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Compare the approach of martin luther king and malcolm x to civil rights
Civil rights act of 1964
Compare the approach of martin luther king and malcolm x to civil rights
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Go back in time exactly 56 years, it is now 1960. Now, picture yourself in the 60’s and picture yourself hanging out with friends. It is a typical sunny day, school is out and you are hungry; so your first instinct is to get food. You arrive at the restaurant and the front is empty. You sit down, look through the menu and decide what to order. The server comes out and refuses to wait on you. Why would the server refuse to get the order? You have money. You are willing to pay for food. You are not causing trouble. You are hungry and want to eat. Have you realized you are African-American? What are you going to do about this? Are you just going to leave or are you going to take a stand? In 1960 four college students thought that this was unfair therefore, they took a stand. They would not leave as a matter of …show more content…
They did not get their food that day, but they did not leave or go sit in the very back like they were asked to . Instead of leaving, they just sat there and wanted. They wanted so long that it was finally time for the restaurant to close. But this still did not stop them the next day when they came back again. This time something great happened instead of there just being four college kids who were African-American there were more. On February 5th 1960, there had been over 300 hundred students that had joined in this protest that also heard about the four college students and started to protest some of them even went out to different restaurants for sit-ins. By the end of March the movement had spread to 55 cities in 13 States. Even though a lot of them were arrested for trespassing this did not stop them at all. Even the national media covered the peaceful protest about the sit-ins. Finally, after many months the four college students finally succeed. July 1960, African Amercains were finally able to be served first. This shows a great way to peacefully protest because no one was being violent at
It all started on a the 1st of February 1960 where four brave, young Black male students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College named Ezell Blair Jr. David Richmond, Joseph McNeill and Franklin McCain entered a lunch counter in a Woolworth’s department store in Greensboro North Carolina. The students sat at the counter awaiting service, but because of their skin colour they weren’t allowed to be served because the counters were for whites and whites only. The students patiently sat there until the store closed, not having been served caused an upset for the store as they were loosing business because the students were occupying white seats, this was called a “sit-in”.
In hindsight the build-up to 1963 is obvious; the tension had grown rather than diminished since the Emancipation Proclamation as new laws were enacted but slowly carried out or blatantly ignored. The centennial of the Proclamation was approaching, and the lack of follow-through by both Republicans and Democrats, in both the South and the North, brought disappointment, frustration, and anger. President Kennedy promised changes to housing discrimination but did not sign them into law until two years into his term and was not specific enough for it to bring actual change (p. 8). The black population’s faith in the government waned as they saw countries in Africa rebelling after World War II, the nearly nuclear war of the 1950s, and the Great Depression that lingered even longer for them than for the struggling white public. They were witnessing fighting and determination around the world without experiencing any liberty of their own. The struggle was a daily reality for the individual, and that fa...
Historians offer different perceptions of the significance of Martin Luther King and the 1963 March on Washington. Without examining this event within its historical context the media publicity and iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech can easily overshadow progress that was already underway in America. It was insisted by prominent civil rights activist Ella Baker, ‘the movement made Martin rather than Martin making the movement.’ What is important not to overlook is the significant change that took place in the United States during the previous 100 years. Such that, many influential figures in support of racial equality opposed the March. The Civil Rights Act proposed by President Kennedy in 1963 was already in the legislative process. Furthermore the Federal Government was now reasserting power over the entire of the United States by enforcing a policy of desegregation. It is important to note that these changes all took place less than one hundred years after the Thirteenth Amendment in 1965 abolished slavery, and the Fourteenth amendment in 1968 acknowledged the rights of former slaves to be acknowledged as U.S citizens. With this level of progress Kennedy was against the March going ahead due to the argument that it was limited in what it could achieve. Today, King’s 1963 Speech is viewed as one of the most iconic speeches in history. However, was it a key turning point in African Americans achieving racial equality? Federal endorsement would suggest yes after decades of southern states being able to subvert the Federal law designed to break down segregation. This support built upon the corner stones of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments in the nineteenth century. Therefore looking at the national status of black Americans fro...
