Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Case Study

Currently, intelligent, fearless, and brash young frustrated men and women with street credibility command the media attention. They present a picture of a more edgy SNCC, no longer desiring the NAACP

Civil rights, a significant issue of the ‘60s, reached a climax in 1968 and hatched a novel approach racial strive. Even though Martin Luther King Jr. had waged a successful campaign of peaceful protests in US southern states, a growing number of younger activists began to feel that nonviolent tactics could not

SNCC strategy was to organize mass demonstrations, boycotts, sit-ins and freedom rides. They used the newspaper to reach the homes of the people, went to their houses and traveled state to state to publicize and raise money for the organization. One of their focuses was to get blacks to vote. The committee organized non-violent mass demonstrations to provoke the government so they would eventually intercede. They based their beliefs off the beliefs of the SCLC whose leader was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Eventually, they saw no progress and began to aggressively protest under a new “Leader.” Since the original goal of the group began to fade away many of its members lost interest and drew away from

On Easter weekend in 1960, as a college student, Bond wound up as a pioneering member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The committee which grasped on all the

The National Negro Congress was one of the largest breaking points between the CPUSA and blacks, along with the working movement as a whole. Being founded in 1935, it was a broad coalition of groups that fought for black liberation along with the CPUSA. Fearing being removed from the black movement, the latter kept its silence on class-related jargon, which everyone was satisfied with. Then came the 1940 Congress meeting where the CPUSA brought in CIO delegates in the hopes of a coalition. In time this would cause the NNC to lose much black support with it no longer remaining a pure “Negro organization” as A. Philip Randolph had first

Through the rise of groups such as the Black Panther Party, violence became increasingly prevalent. “The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense calls upon the American people in general and the black people in particular to take careful note of the racist California Legislature which is now considering legislation aimed at keeping the black people disarmed and powerless at the very same time that racist police agencies throughout the country are intensifying the terror, brutality, murder, and repression of black people (Document F).” As a result of the lack of movement on the bill previously proposed my Kennedy to remove segregation, many African-Americans began to give up on this method of peaceful protest. “All of these efforts have been answered by more repression, deceit, and hypocrisy (Document F).” This is because as it appeared to them, it was not working and had no effect on the government. Instead, they discovered a much more direct approach which, was assured to catch the eye of the government. This method was violence. “The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense believes that the time has come for the black people to arm themselves against this terror before it is too late (Document F).” Through violent “black power” groups such as the Black Panthers, the previously peaceful Civil Rights movement began to take on a new

The American Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s and 1960s generated massive international following and controversy, which made the movement one of the most important in U.S. history. The movement’s legacy can still be felt today, with the positive aspects, such as voting rights to African Americans and wide spread desegregation of public facilities, still being felt in the United States, and in many similar models across the globe. Although there were many “battlegrounds” where civil issues were debated, many people who know of the movement today would argue that the movement’s heart was rooted in the Deep South, ironically where it could be argued that the mentality of people living in the area at the time were the most violently opposed to such civil rights. In contrast, those who championed the Civil Rights Movement chose the tactic of nonviolence, at least at first, as a tool to dismantle racial segregation, discrimination, and inequality. They followed models that Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists had commissioned, using principles of nonviolence and passive resistance. Civil rights leaders had understood that segregationists would do anything to maintain their power over blacks. So, in consequence, they believed some changes might be made if enough people outside the

After watching the documentary Freedom Summer, I find the part on how SNCC was using the Freedom Summer against white supremacy really appealing to me. In the movie, white supremacy brought both challenges and opportunities for SNCC to implement its movement.

Young African American’s had to take an active role because many older adults were set in their ways, too afraid to do anything. Previously learning in school, The NAACP was the primary group focusing on civil rights. Further reading has shown that this is not completely accurate. Per Cleveland sellers, the NAACP was widely known but had setback from certain events. Many students who were involved in sit-ins before the freedom writers were believed to be under the SCLC or NAACP. As in the book, many African Americans only know of the NAACP. The SNCC group was a small student led group that also planned and participated in demonstrations. The SNCC formed to give younger blacks more of a voice in the civil rights movement because they felt that the SCLC was out of touch for them. With support from Ella Barker the SNCC worked their way into the movement. The SNCC evolved over time, from being a small unknown student organization, to a very known

