The Civil Right Movement is one of the most important parts of the 20th century. It shaped our country as it is today by giving people of different color the same rights that whites had already. If it wasn't for the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and the March on Washington, the country would not be the same as it is today. There are many important parts of the Civil Rights Movement, but I feel that these are the best reasons why it is the most important series of events of the 20th century. If it wasn't for the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, the country would be very different than it is today. Dr. King was one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, and changed how we see the world today. King was a Baptist …show more content…
This caused a citywide boycott of Montgomery busses, which people hoped would help put an end to segregation. In Rosa Parks’ autobiography, she is quoted as saying “people always say I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically...no. The only tired I was, was that of giving in.” Although bus ordinance gave the driver permission to assign seats, it didn't give them the authority to make a passenger give a seat up. To protest Parks' arrest, people were asked to boycott Montgomery busses, and encouraged to walk to work or school, stay home, or take a cab. Due to popular belief, Rosa Parks is not the only one to stand up for her rights to ride the bus. On March 2nd 1955, a 15 year old girl named Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus even though it was in violation of the law. She was arrested and taken to jail that day. At first, the NAACP thought it would make a great test case to challenge the Montgomery bus policy and give equal rights to all Americans, but then they found out she was pregnant, and thought it would scandalize the deeply religious black community. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King were important figures, but there were important events that made the Civil Rights Movement very
and refusal to abide by segregation laws. 1955, Montgomery, a 42. year old black woman Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person on the bus. What followed was an arrest and fine. resulted in a bus boycott.
In 1955, African Americans were required by a Montgomery, Alabama city ordinance to sit in the back of all city buses. They had to give up their seats to white American riders if the front of the bus, which was reserved for whites, was full. On December 1, 1955, a few days before the Montgomery Bus Boycott began, Rosa Parks, an African American woman, refused to give up her seat to a white man on the Montgomery bus. When the white seats filled, the driver, J. Fred Blake, asked Rosa Parks and three other African Americans to vacate their seats.
The Montgomery bus boycott was caused when Rosa Parks, an African American woman on December 1, 1955 refused to obey the bus driver James Blake’s that demanded that she give up her seat to a white man. Because she refused, police came and arrested her. During her arrest and trial for this act of civil disobedience, it triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the largest and most successful mass movements against racial segregation in history. Her role in American history earned her an iconic status in American culture, and her actions have left an enduring legacy for civil rights movements around the world. Soon after her arrest, Martin Luther King Jr. led a boycott against the public transportation system because it was unfair. This launched Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the organizers of the
On December 1, 1955, Parks was taking the bus home from work. Before she reached her destination, she silently set off a revolution when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. As a black violating the laws of racial segregation, she was arrested. Her arrest inspired blacks in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to organize a bus boycott to protest the discrimination they had endured for decades. After filing her notice of appeal, a panel of judges in the District Court ruled that racial segregation of public buses was unconstitutional. It was through her silent act of defiance that people began to protest racial discrimination, and where she earned the name “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” (Bredhoff et
The Civil Rights Movement is one of the most important events of the history of the United States. Although many people contributed to this movement, Martin Luther King, Jr., is widely regarded as the leader of the movement for racial equality. Growing up in the Deep South, King saw the injustices of segregation first hand. King’s studies of Mahatma Ghandi teachings influenced his views on effective ways of protesting and achieving equality. Martin Luther King’s view on nonviolence and equality and his enormous effect on the citizens of America makes him the most influential person of the twentieth century.
