Was rascism bad everywhere during the segregation times?

Question

I was watching something on tv about segregation. There were horrible images, but it's not the first time I ever saw them. I know it was bad in places like Birmingham and such, but was it really horrible everywhere? Or were there communities who were decent and civil and even though they were seperate, they weren't cruel? They just went about their business? I imagine that would've been so. Were there blacks and whites who got along despite it all? Please tell me there were some who refused to hate. I was born in the 80's, so I have no idea how it REALLY was. I hope that there are positive stories of blacks and whites hanging out, being happy, having a good time. Anyone know of any?

Answer 1

Wow!!! This is the first time I have ever saw a question like this on the forum. T-h-a-n-k y-o-u!!! Things were never like that when I was a little girl; the way it is portrayed on TV and some documentaries. I'm sure there were some bad things happened but it wasn't as bad where I lived as it is played up to be. I remember when my mother was released from the hospital, and she wasn't able to cook for a coupla days. The kind neighbor next door, [ a black man] cooked some homemade hearty soup for Mom and brought it over. She was so grateful. Remember pickin' cotton in the field with black people...white people too. Everybody got along just fine. There was no strife between us. Our families shared the surplus of a variety of foods. Everyone shared back then and helped each other out however we could. It was a way of life. Shared transportation. On and on. If someone got injured in an accident, kind neighbors brought over chicken 'n dressing. Would wash your clothes. If your house burned down, everyone got together and built you a new one. I must say....it was better back then, it really was. We looked out for each other. Too bad we can't go back.......

Answer 2

Racism is bad regardless of when it was. Segregation wasbasically the pinnicle of this.

Now you thought it was bad in Birmingham, how about in South Africa. I am sure you must have heard about apartheid - the entire country was divided into 3 types of people, whites, blacks and cloloured. All facilities, resources etc would also be divided - there were toilets for whites only for eg. If you went on a train, you could only ride in a carriage that your colour was allowed to ride. Gandhi when young had a 1st class ticket for a train in South Africa and was kicked out of it because he was "Coloured".

I reccomend reading up on Apartheid as it really shows how bad racism and segregation can be

Answer 3

It was admittedly difficult to have that sort of friendly relationship in the South, where there was considerable peer pressure to treat African Americans as less than first-class citizens. The instances of good behavior came on an individual basis rather than city-wide.

You might want to do an Internet search on the Underground Railroad, which helped transport blacks out of the South and out of slavery toward Canada. A lot of people risked a lot for the freedom of those people.

Answer 4

Segregation was not necessarily cruel. Whites showed more respect to Blacks than you might suspect. Black nannies raised half the rich folks in the South

Answer 5

Yes, my grandfather was raised in a southern town and they all got along really well. The blacks never rioted and the whites never lynched. On weekends every one would head to the town center and feed Rico the town unicorn.

Answer 6

I got news for you. Racism was bad then and it is still bad today. Coming from a small Texas town, I can tell you from first hand experience that it is still around. And fyi, the KKK is still alive and running.