Civil Rights Movement Of The 1950's And 1960s

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, one of the leaders of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP] refused to give up her seat to a white person on a segregated city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, despite being reprimanded by the driver (Schulke 166). Montgomery, Alabama was known for its terrible treatment of blacks. The buses in particular had been a source of tension between the city and black citizens for many years (Schulke, 167). As a result of refusing to give up her seat, Rosa Parks was arrested. Rosa Parks' popularity among the black community, proved to be the spark that ignited the non-violent Civil Rights Movement (Norrell 2).

As a few white passengers boarded the bus and the white sections were already full so the driver shouted back at four black people including Rosa Parks “Move y'all, I want those two seats”. As this demand was made by the driver 3 of the bus riders obeyed to what was shouted back, however Rosa Parks remained in her seat and was determined not to move. She was arrested following the bus drivers order and fined ten dollars. This, however small incited a great wave of bus boycotts which in Montgomery black people chose not to ride the bus for a period of 381 days. This still to date is known as the moment in which the civil rights movement started to gain headway. It was the will of one woman who decided it was time for black people to take a stand and from this point on Martin Luther King was assigned to take this boycott on. Although he was assigned to take this on people also felt as he was young, fresh and people had not formulated enough of an opinion of him, there was little room for him to be hated yet so he posed as the right figure to lead this. After the many days of boycotting the case of this transport issue in Alabama went to the Supreme Court. Here it was decided that segregation was declared as unconstitutional so segregation by law was no

On Thursday evening December 1, 1955, Rosa boards a Montgomery City Bus to go home after a long day working as a seamstress. She walks back to the section for blacks, and takes a seat. The law stated that they could sit there if no White people were standing. Rosa parks never liked segregation rules and has been fighting against them for more than ten years in the NAACP, but until then had never broke any of the unjust rules. As the bus stops at more places, more white people enter the bus, all the seats in the “White Only” section was filled and the bus driver orders Rosa’s row to move to the back of the bus, they all moved, accept Rosa. She was arrested and fined for violating a city regulation. This act of defiance began a movement that ended legal Segregation in America, and made her an inspiration to freedom devoted people everywhere.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott began with the public arrest of an African American woman and civil rights activist named Rosa Parks. As stated in Document A,”Rosa Parks boarded a city bus and sat down in the closest seat. It was one of the first rows of the section where blacks were not supposed to sit… The bus driver told Rosa Parks that she would have to give up her seat to a white person. She refused and was arrested.” Rosa’s arrest sparked a number of radical events that fought against racial inequality and segregation over the span of thirteen months. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was successful because it led to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that racial segregation among public transportation (especially buses) was unconstitutional. The Montgomery

The 1950s and 1960s was a period of growth and prosperity in America. Features of the common life included innovations such as television, dishwasher, and home air-conditioning. However, not all Americans equally benefited from the economic growth of this period of time. In addition to Jim Crow laws and unequal economic opportunities, America’s society became further segregated as many whites moved to the suburbs while blacks remained in run-down city neighborhoods. These many inequalities sparked the civil rights movement, where African Americans stood up and fought for their rights using nonviolent methods. The movement influenced the emergence of many prominent figures including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s was successful in achieving equal rights for African Americans through nonviolent protests such as the Montgomery bus boycott, sit-ins, and marches.

In December of 1955, Rosa Parks sat in the front of the bus and refused to give up her seat to a white male. She was later arrested and put in jail. This caused the black people of Montgomery to initiate a boycott, the refusal to use the services of the bus company. They did this in order to gain

The event that started the boycott was when Rosa Park refused to move from her seat to give it to a white passenger on a city bus. This was significant because African Americans were still required to sit in the back while the whites sat in the front of the bus. As a result, Rosa Park was arrested and fined. Although Parks was not the first, it was her arrest that lead to a protest against segregation since she was dignified and non violent. Rosa Parks’s arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, during which blacks refused to ride the buses in protest over the bus system’s policy of racial segregation.

