The United States of America is known to the rest of the world as the country where people are treated as equals and have the same rights despite race, gender, or religion. Yet, life in America during the 1950s and 1960s told a different story, one of hostility and segregation against those who were Black. Life for Blacks could be best explained by understanding that “Nearly 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans in Southern states still inhabited a starkly unequal world of disenfranchisement, segregation and various forms of oppression, including race-inspired violence” (History.com). African Americans were constantly attacked, killed, and discriminated against purely because of the color of their skin. Additionally, …show more content…
King was born into a family with a history of being Baptist Ministers. King was taught moral and religious education from his father. He believed in and learned the Christian faith and therefore, believed in love and kindness over hate. In addition, his mother taught him and his siblings that they are just as good as anyone else. As the website dedicated to informing people about King’s life states it, “Drawing inspiration from both his Christian faith and the peaceful teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. King led a nonviolent movement in the late 1950s and 60s to achieve legal equality for African-Americans in the United States” (Thekingcenter.org). His Christian faith and upbringing led to the way he conducted his civil rights campaign. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in nonviolent protests to bring about change. King believed that this was the best way, rather than resorting to violence. In fact, King was the head of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man and was arrested. (thekingcenter.org) Martin Luther King, Jr.’s efforts resulted in the the U.S Supreme Court ordering Montgomery to integrate its buses and himself emerging as a national leader of the American civil rights movement. King was able …show more content…
His father, Earl Little, was a preacher and active member of the local chapter of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and supporter of Black Nationalist leaders. (Biography.com) Due to the fact that Earl was a part of and a supporter of these groups, he and his family were often threatened and subject to harassment from the KKK and the Black Legion, a vigilante terrorist white supremacist organization. In 1929, a racist mob set Malcolm’s family’s house on fire (Biography.com) Malcolm X himself remembered, "The white police and firemen came and stood around watching as the house burned to the ground," (Malcolm X). Malcolm’s view of Whites was forged from ever since he was a baby. He witnessed the hate thrown at his family and this later influenced the movements he created and supported. Additionally, Malcolm’s father was believed to be killed by White supremacists, because he received death threats from them, but the police ruled his death as a streetcar accident. (Biography.com) White people constantly harassed his family and because of this, his whole civil rights campaign was focused on black power with no involvement of whites, and even called for violence against them unlike Martin Luther King, Jr.’s
King, Jr. was a strong believer in the fact that every race should be treated equally to one another. As Edward Berry stated in his own Rhetorical Analysis, “Doing Time: King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail””, King dreamed of a time where whites and blacks could be equal (111). Some of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s largest achievements through this movement where the March on Washington, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and obviously the Birmingham Campaign. He gave his all into this movement and on April 4, 1969, at the young age of 39, was assassinated because of his belief in racial equality and gave his life for the Civil Rights Campaign. Like Martin Luther King said in his piece, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, “I am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom far beyond my own hometown (1). And that he did. Which is one of the biggest reasons that he is so widely remembered in the United States of America and
There was once a time in history where society was drastically different from the way it is today, particularly with African Americans in the United States. Although these people have gone through rough times since the beginning of European colonization in America, they have proven themselves through a matter of historical events and movements that have changed their position in today’s society. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s has made it possible for America to have a black president; this remarkable event in history conveys the goal that African Americans were trying to achieve so long ago; elimination of racial segregation.
Malcolm Little encountered racism before birth. While his mother was carrying Little in her womb, a group of Ku Klux Klan members came and burned his would-be home. This was an attempt to silence Malcolm’s father, Earl Little, who was a preacher. He was a local civil rights figure who proposed that African Americans
Malcolm Little, formerly known as Malcolm X or El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, was born in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19,1925. Malcolm was the fourth of eight children born to Louise and Earl Little. His father Earl Little was an outspoken Baptist minister who was a devoted follower of Marcus Garvey, because of this the Little family would receive many death threats from white supremacist groups and was forced to relocate multiple times. In 1929 the Little home was burned to the ground by a racist mob, and the towns all-white emergency responders just watched and refused to help.
Malcolm’s father, Earl Little, was a preacher who spoke about black rights and civil rights often. This caused the Little’s home to be an easy target of white supremacist groups and forced them to relocate often to avoid the racism and violence
Malcolm’s father was an Civil Rights activist, during his childhood his family faced frequent problems with white supremacist, groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and if its splinter factions, the black legion. In In fact Malcolm X had his first encounter with racism at a very young age.
Malcolm X also known as Malcolm Little was born in 1925 and died in 1965. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska to Louise Little and Earl Little. When Malcolm was 4 years old when a group of KKK members smashed all the windows in his family's home. To protect his family Earl little moved them from Omaha to Wisconsin in 1926 and the Michigan in 1928. In 1929 Malcolm house got burned down by a racist mob. Two years later in 1931 Earl little’s body was discovered lying across the municipal streetcar tracks. According to biography.com “Although Malcolm X's family believed his father was murdered by white supremacists from whom he had received frequent death threats” (biography.com). The police said Earl’s death was a streetcar accident so the family won’t get the insurance money. Louise little will never recover from her husband's death in 1937 she was committed to a mental institution for the next 26 years.