When the Government Stood Up For Civil Rights "All my life I've been sick and tired, and now I'm just sick and tired of being sick and tired. No one can honestly say Negroes are satisfied. We've only been patient, but how much more patience can we have?" Mrs. Hamer said these words in 1964, a month and a day before the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 would be signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. She speaks for the mood of a race, a race that for centuries has built the nation of America, literally, with blood, sweat, and passive acceptance. She speaks for black Americans who have been second class citizens in their own home too long. She speaks for the race that would be patient no longer that would be accepting no more. Mrs. Hamer speaks for the African Americans who stood up in the 1950's and refused to sit down. They were the people who led the greatest movement in modern American history - the civil rights movement. It was a movement that would be more than a fragment of history, it was a movement that would become a measure of our lives (Shipler 12). When Martin Luther King Jr. stirred up the conscience of a nation, he gave voice to a long lain dormant morality in America, a voice that the government could no longer ignore. The government finally answered on July 2nd with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is historically significant because it stands as a defining piece of civil rights legislation, being the first time the national government had declared equality for blacks. The civil rights movement was a campaign led by a number of organizations, supported by many individuals, to end discrimination and achieve equality for American Blacks (Mooney 776). The forefront of the struggle came during the 1950's and the 1960's when the feeling of oppression intensified and efforts increased to gain access to public accommodations, increased voting rights, and better educational opportunities (Mooney). Civil rights in America began with the adoption of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution, which ended slavery and freed blacks in theory. The Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875 were passed, guaranteeing the rights of blacks in the courts and access to public accommodation. These were, however, declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, who decided that the fourteenth did not protect blacks from violation of civil rights, by individuals.
Sit-ins were a form of peaceful protest where a person, in this case an African American or a supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, would sit in a restaurant that was known to deny service to African Americans and would refuse to give up the seat until served by the establishment. In effect, this would force the establishment to either integrate their establishment or call the police. If the latter was done, it was usually publicized. The media is of great importance because it forces the public to see what is going on. It also encouraged other cities to follow suit and perform them in their locales. The movement also spread to other sectors like housing and retail.
On February 1, 1960, 4 black students were wanting lunch. The boys had been refused service so they occupied the seats so the business couldn’t make money. T...
Success was a big part of the Civil Rights Movement. Starting with the year 1954, there were some major victories in favor of African Americans. In 1954, the landmark trial Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka Kansas ruled that segregation in public education was unfair. This unanimous Supreme Court decision overturned the prior Plessy vs. Ferguson case during which the “separate but equal” doctrine was created and abused. One year later, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. launched a bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama after Ms. Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat in the “colored section”. This boycott, which lasted more than a year, led to the desegregation of buses in 1956. Group efforts greatly contributed to the success of the movement. This is not only shown by the successful nature of the bus boycott, but it is shown through the success of Martin Luther King’s SCLC or Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The conference was notable for peacefully protesting, nonviolence, and civil disobedience. Thanks to the SCLC, sit-ins and boycotts became popular during this time, adding to the movement’s accomplishments. The effective nature of the sit-in was shown during 1960 when a group of four black college students sat down at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in hopes of being served. While they were not served the first time they commenced their sit-in, they were not forced to leave the establishment; their lack of response to the heckling...
