Introduction
Our world has been surrounded by histories. Each one of these events have an important meaning as it represent our past, but also not only represent our past, it helps us trace where we come from. However, not every past is pleasant, the segregation era form part of today's United States citizen’s dark memories. At the segregation age, the nation encountered difficulties on color acceptance. It was an age of immoral maltreatment on color society. African-Americans faced much racism, they experienced verbal insult, physical abuse, as well as blockage that up to this dates there are still difficulties on the development of these minorities society.
The short story that affected me the most was "The Train From Hate" written by the Historian John Hope Franklin, Franklin was born in Rentiesville, Oklahoma, on January 2, 1915, to Buck Colbert and Mollie Parker Franklin. The family moved to Tulsa in 1925, where young Franklin attended public schools and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. His father was a pioneer African American attorney in Tulsa. Franklin received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1935 from Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee. He then received a master's degree and Ph.D. in history from Harvard University in 1936 and 1941, respectively. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/F/FR003.html John Hope Franklin was a pioneer for the anti-segregation movement; he was a fighter for human equality. John hope Franklin had a dream, just like Martin Luther King or any other Negro leader of the period, this dream persists in him until the last day he breath. Franklin biggest dream was the same as Abraham Lincoln where this one states that every man should be treated equal. One thing I liked about the story was the naturally on how the author draws it for every reader, so this one interprets the story the same way the color people suffered at the segregation era. In my point of view, Dr. Franklin induced his own unforgettable experience into the story, and by doing so transforming it into a great message. Franklin gives message full of positive attitude towards his own people color and literarily his next color generation. Dr. Franklin mainly wanted African American to be seen with equal quality among other cultures. John hope Franklin expressed on an interview; we might be better off in some ways,” he said in 2004. “But as long as we have more blacks in jail than in college, as long as we have more blacks unemployed than we have in college, as long as we have a system which will not provide adequate and decent affordable housing even for people who can afford it, we’re not very far.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/weekinreview/29applebome.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Back to the short story where it reflects Dr. Franklin truth life, on "The Train From Hate", the writer describes how the young kid experienced his first racial apprehension at the age of 7. Its all start it, when his mother, sister, and him decided to go for supplies at Checotah, six miles away from the town of Rentiesville, Oklahoma where this one used to resides. They tried to go by train to Checotah. Dr. Franklin clearly states where the issue began “My mother flagged the train and we boarded." (Franklin, pg.223). His mother did not notice when the train stop, they climbed aboard into a white people spot causing the conductor to go after them, and eventually commanding them to leave the train without even care her side of the story. In this part of the story, the conductor was quite cruel by not locating them into the color coach, and by demonstrating no compassion for human beings. Although, the conductor seems to agreed With Franklin mother's logical reasons, he end up acting just like a criminal, because he showed no sort of condolence on others by doing what he did to this young kid family. After jumping out of the train, the Franklin's family began walking back to the black town of Reintiesville. Indeed, Franklin began to cry, he was marked by this horrible experience. This is when his mother uttered him with his first lesson in race relations, "she told me that the laws required racial separation, but they did not, could not, make us inferior in any way." ( Franklin, pg.223).
After all, it was a great experience for Dr.franklin, he then enjoys this fact at the age of 7, because he still remembered and not only that, it has helped him through his life and his career. Dr. Franklin was happy to his last day of receiving this experience through his mother wisdom. Thanks to this experience Franklin had, he push himself to become a better person, “I would use my energies to make me a better person and to distance myself from the perpetrator and purveyors of hate and misunderstanding." (Franklin pg.224).
The Franklin's family were not the only ones who suffered indifference, many others color's family of the period suffered similar maltreatments. However, Franklin was a fighter, he was a scholar, and he wanted to prove the United State society how capable a color person could be if this one receives equal opportunities. Franklin wanted to see that opportunity, because he wanted a change in color society image upon the white perspective or vision. It was his dream and would always be if he would still be alive.
It is some of experiences like these that contributed to the continuing racial bias that is currently reflected in the United States. Prejudice exposure to children is a form of social torture, Franklin confirms that his familiarity in the train had changed his life and attitude towards his fellow citizens of the white race. This bias has been experienced all over the history of the United States since then as the hatred and bitter attitudes are transferred from generation to generation via social interaction. Franklin for instance, grows knowing that the Africa-Americans did not deserved anything of quality in the United States. Distinct barriers were put in place to ensure that the African-America’s cannot take the place designated for the white. This is what exactly what happen in the train when Franklin and his mother had to enter the couch preserved for the white not because of their fault but due to the stoppage of the train as it gave them only one option which his mother directed him. Poor Franklin and his mother saw what they could not forget in their entire life. The situation is worthy changing attitudes and behavior towards each other just as Franklin is telling about his experience from his time of engagement with the train conductor who had to alter the train timetable to have them out of the train without considering whether they are near or not their destination (Franklin pg.188).
