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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Show MoreThe Civil Rights Movement symbolized the challenge and opposition to the racial injustices and segregation that had been engrained in American society for hundreds of years. Events that took place in the 1950s and 1960s, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, sit-ins, speeches and numerous protests define this momentous time in United States history. Speeches during this period served as a means to inspire and assemble a specific group of people, for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X it was the black community that needed to rise up in hopes of achieving equal rights and voting rights for the blacks.
The civil rights movement was a popular historical movement that worked to allow African Americans to have equal rights and privileges as U.S. citizens. The movement can be defined as a struggle against racial segregation and discrimination that began in the 1950s. Although the origins of the civil rights movement go back to the 1800s, the movement peaked in the 1950s and 1960s. African American men and women, along with whites, organized and led the movement from local to national levels. Many actions of the civil rights movement were concentrated through legal means such as negotiations, appeals, and nonviolent protests. When we think of leaders or icons of the movement we usually think of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Even though Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. are important figures, their participation in the movement was minimal compared to other unknown or forgotten figures. Howell Raines’s, My Soul Is Rested, contains recollections of voices from followers of the civil rights movement. These voices include students, lawyers, news reporters, and civil right activists. Although the followers of the movement were lesser known, the impact they made shaped the society we live in today.
Brunner, B. & Haney, E. (2007) civil rights timeline: milestones in the modern civil rights movement, Information please database, Pearson Education, Inc., retrieved from: www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline.html
The Civil rights movement was a group that “fought to end long-standing political, social, economic, and legal practices that discriminated against black Americans” (“Protests in the”, n.d., para. 10). The Civil rights movement did not believe in violence, so they use methods like, sit-ins, marches, and nonviolent protests. They also fought their battle through the court system...
On December 1st, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the front of a bus to a white man. It was this simple act of defiance that, arguably, began the Civil Rights movement which lasted from 1955 through the 1960’s and altered the face of our nation forever. Following the arrest of Rosa Parks for her simple denial, African Americans in Montgomery began boycotting the bus system, one of the first major stands against racism in the 1950’s. On the heels of the Brown v. Board of Education segregation trial which had ruled in favor of school integration, this boycott, which proved successful after the seat separation was removed, effectively began the civil rights movement with which we are now so familiar with. The civil rights movement in America aimed to gain civil liberties and rights which were guaranteed by law but withheld from them in society. While the movement lasted from about 1954 to 1968, it was not until the 1960’s that other minorities such as American Indians and women began to join the fight. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s was possibly the most important domestic social movement of the twentieth century. At the very least, it was the most important social confrontation to grip America since the Civil War.
The constant struggle for social reform and the inequality faced by many African Americans shows their willingness to be acknowledged, the start of the Civil Rights Movement commenced with the freedom granted to them by the Reconstruction Amendments. The prospect of knowledge and willingness sprung a powerful flow of African Americans who wanted to be recognized as human beings and as equals to the white population.
The African American civil rights movement was steadfast in its resolve to eradicate racial segregation and discrimination against black Americans and promote enforcement of constitutional voting rights for black Americans. Using a combination of non-violent and violent techniques, the civil rights movement successfully accomplished some of its goals. The growing support from the federal government augmented the movements’ success.
Williams, Juan. Eye on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954-1965. New York: Viking Penguin Inc., 1987.
African American Civil Rights Movement’s 1960’s encompasses social movements in the United States whose indents were to end racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans and to secure legal recognition and federal protection of the citizenship Rights itemised in the constitution and centralized law. These articles wrap the phase of Movement between 1954 and 1968 particularly in the south. The Movement was characterized by major campaigns of Civil resistance towards the period of Civil Rights movement witnessed the method of numerous major section of federal legislation. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, expressly banned discrimination based on Race, Colour, Religion (or) National origin Employment Customs and ended Unequal demand
Before the Civil Rights Movement, which took place from 1955-1968, African-Americans had a difficult time establishing an identity and their rights. However, for many African-Americans, the Civil Rights Movement developed a purpose for one’s life and progressed African-Americans’ status and rights in society. Although some people may argue that the Civil Rights Movement was not productive and only caused conflict and havoc, due to the majority of African-Americans still employed in low-level jobs and many towns affected by the Civil Rights Movement being torn apart and degraded, those effects were only temporary and tangible to others. The Movement had a much more profound effect of giving one a purpose or “spark” in life, which later led to African-Americans demanding more rights and equal status in society.
Ultimately, through the Civil Rights movement occurred when it did due a gap between what America was supposed to be and where it actually was. America was forced to finally uphold her ideals. Simply, during the fervor of the Cold War, the United States was not truly living up to her vaunted ideals of liberty and justice for all. The Cold War, while squashing dissidents in the country, also highlighted American hypocrisy. How could the United States claim to be the world’s harbinger of democracy and freedom when millions of its people were still held in bondage by Jim Crow segregation? Capitalist success in the era provoked those who were dissatisfied with the status quo. Americans excluded from the “American Dream” included women, blacks, and homosexuals. Even as the economy soared, they saw few advancements in civil rights. Minorities took to the streets to demand full equality. In the past, similar movements had failed, but now, they succeeded. Why, in a period of such conformity,
The Civil Rights Movement began in order to bring equal rights and equal voting rights to black citizens of the US. This was accomplished through persistent demonstrations, one of these being the Selma-Montgomery March. This march, lead by Martin Luther King Jr., targeted at the disenfranchisement of negroes in Alabama due to the literacy tests. Tension from the governor and state troopers of Alabama led the state, and the whole nation, to be caught in the violent chaos caused by protests and riots by marchers. However, this did not prevent the March from Selma to Montgomery to accomplish its goals abolishing the literacy tests and allowing black citizens the right to vote.
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.
“American civil rights movement.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2013. .
Standley, Anne. "The Role of Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement." Women in the Civil Rights Movement: Trailblazers and Torchbearers, 1941-1965. By Vicki L. Crawford, Jacqueline Anne. Rouse, and Barbara Woods. Brooklyn, NY: Carlson Pub., 1990. 183-202. Print.