African American Rights Essay

The events that took place during the Civil Rights Movement were unjust and left a large impact on the African Americans. The Civil Rights Movement was one of the most significant movements to take place in American history. African Americans were faced with equality issues and were “judged by the color of their skin, [not] by the content of their character,” (Source 3). They were deprived of jobs, education, voting rights, economic opportunities, and most importantly, their freedom and rights as a citizen of the United States of America. After being freed from slavery, the blacks thought they had achieved their freedom, but soon realized that was only the beginning.

However, these facilities were not equal in anyway. So the African America... ... middle of paper ... ...en have this “destined date with freedom,” at which they can stand alongside their fellow brothers and sisters and be First- Class Citizens and be done with racial discrimination for the whole world. Since the beginning of America till after the Jim Crow era, the African Americans have been humiliated, been considered inferior, and have been denied their basic given rights. However, even with this treatment, the African Americans did not give up or lose hope. They were beaten and imprisoned for their beliefs as shown in the sources above, but they continued to fight for racial integration and to also rise and stand up for themselves and equality.

African Americans have a history of struggles because of racism and prejudices. Ever since the end of the Civil War, they struggled to benefit from their full rights that the Constitution promised. The fourteenth Amendment, which defined national citizenship, was passed in 1866. Even though African Americans were promised citizenship, they were still treated as if they were unequal. The South had an extremely difficult time accepting African Americans as equals, and did anything they could to prevent the desegregation of all races.

African Americans believed that they were finally getting their chance at equality, but unfortunately white supremacy quickly became apparent. The legal segregation of African Americans from whites in transportation, education, businesses restaurants, public restrooms and other public places became known as Jim Crow Laws. After decades of inequality, the Civil Rights era erupted in the 1950s and African Americans began to demand equal treatment. The Civil Rights Era brought on various social movements in the south and north, as well as legislative decisions that pushed for a truly equal nation. The era of Civil Rights brought on strong resistance to oppression and eventually helped diminish Jim Crow laws.

People of all races should admire the fight for equality the African American community put up throughout the years. African Americans had plenty of things to overcome over the years. From being forced to work for free in slavery, to overcome harsh racism in segregation and integration, then to rally up together in the Civil Rights Movement. Some African Americans to this day still have problems with inequality. Written in the U.S. Constitution, it is said that all men are created equal, but African Americans had to fight for their equality over the years, therefore contradicting the U.S. Constitution.

The Civil Rights is a very important time in American history. It all began when the African Americans became free from slavery. African Americans began to protest unjust laws and to promote equal rights. African Americans struggled for racial equality in the 1950’s to 1960’s. After the Civil War many southern states continued to treat African Americans as second class citizens.

Ever since the African American race was brought over to the United States they have been mistreated. Upon their arrival, Americans instantly enslaved them and used them for work, not even considering them as people. With the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865, slavery was finally outlawed; however, “colored” people were still treated unequally through segregation. Segregation was legalized by the Court decision in the case Plessy v. Ferguson. But, in 1952, the case Brown v. Board of Education upturned the Plessy v. Ferguson precedent saying that the “separate but equal doctrine was unconstitutional.

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 yet, it is 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. Integration in white schools played a major role in the battle for Civil Rights in the South, upon the coming of independence for all African American people in the United States after a series of tribulations and loss of hope.

This included Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, and many more, because of these famous African Americans the civil rights had many sit-ins (LDF History, 2014) In conclusion, the NAACP is still activist group in today’s time and still fights for the rights of African Americans. There are still KKK group members and Klan’s in America trying to stop Africans from being a normal citizen but as long as the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendment are in play they will live the life of any ordinary American citizen. The NAACP will always try to fight for desegregation. Maybe in twenty more years America will be completely free of racism and segregation. America has come a long way.

Of course the country has made great strides against racism and granted civil rights to African Americans since the Civil War. Yet still there was a period of time when freed slaves were in many ways not free at all. The former slaves experience was in some ways the same as when they were slaves and in others much worse. There was widespread racism and despicable crimes committed against them. The government was either unable or unwilling to give freedmen land and equal opportunities in society and even when they were given rights they were often undermined or reversed.