The Civil Rights Movement

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The Civil Rights Movement

“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.

An influential leader of the Civil Rights Movement was Rosa Parks. Rosa parks was born on February 14, 1913. She was born as Rosa Louise McCauley to James McCauley, a carpenter and Leona McCauley, a teacher. She was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. After graduating from Alabama State Teachers’ college, she moved to Montgomery, Alabama with her husband, Raymond Parks. They joined the local NAACP to improve the lives of African Americans in the south. "I worked on numerous cases with the NAACP," Mrs. Parks recalled, "but we did not get the publicity. There were cases of flogging, peonage, murder, and rape. We didn't seem to have too many successes. It was more a matter of trying to challenge the powers that be, and to let it be known that we did not wish to continue being second-class citizens." On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks, a seamstress from Montgomery, Alabama refused to give up her seat to a white person on the bus. She was arrested and fined for breaking the law. This incident led to the creation of the Montgomery I...

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...at discrimination was wrongful and would not be tolerated. It showed that the constitution actually could now mean that everyone is created equally. Not only did the Civil Rights movement stop discrimination for African Americans, it stopped it for Latinos and Asians also.

Works Cited

"American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King, Jr. - I Have a Dream." American Rhetoric: The Power of Oratory in the United States. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. .

"Digital Documents and Photographs Project." The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum Homepage. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. .

"Rosa Parks Biography -- Academy of Achievement." Academy of Achievement Main Menu. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. .

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