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From 1900 to 1920, a variety of social and political issues took the national stage. Foremost amongst them was the civil rights movement. The civil war had ended just a generation before and the status of the black community was uncertain. They were citizens, with all the rights of citizens, but they were not equal. The civil rights movement was a classic example of a bottom-top movement as the black community joined together and advocated for themselves. A plethora of associations arose with the aim to bring about social reform that would combat the injustice surrounding the treatment of blacks. Another source of support were the muckrakers, exposing problems associated with civil rights. For the black community, the American dream was greatly restricted compared to the white people. They were full citizens and had all the rights and privileges attached but were unable to reach the same heights as their white counterparts, some even being lynched after stealing business from the white men. The civil rights movement ultimately represents the struggle of the black community to acquire the American dream.

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1900 - Booker T. Washington Founded the National Negro Business League

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1900 - Booker T. Washington Founded the National Negro Business League

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Booker T Washington was an educator, reformer and some would say the most influential black leader of his time. Washington was a leader in his community because of his powerful voice and his fight for equality in all aspects of life. Washington believed that racial discrimination could be solved through economics. According to him this was the main source of the problem. Because he thought this way he started the National Negro Business league in 1900. He founded the league to increase economic development of African Americans to obtain equality. Washington didn't want sympathy or money from white Americans. He wanted to build their race up in a bottom up movement. He wanted to gain respect. Small business owners, farmers, doctors, lawyers, craftsmen and other professions were all members of the league. The league's members were middle class citizens. This is a great example of a bottom up movement as I said before because it started with ordinary citizens to make change. They made tremendous progress quickly. Just one year later the NNBL or National Negro Business League was formed into a legal incorporation in New York. They had hundreds of local branches across the US. It is evident that this was a huge success. The NNBL encouraged African Americans to open businesses and helped skilled black Americans find use for their talents.

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1900 - James Weldon Johnson and brother J. Rosamond Johnson wrote “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” widely referred to as “the Negro national anthem”

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1900 - James Weldon Johnson and brother J. Rosamond Johnson wrote “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” widely referred to as “the Negro national anthem”

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Full Lyrics Here

...Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,

Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us...

...Stony the road we trod,

Bitter the chast’ning rod,

Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;

Yet with a steady beat,

Have not our weary feet

Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?

We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,

We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,

Out from the gloomy past,

Till now we stand at last...

In the year 1900 a poem that James Walden Johnson had previously written was put to music by his brother in preparation of a party commemorating Abraham Lincoln's Birthday. The song was spread person to person and quickly became a rallying cry for the civil rights movement. While this song didn't cause new reforms or bring a measurable change, it subtly affected the thinking of all who heard it, as its words reinforced the concepts they contained. this song also exemplifies that the civil rights movement was a bottom-up movement. Top-down movements are brought to culmination when those in power make change and the effects are felt by the masses. In contrast, this song was used to unify the masses and give them an additional outlet through which to let themselves be heard. This wasn't the act of a politician or a great figure of society, but of two songwriters, the 200 odd children who passed the song on, and everyone else who added their voice to the refrain.
This song is largely an appeal to pathos. It both hearkens to the time of slavery and religion. even with its discussion of slavery, and the atrocities of the time it remains hopeful. the song even uses the "gloomy past" to validate its hopeful message saying, "faith that the dark past has taught us, / ...hope that the present has brought us". This song doesn't complain about what is wrong but rejoices in what is right and gathers strength from that which was unjust but is no longer so.
Interestingly enough the musical composition also tells a story, where phrases like "lift ev'ry voice and sing" have ascending notes and taking a minor turn when the lyrics discuss sad topics like the phrase "We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, / We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered...". this enhances the emotional aspect of the song and makes it easier to interpret the message the composers are trying to convey.

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1900 - Ida B Wells wrote Lynch Law opposing lynching in America

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1900 - Ida B Wells wrote Lynch Law opposing lynching in America

