The Civil Rights Movement After 70 Years

1798 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effects of religious intolerance

Everyone knows John Lennon’s famous song Imagine. Now imagine how life would have been about 50 years ago, visualize having to a live a lie because of how one’s own self was born. Furthermore, imagine the hatred that comes with being different, and how it would be to never be happy. Why? Because being gay is against a few religions. Now realize, people are still being oppressed this way. To this day, many people are afraid of coming out to friends and family because of extreme prejudice. In the Declaration of Independence it states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” We the people of the United States still have friends who do not have their unalienable rights, because certain factors still loom over this nation’s head, despite our country’s own founding values.
The concept of loving oneself as their own neighbor spans many religions and time periods In the King James Bible, “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Lev. 19:18). Yet time and time again, religion has proven to be hypocritical of its own ideals. Recently, a preacher in Missouri was talking to his city council, he said “‘The step towards gay rights is but another stepping stone toward the immorality and lawlessness that would be characteristic of the last days… ‘All I have done is simply take out the phrase “racial integration”, and substituted it with the phrase “gay rights”” (Phil Snyder). That shows how little religion has assisted in civil rights movements. He demonstrates the fact that by quoting peop...

... middle of paper ...

.... Imagine. Apple. 1971.
11 Internet
Joe Morgan. “Preacher’s gay rights speech with a twist goes viral.” Gay Star News. 20 Oct. 2012. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.
12 Internet
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Same Love. Macklemore LLC. 2012.
13 Internet
Terese Pencak Schwartz. “The Holocaust:
Non-Jewish Victims.”Jewishvirtuallibrary.com. N.D. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.

14 Internet
“Justinian Code: Ancient Rome/Byzantine Empire.” orias.berkeley.edu. Jul. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
15 Internet
Scott Lively. scottlively.net. 7 Mar. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Analysis: Stonewall Riots

    1726 Words  | 4 Pages

    Various controversies have arisen from the LGBT community since it stepped into the limelight during the Stonewall Riots of 1969, the events known as the beginning of the LGBT movement. One of these dilemmas is the faith identity of LGBT youth and how their sexuality might be handled as teenagers. Reparative therapies, also known as conversion therapies, have become popular ideas on how to fix teenagers’ sexual orientations. “My Take: Let’s Protect Religious Counselors Amid ‘Conversion Therapy’ Dance-Off”, authored by Gabe Lyons and published in the CNN Belief Blog, offers a subjective view on why religious freedom should be protected through conversion camps. “Five Christian Pastors in Illinois are Challenging a State Law Banning ‘Conversion

    Read More

  • The Civil Rights Movement: The Struggle Continues

    1177 Words  | 3 Pages

    Civil rights are the rights to personal liberty and are provided by the law. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights promises everybody civil rights. But many people, including lots of black people, have been denied their civil rights. Black people, and also some white people who help them, have struggled for these rights for a long time. Many people have helped and many kinds of groups have been formed to help win equal rights for everyone. Things are a lot better used to be, but the struggle is not over.

    Read More

  • The Civil Rights Movement

    2045 Words  | 5 Pages

    Johnson: Savior of the Civil Rights Movement? The Civil Rights Movement and President Johnson are closely linked in history. Though there were many other faces to the Civil Rights Movement, Johnson’s was one of the most publicly viewed and instrumental in its passing. It was Johnson who carried the weight and responsibility of the issue after the assassination of JFK, and it was he who would sign it.

    Read More

  • The Civil Rights Movement

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    The 1960’s were a time of freedom, deliverance, developing and molding for African-American people all over the United States. The Civil Rights Movement consisted of black people in the south fighting for equal rights. Although, years earlier by law Africans were considered free from slavery but that wasn’t enough they wanted to be treated equal as well. Many black people were fed up with the segregation laws such as giving up their seats on a public bus to a white woman, man, or child. They didn’t want separate bathrooms and water fountains and they wanted to be able to eat in a restaurant and sit wherever they wanted to and be served just like any other person.

    Read More

  • The Christian Debate on Homosexuality

    2508 Words  | 6 Pages

    The American debate on homosexuality reveals an unquestionable, though awfully uninvited, fusion between religion and politics, revealing a dangerous lack of separation between the church and state. The concern is not about the presence of spirituality in American politics, but the implications institutionalized religion has on the lives and rights of human beings. Nothing hinders the political and social progress of lesbian women and gay men quite like the complexities of religion. Dating back to the beginning of literature itself, homosexuality is far from modern. Nonetheless, homosexuality is currently the most divisive and fiercely debated topic in recent religious discourse. While most Christians maintain allegiance in labeling same-sex relationships as morally wrong, the church is dramatically divided on the proper place for gays and lesbians in American society and of course, American politics.

    Read More

  • The Long Struggle for Civil Rights

    2179 Words  | 5 Pages

    African Americans have a history of struggles because of racism and prejudices. Ever since the end of the Civil War, they struggled to benefit from their full rights that the Constitution promised. The fourteenth Amendment, which defined national citizenship, was passed in 1866. Even though African Americans were promised citizenship, they were still treated as if they were unequal. The South had an extremely difficult time accepting African Americans as equals, and did anything they could to prevent the desegregation of all races. During the Reconstruction Era, there were plans to end segregation; however, past prejudices and personal beliefs elongated the process.

