The African-American Civil Rights Movement

The African American Civil right movement in the late 1950’s and throughout the 1960’s was a powerful fight for equal opportunities to the basic rights and privileges outlined by the US government. During this movement thousands of African American individuals and those who believed in the power of the movement, battled against the piercing white supremacy through various tactics including grass root movements. The grass root movements in the 60’s was characterized by organizations of individuals fighting for equality on the behalf of the African Americans, ultimately shaping American history. Such movements helped to raise awareness on a political level, of the injustice all African American’s endured. Grassroots activist during the 60’s were able to organize marches, rallies and protests in order to mobilize and strengthen the Civil Rights Movement. Grass rooting activism during the Civil Rights Movement in the 60’s shaped American History by aiding in the abolished laws restricting African American’s freedom to vote, the abolishment of segregation in school, and the passage of the Civil Rights act outlawing discrimination.

The civil rights movement and its many successes emerged in the 1950s. In 1952, Thurgood Marshall attacked the principle of segregation through the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka lawsuit, arguing that segregation was unequal and harmful to black children. Unlike before in Plessy v. Ferguson where the court ruled that segregation was constitutional as long as the facilities were “separate but equal”, the Brown case was a success. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment and ordered for public schools

The civil rights movement was and still is a crucial piece of American culture because it helped shaped our society to what it is today. The civil rights movement occurred at a time where Americans began to protest, in mass groups, against racial segregation and discrimination that was increasingly prominent in America. American began to think different about segregation, many did not believe in it.

Civil rights are the rights that every person should have no matter their sex, religion, or race. These were deprived to African Americans for hundreds of years, long before the civil rights movement of the 1960s. African Americans were slaves from the 1500s until the 1860s when the Civil War happened. After the slaves were freed, there was still a lot of segregation and racism throughout the U.S., especially in the South. The government put into place Jim Crow Laws, which were strict segregation laws that would punish people who associated with people of another race, if the law forbade them to do so. They also used poll taxes, literacy tests, and other things of the like to prevent African Americans from voting. White supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, or rather known as the KKK, would perform violent acts to minorities. They would bomb, carry out beatings and shootings and set fires to blacks’ homes.

"Not long ago, citizens in some states had to pay a fee to vote in a national election. This fee was called a poll tax. On January 23, 1964, the United States ratified the 24th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting any poll tax in elections for federal officials". This is the 24th amendment , which was the United States abolished the poll tax for the elections. A poll tax was a tax of anywhere from a few dollars that had to paid each year by each voter in order to be able to vote. But the significance history of the 24th Amendment, after the congress passed the 15th amendment which was the right to vote to all men, but there were opposition in the South. African American voters, enacted poll taxes, but they poll taxes also discourage

It was just a single line in a speech given more than fifty years ago, yet many still remember it as one of the most important turning points in Southern political history and the American civil right movement. As many civil rights activists were fighting for the abolishment of Jim Crow laws, newly elected Governor George Wallace stood at the podium under the Alabama State House to deliver his inaugural speech which would later cement his legacy amongst the most controversial figures in Southern history. His infamous line, “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever”, represents the pinnacle of the southern struggle between pride and blame (Wallace). To some, George Wallace was an unabashed racist who was the embodiment of white supremacy and opposition toward the civil rights movement in the South. To others, he was a brave fighter for states’ rights amidst one of the most difficult transition periods in the South. Regardless of one’s personal opinions about Gov. Wallace, his influence on many of the themes covered in this course such as the transformation of Southern politics, race relations, and ideals cannot be undermined. The Alabamian stood at the center stage of the southern civil rights movement where his fierce rhetoric and the subsequential outburst of racial violence and anger were forever seared in the region’s memory. By studying George Wallace and his inaugural speech, one can trace the roots and evolution of southern ideals and politics

Hook : Imagine a world in which all men weren 't created equal. A world where skin color, ethnic origin, gender, and sexuality was what defined a person rather than character.