Rosa Parks was a member of the NAACP, lived in Montgomery Alabama, and rode the public bus system. In the south, during this time the buses were segregated which meant that black people had to ride in the back of the bus behind a painted line. White people entered the front of the bus and were compelled to sit in front of the painted line. Most buses at the time had more room for white riders who used the service less than the black ridership. Yet, they could not cross the line even if the seats in the front were empty (Brown-Rose, 2008). Rosa Parks made a bold statement when she sat in the “white section” of a Montgomery bus. She was asked to surrender her seat to a white man, but she did not move and was soon arrested. Her brave action started the Montgomery bus Boycott, with the help of the NAACP, none other than Dr. Martin Luther King’s leadership as part of the Montgomery Improvement Association. As its President, he was able spread the word quickly which brought national attention to the small town of Montgomery’s bus Boycott. The boycott was televised and brought so much attention that the United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public transportation was unconstitutional; a success spurring a more
On December 1, 1955 Rosa parks got arrested by the police in Montgomery because people thought she violated the segregation. She sat in the middle of the bus and refused to give up her seat to a white man when the bus was starting to get full. Because of this, a boycott began in the city of Montgomery. Most people regard Rosa parks as the mother of civil rights. 75% of the bus system in Montgomery was African American so they lost lots of profit when the boycott started. Martin Luther king would come a few months later to help with the boycott. This is when the movement truly begins. The boycott lasted 381 days.
One very important figure at this time was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King had a dream and his dream still lives on now even decades later. Dr. King was a non violent Civil Rights leader. King wanted everyone to be treated equal all over the United States. He lead marches and gave many speeches. True freedom and equal rights was all black people wanted. Being equal meant having the choice to go where ever they wanted and do what ever they wanted no matter what color of skin they had, so this is a little of what the Civil Rights Movement was all about.
Several white men had been standing on the bus and demanded for Rosa and other colored people to give up their seats. The others listened, but Rosa would still remain seated, but this wasn’t the first time she had messed with the bus driver, James Blake. He asked her to move to another part of the bus but again, she refused to give up her seat. Later that evening, Rosa Parks was arrested for violating the Montgomery city code. A week later, the court had held a trial and Parks was found guilty for refusal of giving up her seat. She was charged and taken to jail but by that afternoon, E.D. Nixon had met King and other civil right locals to plan a citywide bus boycott in support of Rosa and racial equality. Because of his youth, professional standing and well-trained solid family connections, King was selected to lead the bus boycott. The boycott lasted 382 days and over 552 African Americans live in
For many years after the Civil War many African-Americans did not truly enjoy the freedoms that were granted to them by the US constitution. This was especially true in the southern states, because segregation flourished in the south wwhere African-Americans were treated as second class citizens. This racial segregation was characterized by separation of different races in daily life, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a rest room, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home. In addition, Blacks were not afforded justice and fair trials, such as the case of the murder of Emmet Till. This unjust treatment would not be tolerated in America any more, which spurred the civil rights movement.
In America in the 1960’s, the emerging counterculture and increasing civil rights movements paved the way for the forms of equality and freedom we have in our nation today. Many of the things that we consider ‘normal’ today were strange, if not taboo back in the sixties. People began defending themselves and standing up for their beliefs concerning just about anything they deemed not equal, or unjust. While many freedoms are not completely won today, our society is abundantly more progressive in its thinking and accepting of aspects of our culture.
During this era, LBJ and the Civil Rights Bill was the main aattraction. July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed a civil rights bill that prohibited discrimination in voting, education, employment, and other areas of the American life. At this point, the American life will be changed forever. LBJ had helped to weaken bills because he felt as if it was the states job and not the goverment, but why did he change his mind? Was polictics the reason LBJ signed the Civil Rights Bill of 1964?
With the world pulled apart by racial tension, Parks put her foot down for a right and cause to stop racial discrimination. December 1, 1955, in Birmingham Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give a white man her seat. She was arrested that day for civil disobedience of Alabama segregation law. This is considered to be one of the most courageous civil rights movement of all time. Parks Sparked the Birmingham bus boycotts. The Birmingham black community would boycott by not riding public transportation. Blacks all over the nation followed Parks boycotts which eventually led equality. Parks huge act of leadership impacted blacks around the world and blacks
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.
The America¬¬¬n Civil Rights movement was a movement in which African Americans were once slaves and over many generations fought in nonviolent means such as protests, sit-ins, boycotts, and many other forms of civil disobedience in order to receive equal rights as whites in society. The American civil rights movement never really had either a starting or a stopping date in history. However these African American citizens had remarkable courage to never stop, until these un-just laws were changed and they received what they had been fighting for all along, their inalienable rights as human beings and to be equal to all other human beings. Up until this very day there are still racial issues were some people feel supreme over other people due to race. That however is an issue that may never end.