African- American Civil Rights Movement of 1955-1968 Essay

The NAACP became one of the most important black protest organizations of the 20th century. The historian and sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois was one of the early leaders of the NAACP.

African American people have come a long way from the illiterate slaves, who were once picking cotton in fields, to powerful political leaders. A prime example would be President Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States of America. But first we must ask ourselves, how did this occur? Who lead African Americans to better living standards? Civil rights leaders, such as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks, just to name a few. However, among these great names in history, there is one that stands out, and that man is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King gave hope to those in need with his awe inspiring sermons he performed at the church his grandfather founded. He changed foes to

The African American Civil Rights Movement officially “began” in 1954, but the ideas of Civil Rights had been brewing since the end of the Civil War, and even earlier. The Civil Rights Movement was centered on the idea of the equal, fair, and constitutional treatment of African Americans in the United States. The movement features some of history’s most prominent figures, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks. Throughout the movement, activists utilized protests, marches, boycotts, and strikes in attempts to change public opinion and governmental action on African Americans. The movement succeeded in overturning

African Americans have been struggling for equality for many decades. It only seems that during the 1960?s is when there were actual significant advances made. This was about the same time that civil rights came into the political scene. Throughout the South, Blacks were still in the majority, but had no political power what so ever. The Civil Rights Movement gave African Americans a voice and a chance to make a difference. The 1960's helped open up hope and expectations for Black Americans.

(Carter n. p.) According to UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, founded by Martin Luther King, Jr., planned the march. (Benson, Brannen, and Valentine, 1639) Martin Luther King, Jr. encouraged Christian morals, liberty and nonviolent resistance. (305) Recorded in the History Reference Center Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, and John Doar struggled to remove the discrimination of blacks from voting. (Wermiel n. p.) Issues and Controversies in American History states that Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Candy Stanton put together the first women’s suffrage movement and fought for women’s rights to vote. (Kauffman n. p.) Although a hard time for many people, the Civil Rights Movement became essential for voting equality.

The African-American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s portrays a social movement in the United States whose goals were to eradicate racial segregation and discrimination against black Americans, and to obtain legal recognition through citizenship rights in the Constitution and federal law. African-Americans in Southern states still remained in unequal environments of deprivation and oppression even though it had been decades since the emancipation proclamation. However, the nonviolent protests and civil disobediences served as a medium by civil rights activists to bring about change towards the ideological belief of true equality. Thus, the significance of this movement like similar social movements, had affected American democracy. It

Throughout the 1960’s, the widespread movement for African American civil rights had transformed in terms of its goals and strategies. The campaign had intensified in this decade, characterized by greater demands and more aggressive efforts. Although the support of the Civil Rights movement was relatively constant, the goals of the movement became more high-reaching and specific, and its strategies became less compromising. African Americans’ struggle for equality during the 1960’s was a relentless movement that used change for progress. In essence, the transformation of the Civil Rights Movement throughout the 1960’s forwarded the evolution of America into a nation of civil equality and freedom.

In 1894, the US Supreme Court gave legal consent to state laws segregating black people and white people with its decision concerning the Plessey v Ferguson case. The decision stated that black and white should be separate but equal, meaning the same standard of facilities for both. In reality it legally enforced a state of affairs that assured that blacks would never be equal, and couldn’t get equal treatment, status or opportunity in their own country. During the Second World War, the black American Gi’s realised that they were fighting for a democracy abroad, which they did not have at home.

Though this movement existed throughout the 19th century, it spread quickly until it reached its peak between the 1950's and 1960's. It was aimed at getting black Americans (Africans) the rights and privileges of equality and citizenship without racism. This was done through large campaigns of nonviolent demonstrations, negotiations, civil disobedience and all legal means. The movement was focused in the south, where there was considerable disparity in education, health care, economics, and so forth.

The 1960s was an eventful time period in American History. During this time the Civil Rights movement was happening. Within the Civil Rights there was the Freedom Rides, which was when civil rights activist rode buses into the segregated south to protest bus segregation. Black people were passionate and determined to fix the injustices African-Americans were facing. An issue today that would prompt me to organize such a powerful movement would be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights.

The civil rights movement in the United States was the start of a political and social conflict for African-Americans in the United States to gain their full rights in the country, and to have the same equality as white Americans. The civil rights movement was a challenge to segregation, the laws and ordinances that separated blacks and whites. This movement had the goal to end racial segregation against the black Americans of the United States.

The African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968), a part of the American Civil Rights Movement, rose in the 1950s and was the mass struggle of the black Americans for the status of a white man in the 1970s, Non-violent protests, the struggle for the African Americans civil rights struggle, the national political movement in addition to black, there are a lot of white support. In 1954 the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Board of Education apartheid school, 1955, Alabama, Montgomery City, black citizens to fully strike to oppose the bus on the black and white isolation measures, 1963 Washington Lincoln Memorial Square gathered twenty 50,000 people against racial segregation, the United States civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther

Black Americans were discriminated against on a daily basis creating all sorts of difficulties in life, so the Civil Rights movements in the 1950s sparked optimism in many Black Americans.

The Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King The Civil Rights movement is still identified by people across the world with Dr Martin Luther King. His day of birth is remarked with a national holiday in the United States and there are many historic sites dedicated to MLK across the nation. His funeral in Atlanta on 9th April 1968 was attended by political leaders from around the world and later in 1977 King was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom which stated that MLK was “the conscience on his generation” who…”saw the power of love could bring down segregation”.

The unity and determination that made the civil rights movement of the 1960 one of the most successful movements in American history, was achieved after a long time of division and internal conflict within the movement, caused by all the new ideologies introduced by very influential leaders: Malcom x was promoting a movement in favor of self-defense and violence, with the target of achieving equality by any means necessary, and Martin Luther king was promoting a nonviolent type of movement, based on the teachings of Gandhi. The upbringings of these two leaders shaped their mentality in such a way that they had completely opposite ways of achieving the same goal, creating a division between the black community, that ended being one of the reasons of the success of this movement.