Civil Rights Movement Research Paper

During the civil rights movement, individuals and organizations challenged segregation and discrimination with a variety of activities, including protest marches, boycotts, and refusal to abide by segregation laws. Some believe that the movement began with the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 and ended with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, there is still however some debate about when it began and whether it has ended yet. The civil rights movement

The Civil Rights Movement’s mission was to end segregation and advance equality for African Americans (Hanks, Herzog, and Goetzman). Almost one hundred years after the civil war, African Americans were still struggling to gain the same rights as white Americans. The movement was led by leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks. Gaining momentum in the 1950’s with the Supreme court’s ruling of Brown vs. Board of Education where public schools were desegregated, the Civil Rights movement flourished in the 1960’s. One of the group’s main goals was to take on the Jim Crow South. Segregation prevented African Americans from drinking out of the same water fountain, using the same restroom, and even sitting at the same lunch table as white people. By promoting peaceful protest, they were able to educate others on their issues.

Imagine it is the 1960’s: conflict in Vietnam had sparked widespread protest at American college campuses, people all over the country were reading the The Feminine Mystique and fighting for increased equality among the sexes, and the Civil Rights Movement was at its peak. African Americans throughout America were uniting for the common cause of equality, however differing ideology and beliefs regarding how equality could be achieved divided them. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X rose as prominent leaders in the fight against racial inequality, the latter typically credited with the development of more violent methodology which excluded white involvement and conceived the movement of “Black Power.” The Black Panthers, members of a political party formed by college students Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966, are typically associated with the idea of black power and the legacy of Malcolm X despite the fact that he had died a year prior to the party’s founding. While the idea of black power is easily and mis-conceivably associated with the idea of black supremacy and violence, The Black Panther Party primarily sought a spot for African Americans next to that of whites, not above. The Black Panther Party, despite its violent appearance and legacy, made a positive influence on American history through its platform based on equality, human rights, and patriotism.

My research topic is about the Civil Rights Movement (Martin Luther King Jr. Vs Malcolm X) and will be focusing on two important icons that have an important part of African American History. I am going to further discuss in this research paper, “What were the views of Martin Luther King. Jr and Malcolm X during the Civil Rights movement? What were their goals and methods to achieve equality and peace?” Both leaders wanted to unite the black race with the white race and achieve equal rights. Martin Luther King. Jr and Malcolm X were both very powerful and influential leaders with different views and approaches to solving the issue of racism and equality.Starting off with some background information, Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th, 1929 in the Atlanta hospital. He was the son of the rich, well respected minister and was loved by his family and community very much. Martin Luther King Jr.’s father was a Baptist preacher and he wanted to follow in his footsteps. Malcolm X did not have an easy childhood compared to King, instead his house burned down by the Ku Klux Klan (white supremacists) when he was very young , his father was killed in a streetcar by white supremacists, got called “nigger” and moved around foster homes after his mother was sent to an insane asylum.

This time is regularly alluded to as the Nadir of American Race Relations, which just put implies that prejudice was best case scenario amid the day and age of the Civil Rights Movement. Pulling together for uniformity turned out to be a tiresome assignment for Americans. Keeping in mind the end goal to move into the future, one must relinquish the past, and numerous individuals were not willing to forsake the convictions that had been engrained in them since birth. Racial separation was available across the nation however the over the top brutality of African Americans in southern states got to be knows as Jim Crow Laws. Jim Crow Laws made it inconceivable for African Americans to be equivalents. It precluded Blacks from wedding Caucasians, owning eateries that served individuals of different races, drinking out of a similar drinking fountain as whites, for all intents and purposes isolating races on each comprehensible plane. These laws added layers to the weakening of Society making once race feel second rate compared to another. The entire reason for the Civil Rights Movement was to desert along these lines of deduction and takes an excursion into the obscure, which was solidarity. Albeit generally Jim Crow Laws were canceled in the 1970's for good, the thoughts, occasions, and emotions that rose up out of this out of line routine of this law still

