Overview
The African Civil rights movement is a period of time where sequences of events caused changes in attitudes and social operations, which spread across America and in turn also caused other sequences of events that proliferated their rebellion of the past attitudes. The movement rebelled against the overt racism that plagued ‘The Land of the Free,’ which has caused suffering for countless.
This movement lasted roughly from the mid 1950’s to late 60’s, however there is no real definition of the start and end. It is generally accepted to say it started in 1955 when Emmett Till tragically died and became the singular, powerful catalyst that sparked the movement by setting aflame conflict and tensions built up for centuries. On the other hand, the Civil rights Movement is generally said to end around Martin Luther King’s Assassination and The Poor People’s March in 1986.
Before the Civil rights movement African Americans and other non-white ethnic groups suffered injustice, inequality and being oppressed. The difference was overt. The African Americans and whites had separate facilities, different: schools, toilets, residential districts, seats in any public place; any place you can think of, is segregated. In addition, these are not in equality. It is blatantly obvious that white facilities are far superior to coloured facilities. White schools have abundance in resources and are in mint condition while coloured schools, if there were any in a district, only have trickles of money to work with. The detrimental effects and be observed in the miniscule amount of African Americans that graduated from High School or even received higher education. This is seen when Mamie Till, Emmett Till’s mother, graduated from her district school for coloured, Argo Community High School, in 1938 and had been the fourth ever to do so in its long history. Furthermore, they cannot access justice as observed in the infamous Scottsboro Trials were 9 Boys were convicted of rape. In court, not only the standard of proof has not been met, there a reasonable doubt and but the defense has compiled overwhelming evidence that showed no such event occurred. Only in 2013 19th April, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley officially pardoned and exonerated all nine Scottsboro Boys that were dead at the time. The justice system that denoted the term democracy where ‘everyone has a say’ has been defiled by prejudice and is exemplified by the biased selection process where only where white males are admitted for jury service. When the bulwark of a society has been compromised is when you know when change needs to happen.
They were slaves a generation ago, and now they want to be our equals? This is the bitter attitude that clouded people judgment and morals; the core attitude to the white supremacists. Especially in Southern states that previously relied on slavery. This objection manifested as the KKK, a secret society devoted to kill and torture African Americans. They lynched countless in their sadistic method people and even terrorized whites that helped Africans or even those that refused to join them. In fact in many small country towns, people of high stature and credibility like judges or doctors were blackmailed and pressured into joining them. As a result, at its peak the membership of the organization dominated the population, wielding enormous power and brandishing it to torment African Americans. This organization clearly shows the crisis of compassion and humanity, pre-civil rights movement faced. As humans, as we all are, African American also fought back violently. The Black Panther Party where an underground and violent African American group that also terrorized people, mainly whites, by planting and detonating bombs on trains buses etc. But, when reviewing these groups in hindsight, one must understand that these groups are not characteristic of every individual. Both are extremist groups, The Black Panther Party only represents a fraction of a percentile of the African American populace but the KKK represents a significant of the white population.
Throughout the tough times before the civil rights movement, many people have chosen to challenge the racism and prejudice however did not leave a large impact. An example is James E. Horton, a judge presiding over a trial of one of the Scottsboro boys, who refused to sentence the accused to death and even proposed for the verdict to be thrown out, risking his reputation, his career and safety but the outcome was a life sentence, not much better but still better. Many people still respect him for this. People like Judge Horton, during the Civil Movement have increased, because society and humanity has progressed over the ages, over two world wars and have learnt to open their eyes. In America, many people who have a strong moral compass manifested when events like Emmett Till’s murder occurred and have gathered to make an impact on the cruel America that needed to change. They have denied the needless and unbearable violence that was instinctive and followed in Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent demonstration. Their cause is to achieve racial equality and so that African Americans and whites can exist harmoniously, to create a better society. They ended racism. They have shaped the America and the laws that hold up society. They created the standard of life all Americans enjoy today. Humanity and compassion overwhelmed prejudice. These individuals were the salvation for a damaged America.
