The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968 Essay

The Supreme Court is perhaps most well known for the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954. By declaring that segregation in schools was unconstitutional, Kevern Verney says a ‘direct reversal of the Plessy … ruling’1 58 years earlier was affected. It was Plessy which gave southern

Civil Rights Movement in the United States, was a political, legal, and social struggle to gain full citizenship rights for African Americans and to achieve racial equality. The civil rights movement was a challenge to segregation, the system of laws and customs separating blacks and whites.

The Brown v. Board of Education of 1954 is known for desegregating public schools in the U.S. In 1954 the Supreme Court ruled “in the field of public education the doctrine of separate but equal had no place” (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954). It was the 1st major educational policy. The Court’s decision in Brown created not just desegregation strategies, but also instructional approaches such as Title I programs, magnet schools, and bilingual and multicultural education (Contreras & Valverde, 1994).

African Americans have been struggling for equality for many decades. It only seems that during the 1960?s is when there were actual significant advances made. This was about the same time that civil rights came into the political scene. Throughout the South, Blacks were still in the majority, but had no political power what so ever. The Civil Rights Movement gave African Americans a voice and a chance to make a difference. The 1960's helped open up hope and expectations for Black Americans.

We all know of the famous trial that happen on May 17, 1954, a trial that ended all segregation in school districts all over the United States of America. With this law being enforce by the 14th amendment, it change the whole nation, colored people were now being allowed to enter into real academic schools, and compete for a better future. Of course I am talking about the Oliver Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, better known as

In the 1954 trial Brown v. Board of Ed the supreme court majority agreed that “separate but equal” was shown to be inherently unequal. When several cases of African American students being denied acceptance into schools arrose, life in public schools changed forever. In a decision that supported by the fourteenth amendment, the U.S. supreme court ruled against the segregation of schools and allowed African Americans to attend white schools.

In 1954 brown vs the board of education decision allowed white and negro students to attend the same

Another win for African Americans was in 1954, with the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, where the Supreme Court called segregation unconstitutional and consequently banned it. This was only the ending of a 16 year struggle for the ruling out of segregation. The abolishment of segregation in public schools did not rely exclusively on this case, but as well as on other cases which contributed to this ban. The case of Brown v. Board of Education was said to have been divided into two cases known as Brown I and Brown II. The Brown I case, was the 1954 abolishment of segregation, in 1955 Brown II, “held local school districts responsible for implementing Brown I and ordered them to desegregate schools ‘with all deliberate speed,’” (Unger). In previous years before the Brown cases, the National Association for the Advancement of Color People (NAACP), were accountable for the pro anti-segregation cases against school boards in

The governor of Arkansas used the National Guard to stop nine black children enrolling at Little Rock high school, even against the wishes of the Supreme Court. When faced with court action, the governor withdrew the National Guard but left the black teenagers exposed to a violent mob, determined to keep all blacks from entering the former white – only school. In 1957, President Eisenhower sent armed paratroopers to protect the small number of black students as they attended school for the next year. It was not just in schools that segregation was present.

Younger generations of kids may not fully understand the liberties and freedoms that they have today, especially within the African American community. The civil rights movement was a long fight that many African Americans endured which started as far back as the twentieth century. Groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), formed in 1909, and the National Urban League, formed in 1911, were key advocates in the movement. The most significant time frame of the movement was between the years of 1953 to 1968. The civil rights movement was in full swing and there were a lot of significant events that made the civil rights movement a success. The Civil rights Act of 1875 was the last federal civil rights act passed until 1957. Led mostly by Dr. Martin

The civil rights movement in the United States was the start of a political and social conflict for African-Americans in the United States to gain their full rights in the country, and to have the same equality as white Americans. The civil rights movement was a challenge to segregation, the laws and ordinances that separated blacks and whites. This movement had the goal to end racial segregation against the black Americans of the United States.

Despite this, Little Rock High School unjustly refused to accept Black pupils. In 1957, when nine Black pupils tried to enter the school they were sent away by a large crowd and state troopers. This was reported to Eisen Howersuit, leader of the Federal Government at the time, he backed the pupils by sending in 11,000 of his troops to escort them in and out of school for a year. This was another positive step towards equality and there was a noticeable increase in integration within schools

Montgomery bus boycott started when Rosa Parks refused to move seats for a white man, which sparked a massive boycott on all bus stations that segregated there buses which was led by young minister name Martin Luther King jr. He talks about this event, when it states “…I want to urge you. You have voted [for this boycott], and you have done it with a great deal of enthusiasm, and I want to express my appreciation to you, on behalf of everybody here. Now let us go out to stick together and stay with this thing until the end…” (King). Which the boycott lasted several months but on November 23, 1956 the Supreme Court ruled the segregation on bus transportation is unconstitutional, after the boycott Martin Luther King jr to the national spotlight

The Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King The Civil Rights movement is still identified by people across the world with Dr Martin Luther King. His day of birth is remarked with a national holiday in the United States and there are many historic sites dedicated to MLK across the nation. His funeral in Atlanta on 9th April 1968 was attended by political leaders from around the world and later in 1977 King was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom which stated that MLK was “the conscience on his generation” who…”saw the power of love could bring down segregation”.

Martin Luther King, Jr., a minister from Alabama, quickly became known for leading the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. After establishing his position of leadership, King went on to become one of the most influential individuals of the Civil Rights Movement by utilizing his religious background to lead nonviolent protests and speak about the dream he had for racial equality in the United States.