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The Impact of the Civil Rights Movements
Effects of the civil rights movement
The civil rights movement impact on america
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On March 7 1965 policemen attacked 525 civil right demonstrators that took part in the march between Selma and Montgomery Alabama. The march was to let black people vote. The police used tear gas and charged on horseback into the crowds, there were more than 50 demonstrators injured. The day of the protest was named “Bloody Sunday”, and it was all over America broadcasted on national TV and in newspapers and Americans were very mad at how the authorities handled it. Even though people were hurt in bloody Sunday, 8 days after bloody Sunday President Lyndon B. Johnson presented a bill to congress that would turn into the black Voting Rights act of 1965. ("The New York times") Millions of people all over the US were watching TV on a Sunday night when the television program was interrupted by African Americans being beat by clubs and tear gas being thrown. Six hundred people were attacked by police and state troopers and they were dressed in riot uniforms. ABC was showing a movie and then it was stopped and showed African Americans being hurt. Most people have never heard of Selma, Alabama but after March 7 no one would forget. ("National park service") People who said that that the voting right was a result of Selma also said that the events that went in Birmingham, Alabama in April and in May of 1963 produced the Civil Rights Act in 1964. In more than one occasions black civil right people were lead by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. in marches and were met with outrageous law enforcements tactics. In the Selma march demonstrators were always peaceful, but the officers would use weapons on them even though the Selma demonstrators never did anything harmful. On March 7th a day after the bloody Sunday, dozens of speakers said that t... ... middle of paper ... ...islative/resources/education/voting-rights/johnson.html>. Garrow, David. Protest at Selma: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Voting rights act of 1965. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1978. 135-147. Print.√ Lewis, John. walking with the wind. 1st. New York: 1999. 335-362. Print. "March 7, 1965 | Civil Rights Marchers Attacked in Selma."the New York times. (2012): n. page. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. . "Selma to Montgomery marches." wikipedia. N.p., 22 April 2014. Web. 22 Apr 2014. . "The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation." national park service. n.d. n. page. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. .
Here, though, the focus is primarily on the Committee’s voter registration initiative starting in 1964. This documentary provides a more historical perspective, and offers glimpses into the strategies used in Selma, Alabama to obtain social change. It shows how those within the group questioned the effectiveness of the protests and the march, and
On the first day of the march, nicknamed Bloody Sunday, the activists made it to the Edmund Pettus Bridge before being stopped and brutally beaten by police officers. The activists persevered after the beatings, returning the two days later chanting “we’re gonna march!” (March Book Three 212). Their hope far outweighed any fear of being beaten again. Finally, two weeks after Bloody Sunday, they were allowed to march all the way to Montgomery. The perseverance of those who still marched to Montgomery after all of the violence that had been committed against them shows that the hope they had far superseded any doubts or fears they
Selma, Alabama became the focus of the civil rights movement as activists worked to register Black voters. Demonstrators also organized a march from Selma to Montgomery to promote voting rights. "Bloody Sunday" occured when state troopers attacked demonstrators.
Kirk, J. (2007). Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement: controversies and debates. Basingstoke New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Over 200,000 demonstrators participated in the March on Washington in the nation’s capital on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to gain civil rights for African Americans. There was a wide diversity in those who participated, with a quarter of all the demonstrators being white (Ross). Even southern people came to contribute, which caused them to be harassed and threatened for coming to the march. The March on Washington became a very successful event for the rights of African Americans, and amended several peoples’ view-points towards the topic, even President John Kennedy’s.
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.
The March on Selma was one of many protests that related to civil rights. The event took place
“There is no negro problem; there is no southern problem; there is only an American problem”(Lyndon B. Johnson). The civil rights movement occurred from 1954 to 1968. America was divided into group simple because of someone’s skin color. The nation was separated into a white and black community. Although there were heartbreaking times in this movement, moments of joy were shared after everyone was finally equal citizens. The March to Selma, Alabama was one of the most historically significant events in the struggle for civil rights. Through perseverance and patience, our world was changed dramatically by Sheyann Webb, Jonathan Daniels, and Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.
Perhaps the most widely known peaceful protest is best exemplified through the civil rights marches. Civil rights marches cumulated on the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous ‘I Have a Dream Speech’. The March involved the ‘big six’ namely: CORE, SCLC, SNCC, The Sleeping Car Porters, NAACP and the National Urban League; with the aim to support the Civil Rights bill, creation of jobs for the unemployed and a further end to racial segregation in schools. However, much was done by all aspects of the Federal Government before, during and after the march with much internal conflict to boot. Before the march was to take place, segregationists such as Governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett claimed that “the civil rights
During the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans sought to have their Constitutional Rights permitted. One form of protesting came forth in the form of the Freedom Rides. After slavery ended, many amendments and laws were created to ensure the rights of African Americans, but because of prejudices and racism, most of these were ignored. The Supreme Court's decision in Plessy v. Fergunson established "separate but equal" on interstate transportation in 1896, but in 1947 the Supreme Court found it unconstitutional. And although segregation was outlawed, Jim Crow laws still ruled the Deep South and “codified in law, sanctioned by the courts, and enforced by the ubiquitous threat of physical violence even more than legal reprisal" (Catsam 87). The Jim Crow laws drastically affected the public transportation systems of the South. The Congress of Racial Equality challenged the unfair laws with Freedom Rides, which "arose out of the need to end segregation at lunch counters, in bus terminals, as well as in other facilities essential to the intercity traveler" (Olds 17-18). The first freedom ride commenced in Washington, DC, in 1961.Because the first Freedom Riders were from the North, they didn't realize how harsh the racist South was and “violence in Anniston and Birmingham, Alabama, would prove to be too much for the first group of freedom riders, who ended up flying from Birmingham to New Orleans. . ." (Catsam 94). However the movement didn't stop there because ". . .students from the Nashville Movement, led by Diane Nash, realized that to allow violence to stop the Rides would send a message that would do incalculable harm to the movement" and the progression of the African American race (94). The students choose to continue t...
Ross, S. (n.d.). Civil Rights March on Washington. Infoplease. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/marchonw
Ross, S. (2007). Civil Rights March on Washington. Retrieved 4 21, 2014, from Infoplease: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/marchonwashington.html
Garrow, David J. Protest at Selma: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. New York: New Haven and London Yale University Press. 1978
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.
...or southern blacks to vote. In 1967 the Supreme Court rules interracial marriage legal. In 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was shot dead at the age of thirty-nine. Also the civil rights act of 1968 is passed stopping discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. In 1988 President Reagan’s veto was overridden by congress passing the “Civil Rights Restoration Act” expanding the reach of non-discrimination laws within private institutions receiving federal funds. In 1991 President Bush. signs the, “Civil Rights Act of 1991”, strengthening existing civil rights laws. In 2008 President Obama is elected as the first African American president. The American Civil Rights Movement has made a massive effect on our history and how our country is today. Without it things would be very different. In the end however, were all human beings regardless of our differences.