Can you help me a bit with my paper on the hardships of blacks during the mid 19th-mid 20th century?

Question

I'm writing a paper for school on the hardships of blacks during the mid 19th-mid 20th century.
I need to make it 250 words minimum, so I decided to have 5 paragraphs:
1st Paragraph: Opening
2nd Paragraph: ?????????
3rd Paragraph: Segregation (in schools, bathrooms, public transportation, etc.)
4th Paragraph: About groups, such as Ku Klux Klan, that terrorized blacks
5th Paragraph: Closing

I like the order of that, but I'm not sure what should be the topic for my second paragraph. I would rather not right about how whites treated blacks poorly because that clashes to closely to the groups that didn't like them (4th Paragraph), so what should be the topic for the 2nd paragraph on the hardships of blacks at that time? Something I don't know about? Thank you very much
P.S. Also the laws for blacks were too much on segregation, which I write about in the 3rd paragraph, so I'd rather not make a seperate paragraph for that either.

Answer 1

Look for "Jim Crow" laws, the laws "separating blacks and whites." Also, look for "the Little Rock 9" who stood up for integration during the 1960's in Little Rock, Arkansas. Did you know that blacks literally had "no rights" from the Civil War until they were given the right to vote, then allowed YEARS later to join the army? They were treated less than 2ND class citizens and more like traitors. They literally only became accepted by America at large during the 1950's and 1960's. They were treated pathetically and inexcusably.

Answer 2

I'll give you the closing: After the success of the Civil Rights Movement, blacks have failed to do ANYTHING with the acceptance that was won and still expect to be taken care of by government and society. After everything everyone has tried to do for them, after the opportunites that were created, the majority seem to be ungrateful and just want more on a platter without any contribution to the society they demanded to be a part of.

Answer 3

You should address what took place after the Civil War. Blacks were no longer slaves, but they had no place to go if they did not stay with their masters. They had no education. They didn't have strong family ties due to whites selling off their loved ones, husbands, wives, children etc. They were unable to get good jobs. The jobs they got were not enough to care for their families. They were unable to get educations, due to lack of funding and total illiteracy. Remember, it was a punishable crime for slaves to learn to read so the few that could read had learned it on the sly.

This is but a small sampling of the problems they faced as they tried to live "free".

Answer 4

For your second paragraph, you could write about prejudices, racism and unfair oppurtunities.

Answer 5

There seems to be alot of info on this site:
www.afrolumens.org
hope it helps