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Ida B Wells was an anti-lynching activist, a muckraking journalist and an activist for racial justice. She was born a slave in Mississippi. She devoted much of her life to exposing the lynching that took place in America. White Americans used lynching to terrorize Black Americans in the 19th and early 20th century. Ida B Wells wanted to expose the horror of lynching. To expose what was happening, Wells wrote Lynch Law in America. Wells talks about how the practice of lynching an accused black man even with no proof had become common. Sometimes the mobs would break into jails to take someone who they believed had committed a crime and publicly lynch the person. According to Wells, 200 people annually were lynched each year. Most of these acts of horror were done publicly. Wells documented lynchings in the South to uncover the truth and give the public the facts in the belief there is justice in the American people. A person who is not high up on the hierarchy saw that change was necessary and she documented first hand accounts of lynchings that took place. I think it is important to note that this was started from somebody on the bottom and represents a bottom up movement. When other people read Wells's writing, they saw the real truth. I think that we as citizens are obligated to speak up when we see something as dehumanizing as lynching. This is exactly what Wells did and it created huge change. Citizens are equally as responsible to create change as people in the government.
Just a year after Ida B Wells wrote The Lynch Law in America, there was a steady decline in number of people lynched each year. It is clear that her work was successful. in 1901 the number of people lynched was 130. Just one year later the number of people lynched was 92. Still a very high number but it is evident change was made. These numbers eventually hit zero.

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1900 - Paul Lawrence Dunbar published "The Haunted Oak" Poem

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1900 - Paul Lawrence Dunbar published "The Haunted Oak" Poem

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The Haunted Oak poem was written in 1900 by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. The poem's purpose is to oppose the plight suffered by African Americans who were lynched in public without reasoning and if they were lucky enough they would only be persecuted. This poem exemplifies that the American Dream is not attainable to all or that only certain groups of people are able to achieve it. The American Dream is the belief that anyone can achieve their own version of success regardless of their race or social class. In this poem a black male is falsely accused of rape because he is a black male. This act alone, already violates the American Dream. They are getting in the way of his success by forcing him into jail because of how he was born. Once he is put into jail, the bloodthirsty Alabama mob dragged him out of jail and publicly hung him on an oak tree. Ending a persons life because of their race is the exact opposite of what the American Dream supported. This poem proves that the American Dream is more of a myth than a reality. The language in this poem is very interesting. On the third to last stanza it says "I am burned with dread, I am dried and dead, From the curse of a guiltless man." This is a great use of alliteration. The last d in dread, dried and dead alongside the words burned with dread hits the reader with the tone of the poem. It shows the sorrow the author is trying to convey to its audience. In stanza thirteen we see a great use of personification. The author personifies the tree by saying "I feel the rope against my bark, And the weight of him in my grain, I feel in the throe of his final woe, The touch of my own last pain." The author gives the tree feelings. The tree was emotionally scarred by the events that took place. The tree died along with the person being lynched. There is also lots of imagery in the third stanza. It says "My leaves were green as the best, I trow, And sap ran free in my veins, But I saw in the moonlight dim and weird A guiltless victim's pains." They use descriptive words to describe the tree before all of the events unfolded. Bright and happy is the main idea of the tree. Then they use a darker tone comparing it to the moonlight dim. They are setting the tone for the rest of the poem. Another literary device used was symbolism. In lines 15-16 it says "Oh, why does the dog howl all night long, And why does the night wind wail?" The author uses the howl and the wind's wail to represent the mans cry while he was hung. He later calls them deer to represent the innocence of the African American people. This poem was an eye opening poem to the horrors that took place.

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Pray why are you so bare, so bare,

Oh, bough of the old oak-tree;

And why, when I go through the shade you throw,

Runs a shudder over me?

My leaves were green as the best, I trow,

And sap ran free in my veins,

But I saw in the moonlight dim and weird

A guiltless victim's pains.

I bent me down to hear his sigh;

I shook with his gurgling moan,

And I trembled sore when they rode away,

And left him here alone.

They'd charged him with the old, old crime,

And set him fast in jail:

Oh, why does the dog howl all night long,

And why does the night wind wail?

He prayed his prayer and he swore his oath,

And he raised his hand to the sky;

But the beat of hoofs smote on his ear,

And the steady tread drew nigh.

Who is it rides by night, by night,

Over the moonlit road?

And what is the spur that keeps the pace,

What is the galling goad?

And now they beat at the prison door,

"Ho, keeper, do not stay!

We are friends of him whom you hold within,

And we fain would take him away

"From those who ride fast on our heels

With mind to do him wrong;

They have no care for his innocence,

And the rope they bear is long."

They have fooled the jailer with lying words,

They have fooled the man with lies;

The bolts unbar, the locks are drawn,

And the great door open flies.

Now they have taken him from the jail,

And hard and fast they ride,

And the leader laughs low down in his throat,

As they halt my trunk beside.

Oh, the judge, he wore a mask of black,

And the doctor one of white,

And the minister, with his oldest son,

Oh, foolish man, why weep you now?

And the time will come when these shall dread

The mem'ry of your face.

