The 1960s were a pivotal time in United States history, especially regarding changes in civils rights. Using peaceful, nonviolent methods blacks used sit-ins and Freedom Rides as ways to force society to decide that segregation was wrong and, therefore, must be terminated. Regardless of the many obstacles that were in their way, they stayed resolute in becoming a major force in the Civil Rights Movement. In Nashville, Tennessee, black students, tired of their treatment wanted to make changes and were drawn to Jim Lawson’s nonviolent workshops. John Lewis, Angela Butler, and Diane Nash led the first of many sit-ins, peacefully taking a spot at the lunch counter and doing homework since they were refused service. Nothing happened that day other …show more content…
Kennedy. After months of waiting, CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality, developed an idea to pressure JFK to follow through on his promises; Freedom Rides. The Freedom Rides were set up to have an interracial group ride buses throughout the South, with each “color” taking the place designated for the other; whites sat in the back and used black waiting areas while blacks sat in the front and used white only areas. This ultimately led to multiple episodes of violence; the involvement of Federal Marshals, under the orders of State Attorney General, Robert Kennedy; Governor Patterson declaring martial law and calling in the State Police and Alabama National Guard; and a deal made between Robert Kennedy and the state of Mississippi that lead to the arrest and 60-day maximum security prison sentence for the Freedom Riders. Robert Kennedy petitioned the ICC, Interstate Commerce Commission, to issue regulations banning segregation in interstate travel, which they finally did in late September 1961. The student movement, though suffering many trials and tribulations were essential in creating changes during the Civil Rights Movement. Without their bravery and steadfast …show more content…
It amazes me, looking at things through eyes decades later, how ridiculous and entitled the views of many Southern whites were at that time. It didn’t matter to this woman the immorality of the behaviors towards blacks, how dare they affect her life with their resistance. Another was the FBI having information regarding the plan of the KKK to attack the freedom riders in Birmingham, and possibly Anniston, yet doing nothing about it. It is horrible enough that a blind eye was being turned from those in power in the South, although not right, these people grew up socialized to have particular views and feelings towards blacks, so it is more understandable (sociologically speaking, not morally) that they would behave that way. However, the FBI, a government agency ignoring information that not only allowed but seemingly validated, through their inaction, is wrong on so many
The major accomplishments of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ‘60s the freedom equal all thing like whites in employment, housing, education, and the end of segregation. Since the Civil War African Americans were still fighting for true freedom in all areas not just from slavery. African Americans put pressure against segregation was so high that even if they got arrested they would continue to do what it takes to ensure their freedom.
Another significant transformation took place in the Civil Rights Movement in terms of its strategies. In analyzing this facet of the movement, we notice a great shift from nonviolent demonstration to forward, forceful action. Specifically, at the start of the Civil Rights Movement, lunch counter sit-ins were evident throughout the nation, as were Freedom Riders. Starting in Greensboro, North Carolina at a luncheonette called Woolworths, young black citizens would seat
The 1960s was known as the era of racial segregation between the blacks and whites, but it was mostly the black who were being treated with less respect and opportunities. At the time, it was the “Jim Crow” lines that was what separated the people apart, since it segregated against black people in almost every public facility in
Following the seemingly successful 1950’s Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott, a protest for segregation where African Americans under the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) refused to ride Alabama buses, ending after 381 days when the Supreme Court ordered Alabama to integrate its bus systems, the state figuratively dragged its heels in changing its transit. In fact, ten years later when the Supreme Court ruled segregated buses unconstitutional nationwide, yet southern states still refused to integrate their buses, despite attending college for a ministerial career and knowing the likelihood that the southerners would violently resist, James L. Farmer Jr. , a Gandhi-influenced activist, saw the opportunity to hold these states accountable. To do so, Farmer, organizing what he came to call “Freedom Rides”, set out to train 12 volunteers along with himself in nonviolent protest to prepare the riders to ride through those stubborn states, in turn desegregating them . While acquiring his degree from Howard University, the college where he decided to co-found and Direct the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Farmer studied Gandhi, this strongly influencing the activist to approach the protest peacefully . Choosing to model the Freedom Rides after a similar bus protest, Farmer followed Bayard Rustin’s “Journey of Reconciliation”; however, unlike Rustin, Farmer emphasized thoroughly training his riders in a three-day workshop that focused on
The American Civil Rights Movement of 1960 broke through barriers and walls for equality. It was a major win for the efforts of many against racial oppression. Allowing individuals of different races to participate in the same schools, equal voting rights, and much more, this movement paved way for several others in succession.
