Generally when you think of a hero, who do you envision? Most likely, you picture a strong and imposeing figure, someone capable of performing in high pressure situations, demonstrating bravery and passion to help his/her fellow man. Those who typically fit that role in society are firefighters, policemen, and soldiers. Those people deserve all the credit and recognition they receive for their courageous acts. However, what about individuals or groups who aren’t necessarily on the “frontlines” physically protecting others and saving lives, but who work extremely hard to improve the lives of others in some way? These everyday people deserve credit as well. After all, to the people they help, these volunteers or activists are heroes. An example of such a group is the Greensboro Four, a few African American college students in the early 1960s who helped change the landscape of segregation in the Jim Crow South.
So who were the Greensboro Four? The group consisted of Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain, and Joseph McNeil, all freshmen at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University, situated in Greensboro, North Carolina (Greensboro Sit-In and the Sit-In Movement). They were all very intelligent, considering they majored in sociology, business administration/accounting, chemistry/biology, and engineering physics respectively. The group also possessed great leadership skills, seeing that Ezell Blair would become president of his class, student government, campus NAACP, and the Greensboro Congress of Racial Equality; while Joseph McNeil was a dedicated member of the ROTC (Greensboro Four Key Players). Although the young men were well on their way in shaping quality lives for themselves, they did h...
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...s not only in the present, but for all future generations. It says in the constitution that all men are created equal, and the Greensboro Four helped bring that statement to fruition.
Works Cited
Edwards, Owen. "Courage at the Greensboro Lunch Counter." Smithsonian. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. .
"The Greensboro Chronology." International Civil Rights Center and Museum. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. .
"Greensboro Four Key Players." Greensboro Sit-ins: Launch of a Civil Rights Movement. NRInteractive. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. .
"Greensboro Sit-In and the Sit-In Movement." History. A&E Television Networks, LLC. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. .
Moody’s “nonviolent” sit-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter may be her most famous act not just during the Movement, but possibly her life. The idea behind the sit-in was to request service at the segregated lunch counter of Woolworth’s. As the sit-in progressed, the white population became more aware of what was happening, and they started heckling and threatening Moody and her fellow activists. Nonviolence turned to violence when a white man rushed Memphis, one of the sit-in members. He was beaten up and arrested. Moody was dragged out by her hair, and her friend was taken from her seat by force. A few days after the sit-in, a group of Negro ministers went to the mayor with demands. The mayor ignored them. The nonviolent sit-in was supposed to be a message to the community and the country. Unfortunately, the sit-in, in the eyes of Anne Moody, was a failure because it had accomplished nothing. ...
Who is a hero? In contemporary times, usage of the term has become somewhat of a cliché. Over the years, the term “hero” has become representative of a wide variety of individuals, each possessing differing traits. Some of the answers put forth by my colleagues (during our in-class discussion on heroism) as to whom they consider heroes pointed to celebrities, athletes, teachers and family members. Although the occupations differed, each of their heroes bore qualities that my classmates perceived as extraordinary, whether morally or physically. Nonetheless, Webster’s defines “hero” as “a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities.” Thus, it is worth considering that individuals become heroes relative to the situation with which they’re faced.
A hero is someone you look up to, someone who has done something to inspire you, someone who is your role model. In our society, there are many different types of heroes—family, friends, teachers, firefighters, and police officers to name a few. But a hero that stands out to me is a U.S. soldier. Soldiers risk their lives every day just so we can have our freedom.
Anyone can truly be a hero, even in real life. Heroes can be people who simply have an idea and decide to grow onto that idea and have it done. For example, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were real life heroes who started out as ordinary people but had a dream and made a huge difference in the end. Nelson Mandela, a Civil Rights activists, once said, “We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference” (Lazaro). Nelson Mandela was trying to say that anybody can make a difference, but it is up to that person or people to make that change. One simple change could cause any simple person to have a major change in lifestyle just because they decided to step up and do something. Furthermore, anyone can be a hero, it doesn’t matter what one’s background is, one can make even the simplest of changes and become a hero to oneself and the people around them.
Being a hero means to be willing to risk your life for others. Such as, Pat Tillman. Pat Tillman was a fantastic football player and he loved playing it too. Despite that, Pat Tillman turned down a 3.6million dollar contract to the Arizona Cardinals to go fight the war against terrorism. He ended up dieing from friendly fire. All this goes to show how brave Pat Tillman was to risk his life and give up his football career to go fight in Afghanistan to help protect the American people. Likewise, the people that helped evacuate New York City after the
After choosing no bail, Perkins spent two nights in jail. However, this was nothing for Perkins, who had spent two years in the army and engaged in other civil rights movements. After leaving the military, Perkins joined in on the lunch sit-ins to end counter segregation. Because of his great accomplishments and bravery, the CORE thought he would be a positive addition to the group; therefore, they asked him to join in August of 1960... ... middle of paper ... ...
