Civil Rights Struggles Of The 1950s And 1960's

Brown vs. The Board of Education ruling in 1956 ruled that segregated schools are unconstitutional but it took a decade for black students to enter into white schools. This case first started out a black community declaring to have better education, improving schools and curriculum. Finally, the Brown vs. The Board of Education case was seen in the black communities to ensure equality in the black community. The author focuses on the closing the achievement gap of blacks and white in high school graduation from 1940-1980. African American has always been playing the catch up game due to the struggle for civil right equality.

Since the birth of the United States of America, African Americans have struggled for society to hear them and treat them as equals. In the 1800s, they fought for equality through the Civil War. Another big time period where African American strove for equality was The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, which effectively changed crucial aspects of the nation and made great strides in the rights of African Americans in the United States.

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s utilized a variety of strategies to

During the 1950s to 1970s, many Americans strived to solve problems that existed in their society. The reformers used similar methods to make people became aware of these social problems. Such as African-American civil rights movement that African- Americans were struggling in racial discrimination and the Modern Environmental Movement that advantage technologies make terrible living conditions. The two movements are significant because they gave long-term positive effects to the nation.

Before the civil war many African Americans were not allowed to have any education. They were raised in plantation fields and only knew how to work. In the 1930’s the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People made a campaign to achieve equal schools. White

Civil Rights are the government’s guarantees that you will be treated equally no matter your race, religion, or gender. “The proclamation that “all men are created equal” appears in the Declaration of Independence, and the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires that the federal government treat people equally”. “No State shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Thus, between the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, neither state governments nor the federal government may treat people unequally unless unequal treatment is necessary to maintain important governmental interests, like public safety (154). Everyone has rights under the constitution, but only when

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” (Martin Luther King Jr.) People say that the 1950’s were a decade of social upheaval and a time of change for the United States. In 1969, the riots of the Stonewall Inn forced the advancement of civil rights for the LGBT community and other intersectionalities of the sort.

Racial Inequality Throughout The 1950’s In the past several class sessions we have all watched a movie named, “ A Long Walk Home” directed by Richard Pierce. Throughout the movie it shows in vivid detail how African Americans were treated in America in the 1950’s. The main idea in the movie is the effects the famous Montgomery Alabama bus boycott had on two racially different women.

Despite the racial struggles in this period education remained a critical center point for civil rights upheaval during the 1950’s and through the following decade. Godfrey made a great impact at Penn State. Her former advisee and student Brenda Binns, describes her as magician, a people person and skillfully attune to the practice she taught. Binns said “I never thought of her as I have a black lady as an advisor, it was never part of it. She was a wonderful person who, at least, I didn’t sense any color bias at all” (B. Binns, personal communication, April 7, 2016.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the most notable event that a multitude of people would know about would me the civil rights movement. The Civil Rights Movement, a social justice movement that took place for African American peoples could gain equal rights in the United States. Although this was a difficult for the African Americans due to those who believed that there should not be equal rights. There are many events during this movement that showed the racial injustice. Frank Morris is an African American man who owned a shoe shop in Ferriday, Louisiana was attacked December 10, 1964 when two men broke into his store a caught it one fire. Morris was severely injured and died four days later after being in the ICU for third degree burns over one hundred percent of his body (cold cases...). Some believe the attack on Morris was on the hands of the Ku Klux Klan due to the racial barrier of the 1960s. Numerous amounts of events were happening that same year; to start off, the Freedom Summer was bringing hundreds of young people to Mississippi to push social justice. The Klan had been upset by this and struck out with violent retaliation and killed three civil rights workers.

The post 1945 Civil Rights movement, also known as the “Second Reconstruction”, began its trek to equality by challenging the education system. Civil rights activists believed a decent education was a right reserved for all. They saw schooling as their doorway to begin “socializing” white children at a young age to the idea of being around and working alongside black children. More importantly, education readies people for the working world, and activists believed integrating schooling would allow them the opportunity to get the same education and skill set currently reserved for white schools. Therefore, making them just as prepared or “equal” as white folks. This would not come easily though. We see a prime example of massive resistance

The civil rights was a time of fighting for equality and freedom. In almost all states, African Americans were treated like second class citizens or even still like slaves. The movement came about in the 1950’s. Many African Americans were tired of being oppressed and not having the same rights as white citizens. The movement was full of violence, protests, leaders, and sacrifice.

Yesterday was a very important day. Not for the success of Donald Trump, nor the farewell to Barack Obama. It was important because of the transfer of power between leaders of powerful lands. I think it's often forgotten that this country has dedicated its founding to and for the rights of every gender, race, sexual orientation, and religion. No other country can claim that they started with those convictions first and foremost before we did.

In education, white people have always been at an advantage compared to other races. African-American have had quite a setback in prior years. There was a time when African-American weren’t even allowed to learn how to write or read in our country just because of the color of their skin. There has been quite the improvement from those times in terms of African-Americans obtaining an education. According to Essentials of Sociology, only about 20 percent of African-Americans had a high school diploma in the year of 1960. The number has increased significantly to roughly 82 percent in 2013. That percentage represents a significant change that shows how our nation has progressed throughout the years. However, you are still at a set back if you aren’t white. “Black students were expelled at three times the rate of white students” (Hsieh, 2014).

Racial discrimination has affected the world in many ways. Historically in the United States there have always been racial issues between the African Americans and white Americans. Most African Americans were sidelined in all areas of economic, political and social growth. Whites were seen to be more superior, which led to segregation of housing, schools, restaurants, hotels, and transportation. Equally concerning, are the instances of religious discrimination that still occur in this country. Even though we have made important advances in race relations, we still face serious racial and religious discrimination in the United States.