Both African Americans and whites show they support for this cause. Like in many revolutions in the past there were significant figures that lanced through the old attitudes and showed the masses a new path. Figures like Emmet and Mamie Tills who revealed the ugliness of America to everyone and catapulted the Movement, Rosa Parks who reminded people of the need for change as she refuses to conform and defies the unjust bus and public transportation seating laws and rules that caged her, Martin Luther King who achieved the most progress to achieve racial equality and justice through his emotive speeches that rallied myriads of supporters. The most important group in this is the ordinary person who believed in this bright new path because all of the significant figure mention believed in democracy and that it can work. This needed the everyday person’s support to create racial equality; social egalitarianism. Even the serpent has supported this cause, the press/media. The press supports the everyday person’s attitude but also wield enough audience to sway it. Majority attitude and the press have a symbiotic relationship in a way. Nonetheless, the press was instrumental in spreading the messages of the significant figures. They used speeches, words, petitions, protests, and letters to propagate their vision for the future. The press spread these and as so the people’s attitude changed and began fixing the inequities. First in the process were amendments in the laws through pressure of the populace then slowly came the abolition of each individual part of society that was segregated. And so, the civil rights movement arrives at modern day America. If these groups and people weren't here, the movement would be nothing but a few weak voices. Todays America would have been a bleak future.
The civil rights movement still had an enemy. The KKK at the start was still a very powerful force, however as the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum its power was whittled away. This small fraction still poses a threat. Sadly, Martin Luther King was assassinated in April 4, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee by a white extremist, most likely James Earl Ray. But his messages and philosophy lives on and continued to shape America even after his death. Apart from those anomalies, the civil rights movement had little resistance and the ideology was widespread. Their cause was so widespread, changes to the Golden laws in the country and many other aspects of law. The main idea for the Civil Rights Movement is simply racial equality. The key idea in the Movement that allowed the changes in the law to be made and the support of the general public and so that their cause would live on, long after, is their policy of strictly no violence. If they used violence, there would be no support from the majority of the population, the government would not have yielded and forever there would be that stigma on racial equality and thus the cause would never be realised.
The Civil Right Movement that resonated around the world made it bearable for many. It made it better. If the civil rights movement didn’t occur, the world would a more bitter, hateful and violent world. Everyone will be at conflict, at war and soon enough we would destroy ourselves and all the culture accumulated through the ages are destroyed. Nothing would remain. We might as well be living in dark caves fearing each other. That reality is a dismal dystopia.
Despite all this change, there is still room for change. Nonetheless America has come a long way. Today there are still stigmas stuck on ethnic groups that cause inequalities and anomalies. As society progresses and they learn from their mistakes, surely these will be eradicated. Moreover, to maintain social equilibrium, a constant pressure needs to be kept. Therefore there still is a need for civil rights actions in America.
This movement lasted roughly from the mid 1950’s to late 60’s, however there is no real definition of the start and end. It is generally accepted to say it started in 1955 when Emmett Till tragically died and became the singular, powerful catalyst that sparked the movement by setting aflame conflict and tensions built up for centuries. On the other hand, the Civil rights Movement is generally said to end around Martin Luther King’s Assassination and The Poor People’s March in 1986.
Before the Civil rights movement African Americans and other non-white ethnic groups suffered injustice, inequality and being oppressed. The difference was overt. The African Americans and whites had separate facilities, different: schools, toilets, residential districts, seats in any public place; any place you can think of, is segregated. In addition, these are not in equality. It is blatantly obvious that white facilities are far superior to coloured facilities. White schools have abundance in resources and are in mint condition while coloured schools, if there were any in a district, only have trickles of money to work with. The detrimental effects and be observed in the miniscule amount of African Americans that graduated from High School or even received higher education. This is seen when Mamie Till, Emmett Till’s mother, graduated from her district school for coloured, Argo Community High School, in 1938 and had been the fourth ever to do so in its long history. Furthermore, they cannot access justice as observed in the infamous Scottsboro Trials were 9 Boys were convicted of rape. In court, not only the standard of proof has not been met, there a reasonable doubt and but the defense has compiled overwhelming evidence that showed no such event occurred. Only in 2013 19th April, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley officially pardoned and exonerated all nine Scottsboro Boys that were dead at the time. The justice system that denoted the term democracy where ‘everyone has a say’ has been defiled by prejudice and is exemplified by the biased selection process where only where white males are admitted for jury service. When the bulwark of a society has been compromised is when you know when change needs to happen.
