Racism in Augusta, Georgia: History, Poverty, and Empowerment

Introduction: The Roots of Racism in Augusta

Racism is sadly one of the most tenacious legacies of American history. This is especially true in the Southern regions of the United States, and specifically in Augusta, Georgia. The racism problems currently experienced in this area can be ascribed to many factors. The following is an investigation of the main historical contributions to this paradigm. Slavery is one of the primary causes still contributing today to the view of Black people as somehow inferior and less intelligent than white people, and even people of other races.

Slavery and Its Lasting Psychological Legacy

The central problem with slavery is that people were brought from their homeland mostly against their will to work on white-owned farms. Native Americans were in the country before colonization, and immigrants arrived afterward. Africans were thus really the only group to arrive unwillingly in such large numbers. The institution of slavery was therefore combined with the view of Black people as worth no more than to serve as enslaved laborers — a perception that so angered, and still angers, so many African Americans.

Augusta, however, produced several prominent Black figures who worked to combat this paradigm. Dr. C.T. Walker, himself born into slavery, was one of them (Gallop). Walker, a minister and fighter for the rights of Black people in the United States, was angered by the fact that Black people — who had been in the country long before white immigrants — received far fewer opportunities than the latter. This was a typically unjust practice of the era, and indicative of the severe social difficulties faced by Black Americans at the beginning of the 20th century.

Another related factor is that Black enslaved people, especially those born into slavery, were conditioned to believe in the essential meaninglessness of their lives, lives to be lived out in bondage. This imposed paradigm contributed to the difficulty that many millions of Black people faced in empowering themselves. Again, this was especially pronounced in Southern areas such as Augusta, since the South was the heartland of the slave economy.

Dr. Walker discouraged Black people from leaving the South to seek a better life, since racism was a pervasive phenomenon throughout the United States at the time (Gallop). Instead, he encouraged Black people to empower themselves in order to overcome the entrenched paradigms of racism.

It was thus a combination of mindsets — primarily that of African Americans and that of white people — that resulted in the racial conflicts experienced in Augusta. During the early 19th century, white colonialists believed in the superiority of their own race, while Black people were made to believe in the inferiority of theirs. This dynamic brought forth leaders such as Dr. Walker and Martin Luther King Jr., who refused to accept the role of victim or to allow members of their race to accept lies about their own inferiority.

The result of such empowerment was further conflict between newly empowered Black Americans and white extremists, as seen in the countless violent acts of murder and riot that pervaded American history throughout the 20th century.

Racial Conflict During the 20th Century

Despite the efforts of activists, artists, and religious leaders such as Dr. Walker and Martin Luther King Jr., race relations in Augusta failed to stabilize. The year 1970, for example, was a particularly turbulent one in American politics. Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy had both recently been assassinated. Civil rights activism and resistance to civil rights continued to generate conflict throughout the country, as did movements such as the Black Pride movement.

Accordingly, Black students at the local college during this year faced numerous incidents of undisguised racism, with both students and professors proclaiming their supposed racial superiority. The Black students were also not heard by the college administration, which further frustrated them. The reasons for this situation can again be found in the paradigms of the past. Augustan professors, students, and administrators did not believe that Black students had a legitimate reason for complaint — an attitude typical of a society shaped by a legacy of slavery.

The response of the students, however, demonstrated a remarkable shift in the attitude of Black Americans with respect to empowerment and self-worth. The Black students formed the Black Student Union in order to press the college's personnel to become more attentive to their concerns. This effort was met with considerable resistance, but the Union went on to become a prominent force at the college — demonstrating that constructive action can be even more effective than violent opposition in the face of unjust treatment.

Conclusion

Alfred Adams sums up the problem with regard to Black men and their difficulty engaging with politics for self-empowerment: "...politics is just too far out there for us" (Dunbar). The everyday problems faced by the very poor and by those discriminated against on the basis of race can appear insurmountable. This deeply undermines individuals' faith in themselves and in the systems that are supposed to help them.

There are thus a wide variety of factors contributing to the problems outlined above. In the long term, slavery can be seen as the main foundation for racial problems not only in Augusta, but throughout the United States. The mental paradigm created by slavery was one of white superiority set against Black inferiority, along with the devaluation of other races.

This has affected both politics and the capacity for self-empowerment. Many people of color in Augusta lack the means — whether psychological or material — to empower themselves. This is directly related to the legacy of slavery, as well as to shorter-term problems such as poverty and social and political racism.

Racism is indeed still a problem in the United States, and specifically in Augusta. This remains true despite 21st-century ideals of freedom and equality — ideals that the Constitution has promised for centuries. However, if the government does not take positive action toward teaching people paradigms of self-worth and self-empowerment, the Constitution remains nothing more than a collection of beautiful words.

As the 21st century progresses, however, more and more Black Americans are becoming aware of their opportunities for empowerment, including through voting. Persons such as Alfred Adams provide a ray of hope by helping people help themselves — demonstrating that change, however slow, remains possible.