Visual Identy of African Americans in Question Throughout...

I looked up the word Visual Identity, but I couldn’t find a clear definition of what it really meant. So, I began to ask myself what it means. Visual identity is what we perceive others or ourselves to be. It is almost the same as our judgment or our opinion. Perfect example, I went to the store the other day, and I saw a white man, he was dirty, his hair was not combed, and his clothes were dirty. Looking at him I thought he was homeless, but to my surprise he wasn’t he had just gotten off of work. It’s situations like this that make me wonder is it visual identity that we use as African Americans to access a person’s identity or is it the lack thereof? In the period following the Reconstruction era, the issue of African American†¦show more content†¦Whites believed that Blacks had no right to have be able to read, write, attend school or work. To White Americans giving African Americans a chance anything seemed diabolical to them, and they would do anything to try and stop African Americans from being Equal. White Americans in the Reconstruction era viewed African Americans by their skin color and they judged them on how they looked. They also disapproved of African Americans trying to achieve literacy. The opportunities that White Americans had were different than those of African Americans. White Americans viewed African Americans as inferior to them. In result, African Americans were not permitted to Civil rights, education, and work. Being viewed by what they looked like held African Americans in bondage. By the 20th Century African Americans began to break the chains of racial stereotypes. With African Americans starting to work they began to establish a new identity. This new identity that they had established was that they were capable of working just as well as White Americans. However, White Americans still disagreed with African Americans being able to work. These rights that were now available to African Americans brought about a more different and physical racial tension between White Americans and African Americans. As African Americans were permitted Civil