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Chapter 1
How Have Race
Relations Changed in
America?
he United States has a long history of racial tension, starting with
T the European explorers and colonists who arrived in North America
starting in the 1500s. Indigenous peoples already lived throughout the
continent. The colonists displaced, enslaved, or killed vast numbers
of indigenous people. This treatment led to outbreaks of violence
and bloodshed that continued for centuries and wiped out entire
civilizations of native people.
Some of the earliest African slaves in America were brought to the
Jamestown Colony, in what is now Virginia, in 1619. Over the next two
centuries, 12.5 million slaves were brought to the American colonies,
the Caribbean, and South America. Slavery was officially outlawed by
the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. However, discrimination against
black people in the United States was far from over. The country
remained a dangerous place for former slaves, their descendants, and
other people of color.
The late nineteenth century and early twentieth century ushered
in what is known as the Jim Crow era. During this time, state laws—
commonly called Jim Crow laws—were passed to enforce racial
segregation. The laws prohibited white and African American children
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