Challenging the System
Passively
Passively slaves would challenge the system by slowing down work and not really saying anything to their slaveholders. They could also do small acts of rebellion. They could for instance break tools or set things on fire. They would also just simply run away. They could also fake illness or play dumb to get out of their work. Women had an easier time getting out of work from faking illness, because slaveholders wanted to keep their children healthy.
Aggressively
Niagera Movement;
After the civil war African Americans enjoyed an unprecedented level of civil rights. But things began to change. By the 1890s many of the southern states started passing laws that significantly restricted political and civil rights of African Americans. Brooker T. Washington, leader of Alabama's Tuskegee institute, outlined a response to these policies in an 1895 speech in Atlanta, Georgia that became known as the Atlanta compromise. His basic approach was that Southern African-Americans should not agitate for political rights as long as they were provided economic opportunities, and basic rights of due process.
After the civil war African Americans enjoyed an unprecedented level of civil rights. But things began to change. By the 1890s many of the southern states started passing laws that significantly restricted political and civil rights of African Americans. Brooker T. Washington, leader of Alabama's Tuskegee institute, outlined a response to these policies in an 1895 speech in Atlanta, Georgia that became known as the Atlanta compromise. His basic approach was that Southern African-Americans should not agitate for political rights as long as they were provided economic opportunities, and basic rights of due process.