improve their lives due to the continuity of racism in all levels of society, especially within