In the early 1830s, becoming an active abolitionist required courage. Many had to face physical danger at the hand of a mob, but many more had to endure the disapproval of family and friends or the ridicule of neighbors. All of them shared a motivating vision of slavery as a moral evil that could not be justified.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 changed life for African Americans and helped blacks gain equal rights. It helped African Americans progress towards full equality. According to the BBC, "In the 1930s, although 50% of the population of Southern towns were black, they had no vote and could not marry whites. The policy of segregation meant that blacks had to have their own schools, their own churches, their own football teams, even their own cemeteries." Segregation towards blacks really messed up the South. During 1849 to 1950 African Americans could not have the rights they wanted in the South. On the other hand, whites could and constantly put down blacks. In the South whites did not like blacks at all and would do anything they

This time period is a very important part of black history. This time period is a time known for “ ending segregation in public places and banning employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement”. So during this time period all types of segregation were banned. They were banned in many locations, including some of the following “courthouses, parks, restaurants, theaters, sports arenas and hotels”. During this time period the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission agency was created. This agency is a “federal agency that enforces civil rights laws against workplace discrimination.” A neat

Ferguson case of 1896. While the Plessy case did not literally overturn any laws, it did set off a domino effect of cases that challenged the “separate but equal” doctrine and its accompanying 14th Amendment. Eventually, in 1954, the actual overturning of the laws begun in the case of Brown v. Board of Education. Brown v. Board of Education declared segregation in schools a violation of the 14th Amendment, and thus unconstitutional. The National Archives (n.d.) deemed the ruling of this case a “historic decision marked the end of the "separate but equal" precedent set by the Supreme Court nearly 60 years earlier and served as a catalyst for the expanding civil rights movement during the decade of the 1950s”. The case certainly did serve as a catalyst for the civil rights movement, and this was proven with the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1875. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was a law guaranteeing protection and equality to all American citizens in regards to public services. This law meant that no public business of facility of any kind could turn away people exclusively because of their race. The enactment of the Civil Rights Act was a historic turning point in the ongoing fight for equality for African

We The People. Three simple words that hold irreversible truths about the founding of a nation. The Constitution of the United States of America is a document that was created ahead of its time. The founders of this country did not have a modern foreign government to emulate. Their innovative ideals of creating a governing power would allow citizens to be more actively involved in decisions made by elected officials. These elected officials not only have a duty to the government, but to the people of the United States.

The Civil Rights Movement brought many accomplishments to African Americans such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The key issues that African Americans fought for were voting rights, integration and racial equality. They were tired of the discrimination and humiliation they received as a result of the segregation laws imposed on them. “State laws mandated racial separation in schools, parks, playgrounds, restaurants, hotels, public transportation, theaters, restrooms and so on” (Blumberg 40). Lawsuits had been tried to gain rights such as the unsuccessful Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 and the successful Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Although, the Brown v. Board of Education of

The movement, using the slogan “Black Power,” followed the teachings of Malcolm X, an African American leader who died the same year and who promoted that African Americans separate from white society in favor of forming their own community. The Black Panther Party, a militant organization that viewed themselves as soldiers warring against the white hierarchy, arose from such ideals. Despite the challenge that “Black Power” proposed to the nonviolent movement, civil rights activists continued persevered in finding the end of black discrimination legally. They found success in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which both contributed to legally naming minorities as equal citizens, as well as protecting the same from discrimination. Although the strength of the civil rights movement dissipated after the 1960s, activists continue to make efforts to end entirely the racial discrimination within America’s economic and social policies.

His application was accepted, however, when his race was discovered, he was denied. James wanted to exercise his constitutional rights and apply to the University of Mississippi, which denied him. James planned a 220 mile walk from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi. He only invited black men and the walk was known as the ‘March Against Fear’. On the second day of the journey, James was shot by a white gunman and was admitted to hospital. However, he was soon released. Similar to Rosa Parks, James Meredith created an awareness of racial segregation in African-Americans and contributed to the development of the civil rights movement in

In United States history, there have been many protest and struggles of people and citizens of this nation. People who fought for their rights and did whatever it took to gain the goal in life which was to have your independence and civil rights. Three important groups African American, Native American, and Feminist wanted and achieved their rights after years and years of rebellious for their civil rights and here is how they did it.

Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice president Nixon, President Truman, Reverend Clergy, fellow citizens: