African American History in A Red Record

A Red Record

Slavery is one of America’s biggest regrets. Treating a human with the same beating heart as a low, worthless piece of trash only because of skin color is a fact that will forever remain in our country’s history. Those marked as slaves were sold, tortured, demoralized, raped and killed. After the Emancipation in which slavery was illegalized, many would think that the horrors were over and that America as a whole started a new leaf. Unfortunately, the man of the South, refusing to move forward tried to keep the colored man down as best they could. Their premeditated plans and actions to find an excuse to continue torturing and killing the Negro man continued for years, which are documented in “A Red Record”. This story captures the grueling events African Americans were put through and the unfairness of the times. By capturing and sharing this history it will make sure these mistakes can never be repeated again .

Ida B. Wells-Barnett is an investigative journalist who wrote in honesty and bluntness about the tragedies and continued struggles of the Negro man. She was still very much involved with the issue even after being granted freedom and the right to vote. Statistics have shown that death and disparity continued to befall the Negro people in the South where the white man was “educated so long in that school of practice” (Pg. 677 Par. 2). Yet in all the countless murders of Negroes by the white man only three had been convicted. The white man of the South, although opposed to the freedom of Negroes would eventually have to face the fact of the changing times. However, they took every opportunity and excuse to justify their continued horrors. There were three main excuses that the white man of the South came up w...

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...ented cases. Everyone loves happy endings. Everyone loves to see the hero emerge or the people triumph over adversity and stare back at the face of denial. No one ever wants to really talk about the hardships that came before, especially when they are this graphic and unforgiving in nature. However, these incidents and stories need to be told, they paved the way for what we are today. Wells-Barnett wrote, “…thousands of brave black men went to their grave, exemplifying the one by dying for the other” (Pg. 678 par. 4). That sentence in itself evokes hope and victory for the Negro people, which is why the Red Record is such an important part in not only African American history, but in America’s history as a whole.

Works Cited

Gates, Henry Louis, and Nellie Y. McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. Print.