Between 1525 and 1866, over 12 million Africans were taken as slaves to the Americas. They were forced to work on plantations harvesting lucrative crops like tobacco. According to the US Constitution, slaves were counted as 3/5 of a person. The American Civil War from 1861-1865 ended slavery and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments abolished slavery and granted citizenship and voting rights to African Americans. However, discrimination continued and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s-1960s fought for desegregation, including Rosa Parks' bus boycott and Martin Luther King Jr.'s leadership of nonviolent protests.

1. Slavery

2. Slave Trade

3. • Between 1525 and 1866 12.5 million Africans
were shipped to the New World.
• 10.7 million survived the dreaded Middle
Passage.
• They disembarked in North America, the
Caribbean and South America.
• They were brought by English and French
Traders.

5. • Slaves were
brought to work
in lucrative crops
such as tobacco
• Most of them
worked in the
plantations of the
south.

6. • According to the constitution, they were
second-rate human beings
• For representation purposes, a black slave was
counted as 3/5th of a white man
1787 : The 3/5th Compromise

7. The American Civil War 1861 - 1865
Origins
• The North was in favor of abolishing slavery
• The South relied on slaves for most of its economy
opposed abolition
The War
• The war lasted only 5 years, but caused about 600,000
deaths in both camps
The Outcome
• The war ended the debate over slavery that had
divided North and South since the drafting of the
Constitution in 1787

8. The 13th 14th and 15th Amendments
• 1865 - The 13th Amendment officially
abolished and continues to prohibit slavery to
this day.
• 1868 - The 14th Amendment citizenship to
African Americans.
• 1870 -The 15TH Right to vote.

9. The Civil Rights Movement
•The Movement Begins Nearly 100
years after the Civil War
• The 1960s were called the civil rights
decade
•Anti-discrimination organizations:
- The National Association for the
Advancement of Coloured people NAACP -
- The National Urban League NUL
- The Student Non-Violent Coordinating
Committee SNCC

10. • The civil rights of
African Americans were
limited by state laws
and discrimination.
• In the early 1950s,
segregation was legal.
• An Alabama law said
that African Americans
had to sit at the back of
the bus.

11. • In 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused
to move to the back of a bus. She was arrested.
• African Americans boycotted the buses until buses
were desegregated.
Black Residents Walking, Montgomery
Bus Boycott, 1955

12. • Martin Luther King Jr. helped lead the boycott.
He believed in nonviolent protest.
• He wanted people to fight back using peaceful
actions.
• In 1954, the Supreme Court ordered the
desegregation of public schools.
• In 1956, the Supreme Court said that
segregation on buses was illegal.

13. Civil Rights Victories
• In 1960, African Americans held sit-ins
in 54 cities.
• They sat at lunch counters that only
served food to white people. They
would not leave until they were
served.
• In 1963, Congress was discussing a bill
to end segregation.

14. • Martin Luther King Jr. and other
leaders organized a protest march
in Washington, D.C., to show
support for the bill.
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964
banned segregation in schools, at
work, and in public places.
• Affirmative action to give
minorities increased
opportunities for higher
education and in the workplace
• Busing to promote desegregation

15. • In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot.
• Along with non-violent protest the rise of
separatist movements:
• Nation of Islam & its leader(s) Louis Farrakhan
& Malcolm X

17. HOWEVER
• African-Americans tend to have a high dropout rate: only
15% complete 2 or more years of college Vs 26% of whites
• Glass ceiling: For those who reach higher positions,
discrimination prevents them from the top positions and
professional advancement
• They are hit twice as hard by unemployment as the rest of
the population
• They live in inner cities where violence and crime are
widespread
• The leading cause of death for a young black male is
murder (very often by other black teenagers from different
gangs.
• Half inmates of American prisons are black
• Housing segregation leads to poor social integration