Many African Americans would have separate schools, bus seats, and even fountain drinks for the “colored”. If an African American would ever break these “laws”, they were either jailed, beaten, or killed for it. In response, many Africans saw the negative effects of violence and instead of choosing to fight back violently, they chose to protest through “nonviolence [,] as it grows from Judaic-Christian traditions [and] seeks a social order of justice permeated by love” (Doc. A). Many African Americans believed that through nonviolence it would help benefit the fight for equality because it would help them gain sympathy and support from the people through the sight violence being used on peaceful people. However, many African American’s were getting frustrated at how long it was taking to gain equality, protection of civil rights, and justice in courts so many thought that the time had “come for black people to arm themselves against [violence] before it [was] too late” (Doc. F) Many African Americans then started to turn to violence to try to push the fight for equality, but this was ultimately a disastrous decision because this caused the Civil Rights Movement to lose a lot of support they had from the

One of the most elements of the book is the evolution of the organization called SNCC. SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) was founded in conjunction with the lunch counter sit0ins that originated in Greensboro, North Carolina in February 1960. SNCC activists were known to practice slow, tedious and patient voter registration drives in the most dangerous parts of the South. However, they seldom received credit for their efforts on a national level. Despite their lack of national attention, SNCC activists often managed to annoy white federal officials and black civil rights leaders. SNCC attracted radicals from the Revolutionary Action Movement, black nationalists from the North and a host of other mavericks. From its humble beginnings, SNCC was a peaceful group that used nonviolent methods to seek racial equality. Over the course of time, SNCC became more assertive in their methods of demanding racial equality and

In a march against segregation and barriers for African-American voting rights, peaceful marchers were exposed to harsh treatment by the police, 50 being hospitalized by the terrorism inflicted on them (civilrights.org). The targeted protest became infamous in the Civil Rights Movement, marked “Bloody Sunday” and was crucial to gaining favor of the public (civilrights.org). The two causes went hand in hand in this, rocketing in support and becoming the main goal of the country - the end of segregation was the most dire problem that the Civil Rights Movement needed to solve. And with the 24th Amendment, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Voting Rights Act of 1965 being ratified, the civil rights movement and the fight to end segregation reached its legal goal (infoplease.com). However, the nation’s mentality needed work - though the popularity of Civil Rights was rising, many riots and racial hate crimes continued to occur throughout the country, with many casualties resulting from them (infoplease.com). The ratification of these laws may have made the “separate but equal” rhetoric illegal for the U.S. but the citizens inside it still battled for their beliefs. As segregation and civil rights become national topics, their

Despite nearly one hundred years passing since the Emancipation Proclamation, African Americans in Southern States were still faced with the most distinct forms of racism. The so-called “Jim Crow” laws that were present in United States at the time, served to segregate blacks and whites from all aspects of public life, including schools, public transport and juries. Often faced with extreme right-wing terrorist groups such as the white supremacist Klu Klux Klan, many among the African American community chose to live in a society of oppression that to actively campaign for equal rights for all humans regardless of the colour of their skin. It wasn’t until the 1950’s and 60’s that the people attempted to challenge the established order by engaging in influential protest movements with the help of key activist groups and their leaders. In particular, one key example of a powerful protest campaign was that which occurred in 1965 in Selma, a small town in Alabama. Here, the African American community united in an effort to ensure that all citizens were equal before the law in regards to their ability to register to vote. Their work in banding together and marching from Selma to the state capital Montgomery, was vastly important to both the Civil Rights Movement as a whole, as well as the assurance of the Black vote within the United States. Consequently, this essay seeks to emphasize just how influential this act of protest was to the movement as a whole, whilst analysing the

Thesis Statement: In this paper, I’m going to explore how the Civil Rights Movement first started, and the brutal events and forms of protest during this monumental moment in history. Looking at first-hand accounts from pivotal figures such as the leaders of the social movement organizations, I can properly recount the conditions and struggles in the fight for equality for African Americans. Covering these topics, I can properly describe the effects that came from each movement and the change that subsequently followed. Brown v. Board:

Firstly, many civil rights activists were not well received by local Blacks. Many Blacks in Mississippi were afraid of losing their jobs if they were suspected of joining civil rights organization. It is important to understand in Mississippi the State government was highly involved in enforcing Jim Crowe laws and segregation of the races. Blacks who joined were beaten and killed and their homes were vandalized. It was a real challenge for SNCC/COFO staff to get local Black residents involved, but eventually, they succeeded. Eventually, the civil rights organizations grew in Mississippi and in the Summer of 1963 the leaders of COFO organized one of the largest registration drives ever attempted. Their goal was to empower local Blacks to vote and show the state of Mississippi that Blacks had the desire to vote, contrary to popular belief. COFO succeeded in making a point. Soon there was major National media coverage on account of the White college students who had come from up