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Civil Rights Protests

Decent Essays

Throughout history, a common factor between every significant event was the fight for civil rights. Fighting for these rights was generally the cause for a war. However, another form of supporting beliefs for these rights included protesting. The first amendment of the constitution gives you the freedom to express yourself, and also to organize protests. These civil rights protests happen today as well as in the past (“Bill”, 3). These protests include the March on Selma, and The Women's March on Washington that took place in 2016 (Goldberg, 7). Civil Rights protests continue in America because people want racial and gender equality, and they should continue because they are effective. In the early fifties, African Americans in an organization …show more content…

Martin Luther King Jr. led a march in Washington. Blacks and Whites were marching together on Lincoln Memorial. On that day Dr. King gave his infamous “I have a dream” speech. Also during this time, Civil Rights legislations were brought to congress. The march on Washington was inspiring to many. It created a new beginning for African Americans living in a desegregated nation (McKissack, 220). Aside from the March on Washington, in Birmingham, Alabama a bombing took place, causing many hardships. Four black schoolgirls were walking on their way to Sunday school, when a bomb near their church, dreadfully killed them. The bomb was targeted to the church (225). Similar to the church bombing, a disaster occurred in the hotel Dr. King was staying at, and also at the home of his brother (Anderson, 64). Many Southerners grew tired of the pointless brutality, and decided it was enough (McKissack, 226). Moreover, in the late sixties, there was a riot in a black region of LA named Watts. The intensity of this rally was so strong, that thirty-four people died. Many charges of property damage were also executed (“Civil”, 3). These riots were an effective way to get the public’s attention, but unfortunately were extremely dangerous. In most cases, the police would turn to brutal actions against these citizens (Anderson, …show more content…

It was mainly called the Women's March on Washington, although similar protests happened that same day all over the country. The reason for this protest was to raise awareness about equal gender rights all around the nation, and to show that, women’s rights are human rights (Goldberg, 7). To add on, sexuality is a sensitive area for most to talk about. Being different sometimes gives people a hard time. Lawsuits and protests have been successfully executed in the past. This includes a lawsuit funded by the Foundation for Equal Rights (FER). Two same sex couples brought this lawsuit to challenge the constitution on legal grounds, information on this lawsuit is unknown (Walsh and Morella, 2). To conclude, gender and racial equality are issues that have been protested many times in American history, and these protests should continue because they shape, and have shaped the nation into what it is today. Protesting is a great form of publicizing your beliefs. It gives people the confidence to voice what they support, knowing that others have the same ideas as

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