Suchergebnisse

Si j' a i tant écrit sur ma condition de Noir, ce n'est pas que je considérais tenir là mon seul et unique sujet, mais parce qu'il me fallait déverrouiller cette porte avant de pouvoir espérer écrire sur un autre thème. Je ne pense pas que l'on puisse véritablement débattre du problème noir aux États-Unis sans avoir à l'esprit son contexte ; par contexte, j'entends l'histoire, les traditions, les coutumes, les valeurs morales et les préoccupations nationales. James Baldwin,Notes of a Native Son,Boston, Beacon Press, 1955. Rééd. 1988, p. 8.

This article contends that contrary to what was thought at the time, the migration of large numbers of Afro-Americans to urban areas during the First Great Migration (1900–1920) failed in many instances to cause the severing of affective bonds of kinship and friendship. Instead blacks devised a number of adaptive strategies that enabled them to maintain contact with those deemed important The present findings also reveal the complex nature of the migratory process and the central role played by women in maintaining family and friendship ties despite geographic separation.

This article contends that contrary to what was thought at the time, the migration of large numbers of Afro-Americans to urban areas during the First Great Migration (1900- 192 0) failed in many instances to cause the severing of affective bonds of kinship and friendship. Instead, blacks devised a number of adaptive strategies that enabled them to maintain contact with those deemed important. The present findings also reveal the complex nature of the migratory process and the central role played by women in maintaining family and friendship ties despite geographic separation.

On November 13, 1924, the first public announcements of white scion Leonard Kip Rhinelander's secret marriage to a working-class "colored" woman, Alice Jones, exploded across the front pages of New York newspapers. Although Rhinelander, a wealthy white socialite, ignored family orders and stayed with his wife through the first week or so of the scandal, few were surprised when he ultimately left her and filed an annulment suit. While New York did not outlaw interracial marriages, Leonard's suit reflected the extent of public sentiment against such marriages. Claiming he had not known Alice was black and would not have married her if he had, Leonard, acutely aware of his class station, nonetheless based his request to dissolve the marriage on prohibitions against interracial unions. It is perhaps surprising, therefore, that the jury of twelve white married men refused the Rhinelander heir his annulment and upheld the marriage, there-by accepting Alice's version of events and actions.

One hundred years before Rosa Parks took her stand, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jennings tried to board a streetcar in New York City on her way to church. Though there were plenty of empty seats, she was denied entry, assaulted, and threatened all because of her race -- even though New York was a free state at that time. Lizzie decided to fight back. She told her story, took her case to court -- where future president Chester Arthur represented her -- and won! Her victory was the first recorded in the fight for equal rights on public transportation, and Lizzie's case set a precedent