The Black Codes: The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement of the United States in the 1950’s and 1960’s, was to end discrimination and racial segregation against African Americans. The African Americans wanted protection of their citizenships by the federal government. Evidence illustrates to us through source 1 of male and female ‘niggas’ holding signs stating “WE DEMAND EQUAL RIGHTS NOW!”.

The Civil Rights Movement’s mission was to end segregation and advance equality for African Americans (Hanks, Herzog, and Goetzman). Almost one hundred years after the civil war, African Americans were still struggling to gain the same rights as white Americans. The movement was led by leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks. Gaining momentum in the 1950’s with the Supreme court’s ruling of Brown vs. Board of Education where public schools were desegregated, the Civil Rights movement flourished in the 1960’s. One of the group’s main goals was to take on the Jim Crow South. Segregation prevented African Americans from drinking out of the same water fountain, using the same restroom, and even sitting at the same lunch table as white people. By promoting peaceful protest, they were able to educate others on their issues.

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

The civil rights movement was one of the main elements that were responsible for agitation and protest that greatly expanded in the 1960s. This social movement “originated among black Americans in the South who faced racial discrimination and segregation, or the separation of whites and blacks, in almost every aspect of their lives” (“Protests in the 1960s,” 3). There was constant racial

Even after the hurdle of being enslaved was passed, there were many more and difficult hurdles ahead. For example, the black codes were an earlier major hurdle. The codes prevented African Americans from owning weapons, votes, and land. While the Black Codes were quickly abolish; a group emerged called the Ku Klux Klan which aimed to bring down African Americans to be seen as less than then human. However, the Jim Crow laws caused separation, and that separation led to African Americans having unequal opportunities. These laws were claimed to be constitutional, because they didn't deprive any person of life, liberty, or property; or trying to include slavery. From the Black codes to Jim Crow laws, African Americans had, and have many hurdles to overcome.

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

Especially considering the Civil Rights Movement was over 50 years ago. “IT IS NO ACCIDENT that the pivotal Supreme Court decision launching the modern civil rights movement was an education case -- the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling.” (Leadership Conference)

Slavery was not a word that was unknown in the United States of America; the word was at the tip of almost everyone’s tongue, only it came with many names. After the civil war, slavery became more pronounced for the black people. The south then thought something ought to be done and passed laws called the black codes which begun the limitation of blacks’ rights and separated them from the whites; white supremacy began. Before, these laws would have been unnecessary because most of the black people were slaves and they were already segregated in public places like schools and theatres. In 1866, Congress did not like this and they responded to these laws by putting a stop to it. Republicans had managed to begin reconstruction on the society and understand the black community. But in 1877 things took a turn for the worse when the Democratic parties recovered control and stopped the progress of reconstruction. This in turn caused the reverse of all the progress made in the past few years to understand the black community; they lost their rights to hold political seats, vote and generally participate as though they were members of the community. Slowly but surely, the south started to restore their racially unfair laws. The aim of the laws? To ensure segregation and alienation of the black community. One of the main powers taken away was the right to vote and they did this by imposing poll taxes, having expensive fees to be paid at the voting booths and

The African American Civil Rights Movement officially “began” in 1954, but the ideas of Civil Rights had been brewing since the end of the Civil War, and even earlier. The Civil Rights Movement was centered on the idea of the equal, fair, and constitutional treatment of African Americans in the United States. The movement features some of history’s most prominent figures, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks. Throughout the movement, activists utilized protests, marches, boycotts, and strikes in attempts to change public opinion and governmental action on African Americans. The movement succeeded in overturning

From Reconstruction through the end of the 1920s, there were multiple encounters of people from all different types of races that have dramatically changed the face of the United States. Old immigrates, White Anglo Saxton Protestants, were the only people who were thought of as true Americans and not outsiders at the time. The 13th amendment abolished the majority of slavery and African American hoped to be finally freed after years of bondage. However, this is far from the end of their issues and there are many more racial barriers to be crossed from not only African Americans, but also for others coming into the country.

My African Americans in the South had a better life. Thier world was changed and no more beatings, sexual assaults, and selling or the of loving family members. They were happy about their new life of freedom but it was also a hard time for life after slavery. The white people still did not like black people and there were laws made called Black Codes. These laws helped the black people and gave them some legal rights. They could now own their land and sue in court. The codes would not let black people be on a jury to go against a white person or be in the army. The codes made black people sign contracts to sharecrop with the white people. If they did not sign the contract they could be sold for hire or put in jail. I know most of the black

Throughout the 1960’s, the widespread movement for African American civil rights had transformed in terms of its goals and strategies. The campaign had intensified in this decade, characterized by greater demands and more aggressive efforts. Although the support of the Civil Rights movement was relatively constant, the goals of the movement became more high-reaching and specific, and its strategies became less compromising. African Americans’ struggle for equality during the 1960’s was a relentless movement that used change for progress. In essence, the transformation of the Civil Rights Movement throughout the 1960’s forwarded the evolution of America into a nation of civil equality and freedom.

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

The civil rights movement grew for a number of reasons during the 1950’s and 1960s. Prior to this select time period America were fighting in the Cold War and many black soldiers battled in the name of ‘freedom’. This was ironic as these black soldiers were fighting for something that they didn’t even have back home. Often Black soldiers talked about the ‘Double V Campaign’; this was referring to victory in the war and victory for civil rights back home in the USA. Many historians believe that world war two planted seeds in the growth of the civil rights movement as it raised the question to black people, in the

The Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60's was arguably one of the most formative and influential periods in American history. Hundreds of thousands of civil rights activists utilized non violent resistance and civil disobedience to revolt against racial segregation and discrimination. The Civil Rights Movement began in the southern states but quickly rose to national prominence. It is of popular belief that the civil rights movement was organized by small groups of people, with notable leaders like—Martin Luther King, Jr, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, and even John F. Kennedy—driving the ship. That is partly correct. The Civil Rights Movement, in its truest form, was hundreds of thousands of people organizing events and protests,