Civil Rights Movement

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Since African-Americans had been brought over to the Americas as slaves, there had been a huge rise in racism and segregation. In the 1950s times had become even more difficult for this race of people as racism had hit an all time high. This was not only a problem, but had diminished the rights of blacks to little or none at all. African- Americans felt as if they had the responsibility to fight peacefully and gain the rights they believed they were owed. The thinking of civil disobedience displayed in a great number of these people brought upon the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. A movement thought to have the effect of bringing more than just rights to the African-American but also bringing the responsibility of blacks all around the country to a peak. Their responsibility had now changed to having to now learn to assimilate with the whites all around them. The Civil Rights Movement began in 1954 with the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, this ruling struck down the doctrine of “Separate but Equal”. The Brown v. Board of Education case was a start of many that began to transform American Democracy. African-Americans soon realized that they had to do something if they wanted to gain their rights back. They saw that they all had the responsibility to fight back against the government’s decision of de jure segregation. Many saw that they had to use the path of civil disobedience as portrayed through Martin Luther King Jr., but the rise of Black Nationalism made many people around the country forget that they had a responsibility as a people. Militant groups and leaders such as the Black Panther Party and Malcolm X started riots and “rebellions” that not only showed that they were very serious about gett... ... middle of paper ... ...journey on the road to integration when they first stepped foot on the American continent, but now had earned their right to be treated equally with their white brethren. From sit-ins to riots and rebellions, the African American race displayed their rights of freedom of speech and gained the new right of being treated as equal as the others around them. Works Cited Foner, Eric , and John A. Garraty, eds. "Civil Rights Movement." Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 1991. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. . College, Tougaloo. "Civil Rights Movement Veterans." Bruce Hartford, 1998. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. . Davis, Jack E."Civil Rights Movement: An Overview." N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. .

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