I feel the rope against my bark,

And the weight of him in my grain,

I feel in the throe of his final woe

The touch of my own last pain.

And never more shall leaves come forth

On the bough that bears the ban;

I am burned with dread, I am dried and dead,

From the curse of a guiltless man.

And ever the judge rides by, rides by,

And goes to hunt the deer,

And ever another rides his soul

In the guise of a mortal fear.

And ever the man he rides me hard,

And never a night stays he;

For I feel his curse as a haunted bough,

On the trunk of a haunted tree.

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The Haunted Oak by Paul Laurence Dunbar | Poetry Foundation

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Pray why are you so bare, so bare, Oh, bough of the old oak-tree; And why, when I go through the shade you throw, Runs a shudder over me? My leaves were green as the best, I trow, And sap ran free in my veins, But I saw in the moonlight dim and weird A guiltless victim's pains.

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1900–1906 - Blacks organized boycotts in every Southern state to protest segregated streetcars

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1900–1906 - Blacks organized boycotts in every Southern state to protest segregated streetcars

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Between 1900-1907, African Americans led boycotts in 25 different southern cities. They protested the laws that resulted from the supreme court case Plessy vs Ferguson. These laws laid the foundation for segregation and the idea of "Separate but Equal." These people enacted change by being very organized in their boycotts against streetcars. Boycotts were a very effective way to create meaningful change during the progressive era. This movement was a "Bottom-up" movement. The Boycott was started by African Americans, who at the time were considered the bottom of America. They had no government positions and no power, however, they drew attention to this issue. The boycott ended up making its way to people of political power. This protest is a prime example of how citizens can enact change. It also shows how it is their duty to force change when needed. The protesters began this movement with little hope , but they were still able to enact meaningful change by drawing attention to the issue.

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1903 - W. E. B. Du Bois published The Souls of Black Folk

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1903 - W. E. B. Du Bois published The Souls of Black Folk

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The Souls of Black Folk is a collection of essays and stories written and compiled by W.E.B. DuBois. in the book he proposes that black people have two identities that cannot be entirely reconciled one with another. One identity he calls the 'black' identity, the second the 'American' identity. finally, he proposes that black people live and experience their lives on the other side of a 'Veil' that separates them from their white counterparts, they can understand others of their condition, and understand those without, but cannot be understood in turn by those who aren't victim to their conflicting identities. he says that he wrote this book in an effort to pierce the veil that separated white from black and provide insight into the souls of black folk.
The Souls of Black Folk was written to elicit sympathy and understanding from the white population. his aim was to expose the hardship that they encounter in life and debunk any racist claims about black people. his book was written in a time when books were actually read and your message didn't have to be compressed to a single graphic, or soundbite. Because of this, it actually had a significant effect and brought in many sympathizers among the white population. While this was the action of one individual, and thus appear to be an example of a top-down movement, it was one action among many similar actions int the bottom-up movement that was civil rights.

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1904, July 14 - "A Northern Negro's Autobiography," a brief autobiography written by Fannie Barrier Williams

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1904, July 14 - "A Northern Negro's Autobiography," a brief autobiography written by Fannie Barrier Williams

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One of the many African Americans who experienced  institutional racism was Fannie Barrier Williams (1855–1944), a New York native who was the daughter of free-born parents. In the North, she enjoyed a comparatively comfortable middle-class life as a teacher and was largely unaware of the suffering that African Americans were enduring in the South. Her perspective was altered when she traveled south to teach freed slaves and learned firsthand what it was like to live under the tyranny of Jim Crow and deal with rampant racial discrimination and hatred. Following her eye-opening experience in the South, Williams became an outspoken civil rights activist and a prominent civic leader. As part of her efforts to fight back against racial discrimination, she wrote "A Northern Negro's Autobiography," in which she described both the horrible racism she saw in the South and the instances of discrimination that she experienced even in the North. Fannie Williams appeals to ethos in this autobiography, by writing about her firsthand experiences. By doing this she establishes her credibility as an author. In the first sentence of this autobiography Williams writes, “I am a Northern colored woman, a mulatto in complexion, and was born since the war in a village town of Western New York.” This is a great way to set the scene for readers and introduce the audience to the author. Williams uses the phrase, “blissful ignorance” to show the contrast between the life she was living in the North vs when she went down to the south. Williams also uses, Satire in this paragraph, more specifically she uses sarcasm. When writing, “previous condition” and “unpardonable sin of social equality” she is pointing out the ridiculousness of inequality in both the North and the South. In the south she was constantly reminded of her identity, this was something that she had not experienced in the north. This autobiography was Williams way of attempting to gain recognition for the problem at hand.

