An Experience Unlike Any Before

An Experience Unlike Any Before

During the mass immigration era of America, an abundant number of people traveled to the urban industrial society of the United States in aspiration to seek job opportunities and better lives than the ones they left behind. These groups included the Poles, Italians, Chinese, Mexicans, Japanese, East European Jews, and the African- Americans. However, one of these groups mentioned was distinctly different from the rest: the African-Americans. They were already American citizens, who migrated to the northern American cities to free themselves from segregation, oppression, and harsh conditions they experienced in the South and obtain equal rights and opportunities. Although the African-Americans' ambitions were exceedingly high, there were strong barriers that kept them from reaching their goals of Americanization. The historical legacy of slavery acted as a barrier, and left the African-Americans with fewer civil rights than all other Americans and immigrants. To understand the meaning of "civil rights," it can be defined as "the rights belonging to an individual by virtue of citizenship especially the fundamental freedoms including civil liberties, due process, equal protection of the laws, and freedom from discrimination" (Dictionary.com). African-Americans were similar to the new comers from abroad in that they both experienced change and adjustment when entering urban American, but due to the legacy of slavery and the impact it had on the African-Americans' civil rights, the African-Americans migration experience was clearly different than other immigration experiences.

The African-Americans and other migrant and immigrant groups experienced similar conditions and challenges of change upon entering the new American society of urban industrialization. Urban America was new and foreign to all comers. The immigrants from abroad and the African-Americans both left their homelands of restricted opportunities and sought to find better ones. The African-Americans came without proper clothing and skills, unaware of the future obstacles ahead. Their environment and surroundings were significantly different in the South than the lively cities in the North. Before migrating, the African-Americans lives consisted of mainly working in the fields in the blistering, hot sun, or working as servants or tenants for white property owners; they had never laid eyes upon a building or factory. For the immigrants, coming to urban America was an enormous change as well. They were oblivious to the American culture, American politics and economics, and were unable to read or speak English, in most cases. While settling in the northern cities, there were certain harsh conditions that the African Americans along with the immigrants experienced. They both were forced to live with their families in small, unsanitary living spaces due to the intense persecution and racialization from American outsiders. Families in neighborhoods grouped together, and each family member contributed economically to the family income. To relieve these challenges and harsh conditions, both African-American and immigrant groups were obliged to do certain tasks in the new, metropolitan surrounding.

In order to survive the numerous challenges and change that the African-Americans and immigrant groups encountered, they were compelled to adjust and assimilate to the urban industrial society of America. Upon doing so, numerous groups and leagues were formed to ease the adjustment of city life and extreme racism. For the African Americans, groups such as the N.A.A.C.P. and the Detroit Urban League were created to aid in many ways. In effort to direct black migrates how to correctly dress and behave in public, the Urban League and Loyal Christian Brotherhood of the Second Baptist Church was created. The N.A.A.C.P. served as the central American civil rights establishment, and aimed to "achieve racial justice, and draw the attention to Negro achievements in music, literature, and race leadership" (American Cities/New York/ African Americans/ Join the NAACP). For the immigrant groups, several organizations were established as well to help immigrants adjust and assimilate to the urban life. "Domy Polskie" (Polish Homes) were built and held lectures, concerts, card parties, dances, and other social events. The YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) used education for the assimilation of immigrants and foreigners. The Italians took part in this association in learning how to speak and write the English language. Although it may seem that the African Americans and immigrant groups were particularly similar in numerous ways, the migrant experience for the blacks was clearly different as well.

Although the African-Americans and other migrant and immigrant groups were similar in several ways, the issue of slavery and civil rights caused the experience for the African-Americans to be distinctly unlike immigrant experience. The African-Americans did come to urban America for some of the similar reasons that the other new comers had, but they also migrated to gain equal rights and opportunities as other Americans and to acquire full American freedom. Americanization had an entire new meaning to the African-Americans or blacks during this time. According to the American Identity Explorer, "For African- Americans, Americanization would involve strengthening group consciousness and solidarity, creating new, more assertive Negro identities, and continuing the historic struggle in new ways for equal opportunities and rights in America" (Global View/Origins/American South). Although their hopes were particularly high, Americanization was not a simple task for the African Americans. "Negro slaves in America were strangers to the social and political community without the legal rights, and all Negroes came to bear the stigma of slavery tied to race"(Global view/Origins/American South). The African Americans embodied what a slave was to the other Americans, and the historical stigma of slavery continued to stay with them in mainstream society. They were unlike other immigrant groups such