One of the first documented incidents of the sit-ins for the civil rights movement was on February 1, 1960 in Nashville, Tennessee. Four college African-Americans sat at a lunch counter and refused to leave. During this time, blacks were not allowed to sit at certain lunch counters that were reserved for white people. These black students sat at a white lunch counter and refused to leave. This sit-in was a direct challenge to southern tradition. Trained in non-violence, the students refused to fight back and later were arrested by Nashville police. The students were drawn to activist Jim Lossen and his workshops of non-violence. The non-violent workshops were training on how to practice non-violent protests. John Lewis, Angela Butler, and Diane Nash led students to the first lunch counter sit-in. Diane Nash said, "We were scared to death because we didn't know what was going to happen." For two weeks there were no incidences with violence. This all changed on February 27, 1960, when white people started to beat the students. Nashville police did nothing to protect the black students. The students remained true to their training in non-violence and refused to fight back. When the police vans arrived, more than eighty demonstrators were arrested and summarily charged for disorderly conduct. The demonstrators knew they would be arrested. So, they planned that as soon as the first wave of demonstrators was arrested, a second wave of demonstrators would take their place. If and when the second wave of demonstrators were arrested and removed, a third would take their place. The students planned for multiple waves of demonstrators.
One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation was written, African Americans were still fighting for equal rights in every day life. The first real success of this movement did not come until the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954 which was followed by many boycotts and protests. The largest of these protests, the March on Washington, was held on August 28, 1963 “for jobs and freedom” (March on Washington 11). An incredible amount of preparation went into the event to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of people attending from around the nation and to deal with any potential incidents.
During the 1960’s, there were important events, actions, and organizations that changed the black communities' lives. The 1960’s are an important time period because of the Civil Rights Movement. During that time period, the black community's were able to vote (Voting Rights of 1965) and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Between 1965 and 1968, the Black Panthers Party was created. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale created the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California in 1966.
In From Slavery to Freedom (2007), it was said that “the transition from slavery to freedom represents one of the major themes in the history of African Diaspora in the Americas” (para. 1). African American history plays an important role in American history not only because the Civil Rights Movement, but because of the strength and courage of Afro-Americans struggling to live a good life in America. Afro-Americans have been present in this country since the early 1600’s, and have been making history since. We as Americans have studied American history all throughout school, and took one Month out of the year to studied African American history. Of course we learn some things about the important people and events in African American history, but some of the most important things remain untold which will take more than a month to learn about.
Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation in the United States was commonly practiced in many of the Southern and Border States. This segregation while supposed to be separate but equal, was hardly that. Blacks in the South were discriminated against repeatedly while laws did nothing to protect their individual rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ridded the nation of this legal segregation and cleared a path towards equality and integration. The passage of this Act, while forever altering the relationship between blacks and whites, remains as one of history’s greatest political battles.
During the 1950’s a struggle for African American rights were under way. Prior to this many means were taken to protect the Black traveler across the nation. African Americans were often treated as second rate humans and this inferiority would promote the civil rights movement. For traveling African Americas different books were printed up with one intention, to protect the negro traveler. “Your cooperation will enable us to reach the summit or our goal and further our efforts in giving “ASSURED PROTECTION FOR THE NEGRO TRAVELER (Alston, 1956.)” These measure along with years of being denied civil rights demanded that a time for change to come. Starting in the southern states civil right activists began fighting to earn their constitutional rights. People such as Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat after working so that a white man could sit down, was arrested for her public display of disobedience. This would begin the most notable and effective movement in the entire Civil Rights Movement. Dr....
It wasn’t easy being an African American, back then they had to fight in order to achieve where they are today, from slavery and discrimination, there was a very slim chance of hope for freedom or even citizenship. This longing for hope began to shift around the 1950’s. During the Civil Rights Movement, where discrimination still took place, it was the time when African Americans started to defend their rights and honor to become freemen like every other citizen of the United States. African Americans were beginning to gain recognition after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, which declared all people born natural in the United States and included the slaves that were previously declared free. However, this didn’t prevent the people from disputing against the constitutional law, especially the people in the South who continued to retaliate against African Americans and the idea of integration in white schools....
Massive protests against racial segregation and discrimination broke out in the southern United States that came to national attention during the middle of the 1950’s. This movement started in centuries-long attempts by African slaves to resist slavery. After the Civil War American slaves were given basic civil rights. However, even though these rights were guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment they were not federally enforced. The struggle these African-Americans faced to have their rights ...