The period following the Reconstruction of the United States was a very difficult time for Blacks. After the North had fought for them to gain freedom from slavery, they were abandoned and were forced to fight for themselves. There was much ambivalence among blacks in regard to how they would go about achieving civil rights. During the end of the 19th century there were two black leaders who had completely different opinions on how blacks …showed first 75 words of 948 total…

…showed last 75 words of 948 total…have contributed to much of the racial tension. Such groups as the KKK still exist although the numbers have decreased since the past. It seems as though the issue of race will continue to be an ongoing battle until people are willing to not judge ' on the color of [one's] skin, but on the content of [one's] character', as Martin Luther King, Jr. stressed in his highly acclaimed ' I have a dream' speech.