On a grey Sunday morning in March of 1965, Alabama State Troopers at the orders of Governor George Wallace advanced on a group of African-Americans leading a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Using bull-whips, Billy clubs and tear gas, the armed troopers made short work of the defenseless protestors, injuring 57 of them while enforcing the strict segregation of the South. The march which was supposed to start in Selma and end at the state capitol in Montgomery was organized by voting rights leaders after a civil rights activist, Jimmie Lee Jackson, had been killed during a protest. Those who organized the march included chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) John Lewis and Hosea William, an assistant to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Voting rights campaign led by the SNCC had targeted Selma because it had one of the lowest ratios of African-American voters to white voters. Out of an eligible 15,000 Selmans, only 200 were registered to vote. The SNCC worked on cracking literacy tests, protesting poll taxes and staging sit-ins at registration centers in order to get blacks registered to vote. White responses a protest led by the SNCC caused the death of SNCC activist Jimmie Lee Jackson and in turn sparked the call for a protest march to Montgomery. After the first march brutally ended on “Bloody Sunday” as it came to be known, a second march was planned which would be co-led by the SNCC and Martin Luther King’s SCLC. A federal injunction allowed the march to take place without interference from the Alabama government. Between March 19th and March 23rd, 1965, thousands of voting rights activists both black and white marched the fifty miles fr...
Lawson, Steven F., and Charles M. Payne. Debating the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1968. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. 140. Print.
This is not only shown by the successful nature of the bus boycott, but it is shown through the success of Martin Luther King’s SCLC, or Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The conference was notable for peaceful protesting, nonviolence, and civil disobedience. Thanks to the SCLC, sit-ins and boycotts became popular during this time, adding to the movement’s accomplishments. The effective nature of the sit-in was shown during 1960 when a group of four black college students sat down at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in hopes of being served. While they were not served the first time they commenced their sit-in, they were not forced to leave the establishment; their lack of response to the heckling and ill-treatment they received inspired blacks throughout the deep South to imitate their actions....
One of the first documented incidents of the sit-ins for the civil rights movement was on February 1, 1960 in Nashville, Tennessee. Four college African-Americans sat at a lunch counter and refused to leave. During this time, blacks were not allowed to sit at certain lunch counters that were reserved for white people. These black students sat at a white lunch counter and refused to leave. This sit-in was a direct challenge to southern tradition. Trained in non-violence, the students refused to fight back and later were arrested by Nashville police. The students were drawn to activist Jim Lossen and his workshops of non-violence. The non-violent workshops were training on how to practice non-violent protests. John Lewis, Angela Butler, and Diane Nash led students to the first lunch counter sit-in. Diane Nash said, "We were scared to death because we didn't know what was going to happen." For two weeks there were no incidences with violence. This all changed on February 27, 1960, when white people started to beat the students. Nashville police did nothing to protect the black students. The students remained true to their training in non-violence and refused to fight back. When the police vans arrived, more than eighty demonstrators were arrested and summarily charged for disorderly conduct. The demonstrators knew they would be arrested. So, they planned that as soon as the first wave of demonstrators was arrested, a second wave of demonstrators would take their place. If and when the second wave of demonstrators were arrested and removed, a third would take their place. The students planned for multiple waves of demonstrators.
The term "Big Six" refers to the leaders of the six prominent civil rights organisations during the movement. The leaders include (from left to right in the image below) John Lewis, Whitney Young, Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, and Roy Wilkins.
The word "hero" is so often used to describe people who overcome great difficulties and rise to the challenge that is set before them without even considering the overwhelming odds they are up against. In our culture, heroes are glorified in literature and in the media in various shapes and forms. However, I believe that many of the greatest heroes in our society never receive the credit that they deserve, much less fame or publicity. I believe that a hero is simply someone who stands up for what he/she believes in. A person does not have to rush into a burning building and save someone's life to be a hero. Someone who is a true friend can be a hero. A hero is someone who makes a difference in the lives of others simply by his/her presence. In Tim O'Brien's novel, The Things They Carried, the true heroes stand out in my mind as those who were true friends and fought for what they believed in. These men and women faced the atrocities of war on a daily basis, as explained by critic David R. Jarraway's essay, "'Excremental Assault' in Tim O'Brien: Trauma and Recovery in Vietnam War Literature" and by Vietnam Veteran Jim Carter. Yet these characters became heroes not by going to drastic measures to do something that would draw attention to themselves, but by being true to their own beliefs and by making a difference to the people around them.
An example, of heroes are all those people who have fought and some who lost their lives on September 11. Many random bystanders helped dozens of people get out during the time of the collapse and still went back in with the firefighters to save many more lives. Even former U.S Marines put their uniforms back on to help search through the rubble
Sit-in- A sit-in, in reference to The American Civil Rights Movement, is an event in which African-Americans would go to whites only restaurants and would not leave until they were served. This was a way African-Americans would show their discontent with segregation in society. By doing this, they were saying they wanted to be able to eat in the same restaurants as Caucasians. Sit-ins were not just about eating in the same restaurants, African-Americans wanted to be permitted to use all the same businesses as Caucasians. Often times, African-Americans who were conducting a sit-in were harassed. Sit-ins were another way African-Americans would express discontent with segregation. Sit-ins were a way African-Americans would make the point they wanted immigration, just like “the Nine” did by going to Central High School. Melba and the rest of “the Nine” were, in a way, performing a sit-in by going to Central. They went to Central and did not want to leave until they were taught and had graduated (most of “the Nine” did have to leave for their own safety, even though they did not necessarily want to). This can be compared to African-Americans entering a restaurant and not leaving until they received service. In both cases, integrationists went into a public facility and didn’t leave until serviced (food or education) or forced to leave.
You also don’t have to kill anyone, conquer foreign land, or risk your life to be a hero. Anyone who influences anyone else by saving or helping save his or her lives is a hero. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. changed the lives of millions of people by bringing justice to minorities. Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest heroes, led a nonviolent revolution to free his country.