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.

In the same way culture has influenced how I behave, it could also be a contributor to the unfortunate scenarios we so frequently see in our news casts of late. Some groups are already angry with authorities and see no problem confronting them, arguing, and refusing to comply with an officer’s requests. For instance, accounts of marches and protests during the civil rights movement could contribute to some in newer African American generations believing these are the only methods in which to gain justice. Whereas other cultures, might respond differently, complying, but consulting with a lawyer or filing a grievance, because historically for them, those methods have been effective.

Titans are the Warriors. Warriors are the Titans. They both fought the same fight. They both played the same game. They were Warriors and they were Titans, but the fight was just too big for their strength and mind to hold. And they broke.

The civil rights movement in the South was a time of blood, tears, and victory for the African American Community. While it was a victorious time when it came to end, it came with a price. Thousands of Americans stood in harms way in order to ensure that one day race would have nothing to do with whether or not somebody could use a public restroom, sit and have a cup of coffee or be able to vote for a candidate they believed would be the right choice to help serve their country. There was a long list of people who tried to stand in the way of the African American community getting the rights and freedom that they deserved. Everyday they endured ridicule and were turned away from things that Americans now take for granted. One of the

The American Civil Rights Movement is personified through several prominent personalities. These figures exhibited strong character throughout their careers in activism that revolutionized the ideals and opportunities of the 20th century, standing as precedents for courage and perseverance in the face of widespread systemic oppression. However, not all of these figures received the acknowledgment and acceptance that their legacy deserved. One such figure was Bayard Rustin, a lifelong Civil Rights activist in the African American and LGBTQ communities whose experiences exemplified the hardships faced by American minorities. His career was defined by perpetual conflict and confrontation as both sides of the Civil Rights Movement attempted to demonize and discredit him. Despite this obstacle, Bayard Rustin’s controversial decision-making and sheer tenacity made him an influential force in the ongoing fight for equality in the United States of America.

The Civil Rights movement is one of the most important acts to change the way not only African Americans were able to live their lives but all races and colors. It would slowly break down the social, economic, political, and racial barriers that were created by the The Age of Discovery and Transatlantic Slave trade. I believe without the Civil Rights acts our country would result to be no better than what it was when the Emancipation Proclamation just took effect. In the 1950s and long before, Southern folk, who were white had created a system that would interpret them as a superior race over blacks. The system would defend whites rights and privileges from being taken away from them while establishing terrible inhumane suffering for African Americans. In the South blacks were controlled in all aspects economic, political, and personal, this was called a “tripartite system of domination” - (Aldon D. Morris) (6) Though it isn’t as prevalent racism and discrimination towards other races that aren’t white is still found in America and can be in schools, the workplace, even when you are in the general public but you no longer see discriminating signs saying “Whites” or “Blacks” or Colored” along the front of bathroom, restaurants, and shopping malls doors. Nor do you see people being declined the right to buy a home based on their color or access to school and an equal education being declined because one didn’t meet racial requirements. The acts of violence towards

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s was a series of sit-ins, boycotts, freedom rides, and marches. They were all used as ways to peacefully protest the fight for freedom and equality for all. These events took place to try and stop the discrimination and racism of all people but especially people of color. A major leader and influencer of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement was Martin Luther King Jr., whom along with many others, participated in many of the peaceful protests and marches put together by the people of the Freedom Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. brought new perspective to the whole fight for freedom through his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most recognized and well known advocates, but there were also many others that led protests and were involved in the movement. Some were into peaceful protests like Rosa Parks, but others wanted to take a more aggressive and loud approach like W.E.B. Du Bois. There were many historical events that shaped the Civil Rights Movement, and these events were the foundations for the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. The Montgomery bus boycotts, the freedom rides, and the Selma marches were some of the most memorable major contributing events to the series of protests in the fight for Civil Rights.

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.