Reflection On Years Past And Years To Come

What is the price of freedom and equality between races? In the document, “Reflection on Years Past and Years to Come,” Andy (Andrew) Young, an American politician and activist, wrote about the Civil Rights movement during the 1950’s beginning with the Freedom Rides to the events of the late sixties. As a member of Southern Christian Leadership Conferences (SCLC), Young addressed this document to the SCLC board members, staff and regional representatives. This internal memorandum was published in 1966. The purpose was to analyze the movement and events since he joined the SCLC, followed by his desire to lead in a peaceful and desegregated country. This document is significant because Andrew Young brings us into the heart of the Civil Rights Movement by showing the extreme optimism of SCLC and his own struggle of relinquishing the fear.
During 1950’s SCLC was one in many organizations in the South with the aim to support black communities and fight for their civil rights. Moreover, as this organization was church-oriented, their focus was mainly on gaining justice and desegregation with no violence. They said that the continuing progress can only become a reality companies and organizations coordinate with spiritual and moral

Moreover, with the rise of the Civil Rights Movement, “new racial and ethnic ghettos were forming. These conditions alongside continued Southern segregation."9 After each nonviolent protests and boycotts many black men were being arrested and facing charges. Even though many people felt inspired and participated in protests, by the end of the 1960s, 3600 demonstrators were jailed. With all these happening in the South, the black community needed to become a whole and help their neighbors. As a response to this, “Northern students formed solidarity committees and raised money for bail”.10 In the document, Andrew states that the main challenge was to create a community among themselves and appreciate