In the history of the United States there have been many social changes that have occurred. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s was one of the most significant and important for the equality of all people. Since the abolition of slavery in 1863, there had been a continuous conflict between the races of people who live in the United States. African Americans have a history of struggles because of racism and prejudices. Ever since the end of the Civil War, they struggled to benefit from their full rights that the Constitution promised. Jim Crow was laws that enforced racial segregation more than a series of rigid anti-black laws it was like a way of life. Jim Crow in America hasn’t ended its merely redesigned and renamed. According to
Four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. They were refused service due to assimilation as African American’s however, through self-determination and courage of there native title, they remained seated at the counter to challenge racial inequality and segregation. This was to show how the right and freedoms of African Americans were neglegted. The idea of non-violence and peaceful protests spread through the South to continuine to highlight the issue of
The civil rights movement was a defining point in U.S. history, this movement redefined race relations in the US, and forcibly united a country that seemed intent on staying "seperate but equal". Government leaders were unprepared to handle the protests, and the African American community was split on whether the protests should be peaceful or aggressive in nature. The civil rights movement officially began in 1954, and this paper will analyze the impact of it's most influential leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X with particular focus on the movement in the 1960s.
Many of the youth activists joined the SNCC, the student non-violent co-ordinating council, which allowed them to more effectively work as a group to accomplish common goals. A great example of this co-ordination was the lunch counter sit-ins. This movement was primarily about desegregating lunch counters in the south and it was also the moment when many say that the student movement really began. On February 1960 four African American students walked into a Woolworths, bought school supplies from one part of the store and then sat down to be served at the white’s only lunch counter. (Cozzens, 1998) They were denied service but refused to leave, sitting patiently and quietly at the counter until closing time. (Independance Hall Association, 2010) By the next day the movement had grown triple fold, with many students joining together to organise more sit-ins. The students were trained to remain respectful and non-violent during these sit-ins while many white customers would verbally and physically assault them. Eventually the police were called to arrest the protestors yet despite this backlash from the white community the sit-ins continued. One protestor stated “no matter what they did and how many they arrested there was still a lunch counter full of students there”. (Erin & Leanna, 2005) After continued protests and rising racial tensions it was
The 1960s was an eventful time period in American History. During this time the Civil Rights movement was happening. Within the Civil Rights there was the Freedom Rides, which was when civil rights activist rode buses into the segregated south to protest bus segregation. Black people were passionate and determined to fix the injustices African-Americans were facing. An issue today that would prompt me to organize such a powerful movement would be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights.
Just imagine what the United States would look like if it were not for the protests of the 60s and today. Many thousands of people march through the streets of the cities in which they live in. Life would be way different if they did not work. There would still be protesting for civil rights and legal voting rights, and most places would be segregated. Civil rights movement had no social or political movement of the twentieth century has had as profound an effect on the legal and political institutions of the United States. This movement sought to restore to African Americans the rights of citizenship guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, which had been eroded by segregationist Jim crow laws in the South. There are even protesting
When we look at earth from beyond the galaxy you can see racism and most of the human race cultural issues on a diminutive scale. To me as it is important and a great step for the human race to overcome racial prejudice, truly we have come a long way from the civil rights moment.
The Civil Rights Movement was a time where African-Americans fought for basic rights that had been denied to them prior before. This fight inspired other groups whom had been discriminated against to fight for their own rights as well. The movement that went back as far as the 19th century, when the Jim crow laws came to surface, had a deep effect on American society. Its peak time however, came throughout the early 1950’s and into the late 1960’s. Some of the highlights of this period were the challenges to social segregation, rights to vote and most importantly, black power. It was known as the largest social movement of the 20th century.
In the year 1963, the Civil Rights movement really took off due to demonstrations by activist groups. These events took places in Southern cities that would later be historical to future generations. One of these cities was Birmingham, Alabama. In 1963, Civil Rights activist started The Birmingham Campaign, which was a series of protests against segregation laws. (PBS) At this time Martin Luther King Jr, one of the greatest and most influential leaders of all time, was involved in Civil Rights movements across the board. He knew about the conditions of living for colored people in Birmingham and went on to call it “the most segregated in the nation.” (Rothman) The mayor at the time, Eugene “Bull” Connor was a police commissioner and segregation
The civil rights movement accomplished much from 1954-1968. Faced with a wall of blatant racism and discrimination activist were still able to fight segregation, get African Americans in the South involved with the voting process, and be a starting point and a model for other social movements later in our country’s history. The most noteworthy parts of this movement are its successes when faced with systemic marginalization and violence.