The social unfairness that existed and still being perpetrated in the US is a replica of the conditions and the reasons that the African-Americans were brought to the US. The black Americans were allegedly brought to the US as slaves and had their duty to work as foreigners in the farms and workshops belonging to the whites (Daedalus pg.43). This bias has its roots to the minds of every white and being transferred from generation to generation.
Looking at the history of Africans in the US, it gives a clear understanding on why the bias has been perpetrated in the US since then. Africans were brought to the English mainland in 1619. They were brought to America to help build and serve the nation as slaves. In respect to that, the English formed laws, which prohibited African of many civil rights conceded to others. "They were permitted no independence of thought, no opportunity to improve their minds or their talents or to worship freely, no right to marry and enjoy the convention family relationships, no right to own or dispose of property." (Daedalus pg.28).
Indeed, in cities like New York and Philadelphia where the environment was more in favor to Negro equality than other communities, the whites’ citizens in Philadelphia supported two distinct world of race. Moreover, "in 1780s the white’s Methodist permitted the Negroes sat in specific location, location designated specifically for Negroes, when the white Methodist noticed a Negro sitting on a different sit. However, in some other situations the discrimination moved to greater heights since it was practiced even in the churches. For instance, it is alleged that, if an African Methodist was found seated on the wrong bench maybe designated for the whites, he or she had to face serious consequences there in. Actually, such a person had to be expulsed from assisting the church on further visits by the church's official.
In addition, Negroes were not allowed to assist school to pursue an education. As stated early, they were not allowed to demonstrate their talent in any ways. However, in Pennsylvania, an abolitionist named Anthony Benezet provided on his wife's death the use of his estate to assist on establishing a Negro opened at Philadelphia in 1787. With his collaboration, Benezet helped many Negroes accomplished their dream on becoming literate. In this school, Negro student learned to read, write, and master some other skills that were useful for growing Negroes generations. Moreover, Benezet's school opening contributes as a passport to more new Negro’s school at some other States, and we have to thanks some rational Americans of that era which views were similar to Benezet. A great example was back in New York City; by 1814, the city had public institution completely designated for African Americans. Later in the era, states like in Massachusetts tried to permits Negro’s students at some white school. "But the school committee of Boston refused to admit Negroes arguing that the natural distinction of the races which "no legislature, no social custom, can efface renders a promiscuous intermingling in the public school disadvantageous both to them and to the whites." (Daedalus pg.31). On Massachusetts, the school segregation last until 1855, when the state legislature enacted a law, which integrates applicants without caring about the color, religious or race.
In conclusion, social discrimination has undermined the African-American citizens in the US as Franklin gives his testimony of the heights of discrimination. The US citizen during the time of discrimination shared no public utility or any other thing including, education, transport utilities, and other social utilities. The terrible bias was that the so-called special services were dedicated to the whites and African-Americans were given no chance to access these types of utilities. The discrimination that took root inn the US forms part of the US citizen’s dark memories as skin color determined all that the citizen could receive in terms of public resources from their own country. Every citizen thus knew where he or she belonged and thus everyone had to take his or her part in perpetrating injustice and social segregation. The whites took the advantage of the situation and decided to put strict measures to have them strictly separated from the blacks. The blacks on the other hand assumed their position in the society. The situation was like a prison life since the coming of Africans to America. Africans historically were not legally allowed to do anything under their will. It is like having two different worlds with two different races. The Africans had to be controlled, they were given no chance of making own life decisions and instead they had to work hard to buy their stay in the US. However, these could not continue for long because no human can live under cordon for longer times. This lead to various cities moving talks to fight for the rights of the African-Americans.
Work cited
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/F/FR003.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/weekinreview/29applebome.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Franklin Hope, John. "The Train from Hate." reading literature and writing argument. Ed. Missy
James and Alan Merickel. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Pg.223-224
"John Hope Franklin." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Literature Resource
Center. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
Franklin, John Hope. "The Two Worlds of Race: A Historical View." Daedalus 140.1 (2011): 28+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