In today’s day and age, the United States of America is seen of as the land where every human being is treated fairly. However, it was not always like this and America was considered to be one of the most racist countries in the world up until the 1980’s. From 1885 to 1968, when the Jim Crow laws were in place, black people were segregated from whites and were treated like second class citizens. However, black people fought for equality all throughout the Jim Crow era and finally succeeded after the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. Blacks in the American South sought to improve their lives by supporting and helping white people that had helped them before, by joining the American military, and by protesting against segregation and their rights.
Tears stream down a mother's face, sobs slowly rack up a sibling's body, screams of regret leaves a father’s mouth. Another African-American male is killed, lynched. The burning cross puts fear into hearts as the fire of a lit torch scorches in the distance. The Ku Klux Klan members scream “GO HOME NEGROES.” This was the brutal reality of many African-Americans in the 1950s. To present generations the 1950s is admired as being perfect with poodle skirts and leather jackets, but the truth was the 1950s is home to the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement was the struggle of African-Americans in the 1950s and 60s to achieve civil rights equal to those of whites, including equal opportunity in employment, housing, and education. The
Malcolm X is unjustly viewed as notorious for the fear he caused White America. The controversy he caused was bigger than ever before, and most of his simple actions were skewed and twisted by the media. Malcolm X grew up persecuted by what was America and stayed persecuted as he fought against the systematic oppression that based the way the U.S treated African-Americans. Malcolm X (also known as Malcolm Little or El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) was born May 19th 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. He was born to the parents Earl Little, and Louise Norton Little. Earl Little was a carpenter, but his reputation to the town came from him being a civil rights activist and outspoken member of the MGUNIA, or the Marcus Garvey Universal Negro Improvement Association. Earl followed closely with the beliefs and ideas of Marcus Garvey, who was a black separatist, which caused Earl to get death threats from racist organizations such as Black Legion and the Ku Klux Klan. Despite his efforts to elude the threats, in 1929, his enemies prevailed and burned their Lansing, Michigan home to the ground. Two years after, Earl’s body was found on the trolley tracks of Lansing. He died shortly after he was found. Even though the entire case strongly pointed to assassination, it was ruled an accident by police, and suicide by life insurance.
Malcolm X was a leader who, was the spokesman for the Nation of Islam, an African American political and religious movement, embraced the "Black Power" philosophy. Malcolm Little was born May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, the fourth of seven children. His Father was a local leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and his mother served as secretary and "branch reporter", sending news of local UNIA activities to Negro World, a weekly newspaper established in New York, they inculcated self-reliance and black pride in their children. Malcolm X later said that white violence killed three of his father 's brothers. Because of Ku Klux Klan threats his family relocated in 1926 to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and shortly thereafter to Lansing, Michigan. There the family was frequently harassed by the Black Legion, a white racist group. When Little was six, his father died in was believed that that Black Legion murdered him. Rumors that white racists were responsible for his father 's death were widely circulated, and were very disturbing to Malcolm X as a child. As an adult, he expressed conflicting beliefs on the question. In late 1938, Malcolm’s mother was sent to a mental hospital after she had a nervous breakdown, which resulted in Malcolm and his siblings going to a foster home. In the history of the Civil Rights Movement Malcolm X was involved in the most important actions in the realm of politics through embodying the Nation of Islam and encouraging his people to not
Throughout the 1950s and 60s, many African Americans had stood up and advocated for racial equality for everyone in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. was a remarkable activist that was known all around the world during this time. King Jr., an American Minister, led African Americans living throughout the country in protests involving civil rights which showed the world he was an impeccable hero. As an African American, King contributed his time, money, and ideas to the African American community throughout the United States. Also known as MLK Jr., King, having a background in ministry, based many of his ideas on God's word. Although Martin Luther King Jr. appeared an average clergyman from Atlanta, King’s heroic convictions and actions
The years leading up to the 1960’s were ones full of worldly and civil unrest. Wars raged, blood spilled, and many lives were lost. However, these wars weren’t always fought across continents and countries. Some were fought internally, without involving assault rifles or trenches. The war I’m speaking did involve two sides, but not Axis and Union. This war dealt with racial segregation and hatred among races . This movement sprouted all the way from the roots of slavery and the oppression of those enslaved. Nearly a hundred years after the end of slavery a clash between races was still very prevalent in the United States. Segregation was in full effect and blacks everywhere were being treated beyond unfairly. Blacks and even some others,
Malcolm’s father Earl Little, was a man of the Baptist preaching community who was a supporter of large civil right movements. Earl had many encounters with the Legion and the Klu Klux Klan. His family was subjected to many the occasion of civil rights abuse. They were threatened many times. Malcolm once spoke regarding a memory he had of his mother telling him about an occurrence of racism and
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership of the modern American Civil Rights Movement, from December, 1955 till to April 4, 1968, African Americans accomplished more genuine progress toward racial equality in America than the previous 350 years had produced. Dr. King is broadly regarded as America’s pre-eminent advocate of nonviolence and one of the greatest nonviolent leaders in world history. Drawing inspiration from both his Christian faith and the peaceful teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Dr. King led a "nonviolent movement" in the late 1950’s and ‘60s to accomplish legal equality for African-Americans in the United States. While others were supporting for liberty by “any means necessary,” including violence, but Martin used the power of words and acts of nonviolent resistance, such as protests, grassroots organizing, and civil disobedience to achieve seemingly-impossible goals. He went to lead similar campaigns against poverty and international conflict, always preserving loyalty to his principles that men and women everywhere, regardless of color or creed, are equal members of the human family