“In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. This act of civil disobedience was an important catalyst in the growth of the Civil Rights movement; activists built the Montgomery Bus Boycott around it, which lasted more than a year and desegregated the buses. Civil rights protests and actions, together with legal challenges, resulted in a series of legislative and court decisions which contributed to undermining the Jim Crow

In this research paper, we will be discussing the African American racial and prejudicial issues during the civil rights movements in the 1950’s and 60’s. Racial injustice goes way back since the Emancipation Proclamation which took place on January 1, 1863 issued by president Abraham Lincoln, was first created for states in the South who seceded from the union to abolish slavery during the Civil War. The Fourteenth Amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws due to issues related to slaves during the Civil War. Although slavery was not around almost a century later African Americans were still being treated unfairly in the 1950’s and 60’s. Major Icons such as Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Black Panthers, Malcolm

One cold December day a woman got onto a bus after a long shift at work, exhausted from the day she plopped down in a seat near the front. The next stop many white people boarded and the bus started to get full so they moved back until they reached the woman's seat. This was a problem because this woman, Rosa Parks, was black and had to move or she would end up in jail. Even with that knowledge, she refused to give that seat up. Many blacks faced this problem every day during the Civil Rights Movement, but weren't brave enough to stand up for their rights like Rosa was. After Rosa said "no" many realized they could stand up for their rights as well. Parks helped with people's involvement during these tough times and was involved herself. Due

It was December 1, 1955 when Rosa Parks boarded the bus and sat in the section labeled "whites only". She was ordered to get up so a white man could sit down, but she refused. She was arrested for not getting up. Because of her arrest, a 381 day protest led by Martin Luther King was started. "... a court case that took Alabama's discriminatory laws all the way to the U.S Supreme Court," as Prerana Korpe states in Rosa Parks and Civil Disobedience. This shows how serious Rosa Parks arrest was because her case went all the way to the U.S Supreme Court. Boycotting ended as soon as the bus segregation was declared unconstitutional. Rosa Parks said, "I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prospeirty for all people." This shows how Rosa Parks wanted people to view her. The peaceful 381 day protest led by Matin Luther King had positively impacted a free society because the bus segregation ended

Rosa Parks was known for her unplanned act of defiance that lead to the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 (Dudley 258). The attributes that she contributed to Civil Rights was her commitment to the cause, her positive attitude, and her ability to inspire others. Rosa Parks had got onto a public bus after a long day of work, and her feet were hurting, so she decided to sit in the white section. The white people complained and the bus driver told her if she did not get up, then she would be arrested. Nevertheless, with Rosa Park’s refusal to get up, it led to her arrest. Due to her commitment to the cause she stood up for racial equality, and though all of the turmoil she encountered she kept a positive attitude. Her ability to inspire others was remarkable, therefore it led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott was due to the fact that African Americans were exasperated due to the fact that they were not being treated equally. This then led to all African Americans walking to and from wherever they were

The American South in the 1960 's and Ancient Thebes both had a rigid social and legal system that did not effectively and legitimately represent the majority of its citizens. In both eras, an antihero rose up to defy the establish system. Dr. King, in the 1960 's, protested unjust laws and was jailed and viewed as an antagonist. Similarly, in Ancient Thebes, Antigone is sentenced to death for doing what she believes is right, regardless of the law. If Dr. King failed, he stood to lose, in addition to his life, his reputation as someone who wanted true change for all African Americans. Furthermore, future generations of colored people would have to endure the same injustice that he was protesting against. Also, if his nonviolent ways failed there were people ready to take the civil rights movement in a violent direction. If Antigone 's defiance had failed, her brother will never find peace in the afterlife, and Thebes will never find unity and solace after its civil war. Additionally, she too could lose her life for her outward defiance. Therefore, both Dr. King 's nonviolent resistance, along with writing his letter from Birmingham Jail, and Antigone 's violation of Kreon 's edict are justified by what they stood to lose if they did not take their respective actions.

IN 1964, with increasing national attention focused on the civil rights drive in the South, COFO launched "Freedom Summer," a major drive to educate and register voters, including the use of northern volunteers. On June 20, 1964, 200 recruits left from Oxford, Ohio for Mississippi. On June 21 three workers -- James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner -- were reported missing. The long search for their bodies (they were not found until Aug. 4) focused national attention on the civil rights movement and helped build public opinion in support of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, signed by President Johnson on July 2, 1964.

In 1950's and 1960's, Many African Americans have been discriminated and harassed because they’re not white. Because of their differences, they couldn't vote, they couldn't sit near White American's, they didn't get paid as much as white people did, they couldn't get the same jobs as Americans, and did not have the same housing as americans.