    Read More

  • The Civil Rights Movement

    1633 Words  | 4 Pages

    For many years after the Civil War many African-Americans did not truly enjoy the freedoms that were granted to them by the US constitution. This was especially true in the southern states, because segregation flourished in the south wwhere African-Americans were treated as second class citizens. This racial segregation was characterized by separation of different races in daily life, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a rest room, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home. In addition, Blacks were not afforded justice and fair trials, such as the case of the murder of Emmet Till. This unjust treatment would not be tolerated in America any more, which spurred the civil rights movement.

    Read More

  • Jesus And The Disinherited Chapter 5

    767 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book, “Jesus and the Disinherited,” the author, Howard Thurman in chapter five expounds on “Love.” Moreover, Thurman, a black man in the early 1900, with the ultimate goal to offer a humanizing combination as the basis for an emancipatory way of being, moving toward an unchained life to all women and men everywhere who hunger, thirst for righteousness, especially those “who stand with their backs against the wall.” By the same token, Thurman experienced “Fear,” “Deception,” and “Hate” that causes internal, spiritual damage to those who choose compliance, isolation, and violent resistance over the way of Jesus (www.smootpage.blogspot.com). Notably, Howard Thurman’s message helped shaped the civil rights movement that

    Read More

  • Brown V. Board Of Education (1950)

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    The White Citizens Council was formed and led opposition to school desegregation allover the South. The Citizens Council called for economic coercion of blacks who favored integrated schools, such as firing them from jobs, and the creation of

    Read More

  • Differences Between Civil Rights In The 1950's And 1960s

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    (1) Trumans civil rights committee: In 1947 Trumans Civil Rights Committee recommended laws protecting the right of African Americans to vote and banning segregation on railroads and buses. It also called for a federal law punishing lynching. He issued executive orders ending segregation in the armed forces and prohibiting job discrimination in all government agencies.

    Read More

  • The Civil Rights Movement

    1709 Words  | 4 Pages

    The civil rights movement comprised efforts of grassroots activists and national leaders to obtain for African Americans the basic rights guaranteed to American citizens in the Constitution. The key players in succeeding with the civil rights movement were the soldiers returning from the war, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the anti-Vietnam War activists.

    Read More

  • The Civil Rights Movement

    1595 Words  | 4 Pages

    “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” This was a speech by Martin Luther King Jr. Even one hundred years after slavery was banned, African Americans were still being treated unfairly. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most famous leaders of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s. The Civil Rights movement was a movement of African Americans who felt that they were not being treated equally. There were also many other famous leaders and inspirations during the Civil Rights Movement. This movement was very important to the freedom of African Americans.

    Read More

  • The Civil Rights Movement

    2408 Words  | 5 Pages

    This paper will discuss the Black struggle for civil rights in America by examining the civil rights movement's history and reflecting on Blacks' status in contemporary society, will draw upon various related sources to substantiate its argument. The history of Black social change following the Emancipation Proclamation will be provided to show the evolution of the civil rights struggle. Obstacles that impede the movement's chance of success, such as ignorance in both Whites and Blacks, and covert governmental racism will be discussed. The effectiveness of several elements that compose the movement will reveal their progress, and how this has aided the movement as a whole. The paper will conclude that the struggle for equality has produced significant results, but has not achieved its ultimate goal, which is equality between race. This is so because the contemporary White power structure maintains control of society in ways that are less apparent than they were thirty years ago, but retain a similarly powerful grip. To combat racism today, the struggle for civil rights must explore new methods that illuminate racial discrimination and distinction more clearly. Continuing to fight for social justice is the only way equality can one-day become a reality.

    Read More

  • The Civil Rights Movement

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    Historically, the Civil Rights Movement was a time during the 1950’s and 60’s to eliminate segregation and gain equal rights. Looking back on all the events, and dynamic figures it produced, this description is very vague. In order to fully understand the Civil Rights Movement, you have to go back to its origin. Most people believe that Rosa Parks began the whole civil rights movement. She did in fact propel the Civil Rights Movement to unprecedented heights but, its origin began in 1954 with Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka was the cornerstone for change in American History as a whole. Even before our nation birthed the controversial ruling on May 17, 1954 that stated separate educational facilities were inherently unequal, there was Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896 that argued by declaring that state laws establish separate public schools for black and white students denied black children equal educational opportunities. Some may argue that Plessy vs. Ferguson is in fact backdrop for the Civil Rights Movement, but I disagree. Plessy vs. Ferguson was ahead of it’s time so to speak. “Separate but equal” thinking remained the body of teachings in America until it was later reputed by Brown vs. Board of Education. In 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, and prompted The Montgomery Bus Boycott led by one of the most pivotal leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. After the gruesome death of Emmett Till in 1955 in which the main suspects were acquitted of beating, shooting, and throwing the fourteen year old African American boy in the Tallahatchie River, for “whistling at a white woman”, this country was well overdo for change.

    Read More

  • Religion and LGBT Rights

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this essay, I will explain how religion is sometimes used to mobilize against LGBT people, how some people’s religious and personal doctrines conflict regarding LGBT issues, and how religious belief and community can be a positive force for the LGBT community.

    Read More

More about The Civil Rights Movement After 70 Years

Open Document