They were slaves a generation ago, and now they want to be our equals? This is the bitter attitude that clouded people judgment and morals; the core attitude to the white supremacists. Especially in Southern states that previously relied on slavery. This objection manifested as the KKK, a secret society devoted to kill and torture African Americans. They lynched countless in their sadistic method people and even terrorized whites that helped Africans or even those that refused to join them. In fact in many small country towns, people of high stature and credibility like judges or doctors were blackmailed and pressured into joining them. As a result, at its peak the membership of the organization dominated the population, wielding enormous power and brandishing it to torment African Americans. This organization clearly shows the crisis of compassion and humanity, pre-civil rights movement faced. As humans, as we all are, African American also fought back violently. The Black Panther Party where an underground and violent African American group that also terrorized people, mainly whites, by planting and detonating bombs on trains buses etc. But, when reviewing these groups in hindsight, one must understand that these groups are not characteristic of every individual. Both are extremist groups, The Black Panther Party only represents a fraction of a percentile of the African American populace but the KKK represents a significant of the white population.
Throughout the tough times before the civil rights movement, many people have chosen to challenge the racism and prejudice however did not leave a large impact. An example is James E. Horton, a judge presiding over a trial of one of the Scottsboro boys, who refused to sentence the accused to death and even proposed for the verdict to be thrown out, risking his reputation, his career and safety but the outcome was a life sentence, not much better but still better. Many people still respect him for this. People like Judge Horton, during the Civil Movement have increased, because society and humanity has progressed over the ages, over two world wars and have learnt to open their eyes. In America, many people who have a strong moral compass manifested when events like Emmett Till’s murder occurred and have gathered to make an impact on the cruel America that needed to change. They have denied the needless and unbearable violence that was instinctive and followed in Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent demonstration. Their cause is to achieve racial equality and so that African Americans and whites can exist harmoniously, to create a better society. They ended racism. They have shaped the America and the laws that hold up society. They created the standard of life all Americans enjoy today. Humanity and compassion overwhelmed prejudice. These individuals were the salvation for a damaged America.
Both African Americans and whites show they support for this cause. Like in many revolutions in the past there were significant figures that lanced through the old attitudes and showed the masses a new path. Figures like Emmet and Mamie Tills who revealed the ugliness of America to everyone and catapulted the Movement, Rosa Parks who reminded people of the need for change as she refuses to conform and defies the unjust bus and public transportation seating laws and rules that caged her, Martin Luther King who achieved the most progress to achieve racial equality and justice through his emotive speeches that rallied myriads of supporters. The most important group in this is the ordinary person who believed in this bright new path because all of the significant figure mention believed in democracy and that it can work. This needed the everyday person’s support to create racial equality; social egalitarianism. Even the serpent has supported this cause, the press/media. The press supports the everyday person’s attitude but also wield enough audience to sway it. Majority attitude and the press have a symbiotic relationship in a way. Nonetheless, the press was instrumental in spreading the messages of the significant figures. They used speeches, words, petitions, protests, and letters to propagate their vision for the future. The press spread these and as so the people’s attitude changed and began fixing the inequities. First in the process were amendments in the laws through pressure of the populace then slowly came the abolition of each individual part of society that was segregated. And so, the civil rights movement arrives at modern day America. If these groups and people weren't here, the movement would be nothing but a few weak voices. Todays America would have been a bleak future.
The civil rights movement still had an enemy. The KKK at the start was still a very powerful force, however as the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum its power was whittled away. This small fraction still poses a threat. Sadly, Martin Luther King was assassinated in April 4, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee by a white extremist, most likely James Earl Ray. But his messages and philosophy lives on and continued to shape America even after his death. Apart from those anomalies, the civil rights movement had little resistance and the ideology was widespread. Their cause was so widespread, changes to the Golden laws in the country and many other aspects of law. The main idea for the Civil Rights Movement is simply racial equality. The key idea in the Movement that allowed the changes in the law to be made and the support of the general public and so that their cause would live on, long after, is their policy of strictly no violence. If they used violence, there would be no support from the majority of the population, the government would not have yielded and forever there would be that stigma on racial equality and thus the cause would never be realised.
The Civil Right Movement that resonated around the world made it bearable for many. It made it better. If the civil rights movement didn’t occur, the world would a more bitter, hateful and violent world. Everyone will be at conflict, at war and soon enough we would destroy ourselves and all the culture accumulated through the ages are destroyed. Nothing would remain. We might as well be living in dark caves fearing each other. That reality is a dismal dystopia.
Despite all this change, there is still room for change. Nonetheless America has come a long way. Today there are still stigmas stuck on ethnic groups that cause inequalities and anomalies. As society progresses and they learn from their mistakes, surely these will be eradicated. Moreover, to maintain social equilibrium, a constant pressure needs to be kept. Therefore there still is a need for civil rights actions in America.