Civil Rights Movements Of The 1960's

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.

The 1950s was a crucial time period when it comes to discussing racial topics because this was when a lot of civil rights movements began to take action and get the ball rolling on achieving equality between different races. There was a lot of tension between blacks and whites because although blacks were considered free they ran into a lot of problems with segregation and equality. For example, blacks weren’t allowed in certain restaurants, bathrooms, only allowed to use certain water fountains, etc. Also there was great deal of injustices when it came to dealing with the law. An example of one of the major civil rights movements that took place during this era was the Brown v. Board in 1954, which resulted in the removal of segregation in

the previous generation of activists had enjoyed—in fact, some of their hard-earned victories were at stake. The African-American civil rights activists of the 1960’s started the decade on a good note. They brought national attention to the movement through nonviolent protests, such as the sit-in protests and the March on Washington (“The Sixties”), and the efforts made by this unified front produced major legislative success: the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act was passed in the following year (“The Sixties”). As the end of the decade neared, however, the civil rights movement started a downward spiral that would continue into the 1970’s. In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., a key leader who had united the movement,

4. Evaluate the progress towards racial equality in the United States since the Civil Rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s.

In what ways, and for what reasons, did the African American struggle for civil rights in the United States change between the early and late 1960s?

The 1950s and 1960s were a very turbulent time in American history. These decades saw the heights of the Cold War and the beginning of American hegemony, and these decades were the scene of immense social changes in the country. The driving factor for most of these social changes was the push for civil rights and voting rights for African Americans and other minorities. A large factor in the civil rights movement during these decades was grassroots activist organizations. There were numerous groups that all had varying messages and aims, and they even differed with the member composition. Despite some of the differences of these grassroots organizations, they all shared one similar theme in their messages and efforts. This theme was the idea that civil rights cannot wait any long, and that action must be taken immediately. This shared message of “can’t wait” by the grassroots organizations successfully pressured the federal government to enact civil rights reform and overcome staunch southern opposition.

of civil rights. One was passage of a Civil Rights Act, the first to be approved by Congress since Reconstruction. It created a Civil Rights Division within the Department of Justice as well as a federal Civil Rights Commission that was authorized to investigate racial problems and recommend solutions. The other was President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s decision, arrived at reluctantly, to send federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, in order to establish order and enforce a token desegregation plan admitting nine black students to the city’s all-white Central High School.

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.

The 1960’s were a time of trial for our country. The Civil Rights Movement began nearly 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. At this time the black community did not have nearly the rights that the white community did have. Many people were jailed during this time for peaceful and ‘untimely’ stand-ins and marches. The Clergymen wrote a letter and published it in newspapers in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter in response from the

Institutions (such as schools, prisons, hospitals, churches, military, mass media, etc) are all collective systems meant to dictate how the masses who believe in and follow them, live and act. Each institution has its own collective set of rules, often times mostly unspoken, to guide what others in the institution should be doing in terms of right and wrong. But these rules are never fixed and may fluctuate with changes in leadership or environment among other things. The fluctuations of these rules mean that they must often be tested by people more on the fringe of the institution in order to determine where the heart of the institution stands at any given moment. That testing of boundaries, in and of itself, constitutes deviance and helps to explain how institutions meant to discourage it accidentally encourage it.

When we look at earth from beyond the galaxy you can see racism and most of the human race cultural issues on a diminutive scale. To me as it is important and a great step for the human race to overcome racial prejudice, truly we have come a long way from the civil rights moment.

As society redevelops as we go further and further into the 21st century, Society itself, progresses to keep up with the ever-changing dynamics of its citizens on a daily basis. Social movements are popping up all over the world today as an outlet to hopefully bring change within the law. Social movement is a broad term that many people hear from media sources, they have specific goals and targets in mind, in which they have a specific outcome that they are hoping to desire. They are collective groups that seek a common goal or express a common identity; targets that may include states, society, corporations, and or social norms and values.

disadvantaged by class. By limiting its focus to Appalachia, the college also cuts out a large population of African Americans and other minorities, whose need for assistance is greater than that of white Appalachians. The needs of minorities being greater due to the compounded disadvantage of both race and class. By focusing on class Berea can meet the needs of poor Appalachians without excluding minorities.

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s was one of the most significant and important for the equality of all people. , there had been conflict between the different races of people who live in the United States. Rights were violated on a consistent basis, purely because of the colour of that person’s skin. This and that led to the violent deaths of some of the famous leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. It also led to two pretty distinct groups of black activists.

The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s share a history of both violent and nonviolent protests. While some members of the movement choose to fight inequality through violence, the outcome that brought the civil rights movement to equality was through nonviolence means. A Group such as the black Panthers was considered to be a U.S. black militant group that was formed originally to provide self-defense against the local police. The civil rights were not achieved by just one man or one group it was a total effort amongst hundreds and thousands of individual.