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1905 - Niagara Movement organized by W. E. B. Du Bois and others in opposition to Booker T. Washington’s leadership

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1905 - Niagara Movement organized by W. E. B. Du Bois and others in opposition to Booker T. Washington’s leadership

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The Niagara Movement was a civil rights group organized by W.E.B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter in 1905. The principles behind the Niagara Movement were largely in opposition to Booker T. Washington’s philosophy of Accommodationism. The Niagara Movement drafted a “Declaration of Principles,” part of which stated: “We refuse to allow the impression to remain that the Negro-American assents to inferiority, is submissive under oppression and apologetic before insults.” The Niagara Movement attempted to bring about legal change, addressing the issues of crime, economics, religion, health, and education. The movement stood apart from other black organizations at the time because of its powerful, unequivocal demand for equal rights, forcefully demanding equal economic and educational opportunity as well as the vote for black men and women. This movement is a bottom to top movement illustrating the action taken by African Americans advocating for themselves. Though the movement ran into many difficulties, riots and protests occurred creating awareness during the time of Roosevelt’s presidency.

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1906 - Three companies of black troops accused of waging a murderous raid in Brownsville, Texas, were denied a fair trial by court martial and dishonorably discharged by President Theodore Roosevelt

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1906 - Three companies of black troops accused of waging a murderous raid in Brownsville, Texas, were denied a fair trial by court martial and dishonorably discharged by President Theodore Roosevelt

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In the August of 1906, witnesses report seeing a group of men, who they couldn't quite make out the features of, running around the streets shooting up the town. the soldiers were accused of being the perpetrator. due to their military service, they were unable to be tried in civil court and faced a court martial. Before they could have a trial all three companies were dishonorably discharged by the President, Theodore Roosevelt. It was later determined by congress that the companies were in fact innocent, and that the townsfolk had likely mislead the authorities.
This is a prominent and shocking example of racism within the government. While Rosevelt had ordered an investigation, he decided to dishonorably discharge them before he received the report. This event paints a disturbing picture of racism at the highest level as the black men were discharged without a fair trial or sufficient contemplation on the part of the president.

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1909 - NAACP: “Call” for a National Conference to Address Racial Inequality

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1909 - NAACP: “Call” for a National Conference to Address Racial Inequality

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Written by a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Oswald Garrison Villard supposed Abraham Lincoln revisiting the country in 1909 to assess the progress of race relations since the Emancipation Proclamation. “The Call” was sent to prominent white and black Americans for endorsement.  Among the sixty signers of the call were Jane Addams, John Dewey, W.E.B. Dubois, Mary Church Terrell, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Francis J. Grimke, and Ray Stannard Baker. The goal of progressivism displayed in this letter is action for change, which has lacked since the death of Abraham Lincoln. The action taken by the NAACP is a bottom to top movement starting with a muckraker, Villard, advocating for civil rights. In “The Call,” Villard uses logos to reason his argument. For example, he stated, “If Mr. Lincoln could revisit this country in the flesh he would be disheartened and discouraged.” This shows that the progress Lincoln made for civil rights were stopped and reversed. He also points out that America cannot progress without unity by saying, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” The United States society cannot exist half slave and half free any better better than it did in 1861. Meaning, America must finally take action, join in democracy, and discuss the large issue of civil rights. This call lead to changes in society's awareness of the issue and opened up people's minds to democracy. A prime example of this was Taft, a progressive president pushing for democracy and social welfare.

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1913 - NAACP published an open letter to President Woodrow Wilson protesting segregation in federal agencies

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1913 - NAACP published an open letter to President Woodrow Wilson protesting segregation in federal agencies

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In 1913 President Woodrow Wilson introduced segregation into federal government agencies. Black employees were separated from other workers in offices, restrooms, and cafeterias.  Some were also downgraded; others discharged on fictitious grounds. Oswald Garrison Villard met privately with President Wilson to recommend the appointment of a National Race Commission to counter the new discriminatory policies. When President Wilson refused, the NAACP released this open letter of protest to the press. This specific letter, targets the progressive goal of "Social Reform and Improvement." It does this by the people asking for change, they want reform in the society. They are asking for the new segregation in government to be removed. Blacks at this time were humiliated by this policy. So, they decided to enact change. People can create change in this world by fighting for what they believe in.

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1917 - Marcus Garvey established the American branch of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Harlem 

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1917 - Marcus Garvey established the American branch of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Harlem 

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After reading the autobiography of Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey developed his vision for the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The U.N.I.A. was founded in July of 1914 in Jamaica. Shortly after, Garvey founded the American branch in 1917 located in Harlem, New York. The U.N.I.A. was originally conceived as al reform association dedicated to racial uplift and the establishment of educational and industrial opportunities for blacks, taking Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute as a model. The U.N.I.A. stressed black pride, racial unity of African Americans, and the need to redeem Africa from white rule. This was a bottom to top movement once again due to Garvey advocating for change. Although the U.N.I.A. has slowly declined after the death of Garvey, it still exists to this day and continues to fight for change.

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1917 - NAACP led a “Silent March” of 10,000 black New Yorkers down Fifth Avenue to protest the East St. Louis race riot

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1917 - NAACP led a “Silent March” of 10,000 black New Yorkers down Fifth Avenue to protest the East St. Louis race riot

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On July 1, 1917, two white policemen were killed in East St. Louis, Illinois. This sparked a race riot the next day that resulted in the deaths of 48 people, and injured hundreds more. The police and militia did little to end or mitigate the destruction which was mostly aimed at black people. On July 28th the NAACP led a “Silent March” of 10,000 black New Yorkers down Fifth Avenue in protest. The march was well planned; women wore white dresses and men wore black suits. It was also silent, the only sound to be heard was the dull sound of drums, it created a solemn, mournful atmosphere. they opted to send a letter and pet
The silent march was one of the first large scale demonstrations performed by black people. The organizers of the march tried to meet with the president Woodrow Wilson but were told he was too busy. They instead wrote a petition to the federal government asking that lynching and mob violence be made federal crimes. The march was a show of support for said initiative and displays the bottom-up nature of the civil rights movement as the masses appeal to the few. The next year a bill to this effect passed the house but was struck down in the senate. It wasn't until 2018 that the first anti-lynching law was made. despite this failure, the march rallied the black population and showed the feasibility of mass demonstration.

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1919 - Returning soldiers primary source	

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1919 - Returning soldiers primary source	

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W.E.B Dubois who is a common name throughout this period of time wrote this article called "Returning Soldiers." This article is a response to the anger he felt when he saw African American soldiers who fought with white American soldiers being discriminated against. African Americans were recruited in large numbers to help France against Germany. After the war they returned to an America that had higher racial tensions and increased white supremacy. Dubois was very popular during this time, but he was still a regular citizens so this article is an example of a bottom up movement. Because Dubois was a leader of the NCAAP, first African American to get a Ph.D from Harvard he is credibility. He appeals to ethos this way. Citizens respect him and his work. In the article white soldiers were praised and treated with great respect while African American soldiers were treated as if they were inferior to white Americans. This debunks the myth of the American Dream. You could argue it is attainable but only for white Americans. African Americans were never given the chance to be successful because they were given "lower wages, higher rent, cheated of land and they were taxed without representation." Throughout the article DuBois uses rhetorical appeals. There is a lot of pathos in the article. DuBois says "And lynching is barbarism of a degree of contemptible nastiness unparalleled in human history." Dubois is trying to convey that the lynchings that took place were of the most horrific and terrorizing events that took place in earth's history. The use of the word unparalleled really struck me. This means that nothing has ever bean equal to this level of barbarism. This makes the reader empathize for African Americans during this time. Another use of pathos is when Dubois says "It disfranchises its own citizens. Disfranchisement is the deliberate theft and robbery of the only protection of poor against rich and black against white." The only thing protected African Americans from white supremacy was rights given to every American. When soldiers returned these rights were being violated. They were still persecuted and treated unfairly due to how they were born. When I read this I tried to imagine having my human rights stripped from me. It would be awful. Well this is exactly what happened during this time period. I felt a sense sorrowful and embarrassed that any human would do such things to another human. It is rather dehumanizing. Dubois also uses logos to strengthen his writing. He says "It encourages ignorance. It has never really tried to educate the Negro. A dominant minority does not want Negroes educated. It wants servants, dogs, whores and monkeys." When an audience reads this, they are forced to think about if African Americans were given the chance at education. Then we come to the conclusion the option was not available. White Americans wanted servants to do their work for them and they felt threatened that this would all be taken away if their servants were educated and knew better. Dubois realized this fact, and felt he needed argue. This reasoning helped his argument. I think something that is important to note is that Woodrow Wilson was a progressive president but he didn't do much for the African American community. If anything he reversed the progress that took place. While he was president lynching numbers were at an all time high. Maybe this is a coincidence but I don't think so.

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the third page was like one line and there was no annotation.