Publisher's Synopsis
Since the end of the American Civil War, African-slave descendants, or "African-Americans," have been struggling to gain so-called 'freedom'. Clearly, the history of "Black peoples" condition in America since the "Emancipation" has sustained an underlying perception that true freedom has still not been attained. In all of the efforts that have gone forth, from segregation, desegregation, assimilation, separation, "civil rights," marches, protests, and demands, what has, thus far, never been examined is the "legal status" of African slaves and their post-emancipation descendants, which over time through legislation, has changed in form but not in substance. "Eyes On What Prize" is an examination of U.S. law as it applies specifically to African-Americans, and how and why there has been and remains a perception among Black people of inferior or 'second-class' citizenship. The book also makes clear distinction that, although race is an issue in American society, "racism" is not the problem. The governing factor is law, and more specifically, people's ignorance of it that precluded movement beyond the bondage and boundaries of invisible chains. The 14th Amendment to the U.S.Constitution and what proceeded from that, established a new class of 'citizenship', similar in form but, very different in substance to the "Citizen" defined in the original body of the Constitution's Articles I, II, and III. "Eyes" discusses the effects these legal differences have had on the social, political, and quality of life aspects of the African American experience.
