The Song Glory, By Music Artists Common And John Legend

In the essay “Let Justice Roll down”, Martin Luther King Jr wrote about the difficulties and social injustices faced by the negro population in America during the 1960’s. The main theme Dr. King was writing about in his yearly essay was the fight for civil justice and equality for all men and women. The essay chosen was written in 1965 and made very good points to the argument for equality made by Martin Luther King Jr. Three of these points included in the following paragraphs are the importance of Selma, AL to the rights movement, the importance of demonstrations, and a stronger focus on the Civil Rights Act.

Although African Americans continued to fight for equal rights into the 1960’s and in some parts of America are still fighting today. This movement was sparked in the 1950’s and stands as the most significant event of that time.

The evening of December 1, 1955, one single woman changed the lives of many people and the way that they would continue to live. Rosa Parks exhibited one woman's courage and strength to stand up for what she believed in. Mrs. Parks's decision to remain seated and go against the "Believed way" sparked the beginning of the American Civil Rights Movement. In this paper I will discuss Rosa Parks's background, her decision against standing up, and how she started the beginning of the American Civil Rights Movement.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, one of the leaders of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP] refused to give up her seat to a white person on a segregated city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, despite being reprimanded by the driver (Schulke 166). Montgomery, Alabama was known for its terrible treatment of blacks. The buses in particular had been a source of tension between the city and black citizens for many years (Schulke, 167). As a result of refusing to give up her seat, Rosa Parks was arrested. Rosa Parks' popularity among the black community, proved to be the spark that ignited the non-violent Civil Rights Movement (Norrell 2).

When challenges are conquered, examples are set. Rosa Parks had no idea what she would begin when she refused to give up her seat on the bus for a white man. She went against the majority in order to do what was right. She was able to overcome these challenges by obtaining support and not backing down. African Americans everywhere began to follow in her footsteps when similar challenges arose. They were no longer afraid to stand up for what they believed in when faced with obstacles.

During the early 1930’s through the mid 1960’s there were many different approaches African American’s took for achieving social changes, and the Civil rights they deserved. Many great African American leader’s such as Martin Luther King Jr, Malcom X, and James Baldwin contributed towards the betterment of blacks living in America. Aside from individual African American leaders there was also groups that fought for black civil rights such as The Black Power Movement, Black Panthers, and Civil Rights Activist. Other events that transpired during this time period had also effected the civil rights movement in America. For instance: The altercation with Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white male ultimately led to The Montgomery Bus boycott protest,

On Thursday evening December 1, 1955, Rosa boards a Montgomery City Bus to go home after a long day working as a seamstress. She walks back to the section for blacks, and takes a seat. The law stated that they could sit there if no White people were standing. Rosa parks never liked segregation rules and has been fighting against them for more than ten years in the NAACP, but until then had never broke any of the unjust rules. As the bus stops at more places, more white people enter the bus, all the seats in the “White Only” section was filled and the bus driver orders Rosa’s row to move to the back of the bus, they all moved, accept Rosa. She was arrested and fined for violating a city regulation. This act of defiance began a movement that ended legal Segregation in America, and made her an inspiration to freedom devoted people everywhere.

A common theme among many scholars is modern poetry lacks poetic merit. The modern version of poetry is more often than not, found as music and more specifically as lyrics opposed to stanzas. “Traditional” poetry is known for its poetic merit; however, modern poetry, music, also has elements that can be found in traditional poetry. Poetic merit usually refers to the use of numerous poetic elements: figurative language, imagery, symbolism, allusions, etc. Though scholars may regard music as lacking in poetic merit, the song “Glory” by John Legend and Common proves otherwise through its use of symbolism, alliteration, and allusions to put forth its emotional lyrics that depict the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement.

During the 1900’s while the slaves were free blacks were still targeted with violence and discrimination even though Congress adopted the Fourteenth Amendment to ensure the safety and protection of black lives in many states. Racial discrimination went nationwide setting off the Civil Rights Movement in 1955. Rosa Parks, a seamstress in Alabama refused to give up a seat to a white male. Rosa whom was considered “The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” was detained under a city law that forced her to give up her

“On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, AL and sparked the American Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century”(history.com). As mentioned in the quote, Rosa Parks’s incident on the bus was the start of all this protesting and rallying. Frustrated with the injustice and cruelty, Black leaders and Black communities began the civil rights movement which required nonviolence. “We had to use our mass meetings to explain nonviolence to a community of people who had never heard of the philosophy and in many instances were not sympathetic with it”(Martin Luther King Jr.). Unfortunately, as MLK Jr. stated, many people were not fully in support of the civil rights movement , but leaders still continued to keep pushing and hold “mass meetings” because they wanted equality that bad. Unfortunately, nonviolence did not really seem to put an end to the segregation and discrimination. Whites still continued to treat Blacks unfairly and unjustly. “There had been resistance by African Americans at the peak of segregation, and seemingly non-political actions in the workplace and in public spaces expanded black autonomy in ways that whites simply did not understand”(gilderrehrman.org). Apparently, Whites did not seem to understand the actions made by

For over a century, the topic of racial equality has been one that has resulted in much discord, and even a war. The African Americans, one of the most persecuted races in America, were forced to work as slaves and were repeatedly separated from the white people because they had a different skin color. After much effort, slavery was outlawed after the Civil War by the Emancipation Proclamation, but segregation still lived on. Blacks continued to be singled out and given unequal rights, such as not being allowed to attend the same school or drink from the same water fountain as a white person. This was soon prohibited, but not completely abolished, after Martin Luther King Jr. led non violent direct action, such as marches and protests, to demonstrate to the government

They struggled for equality and took part in some of the greatest civil rights movements ever known. Although the civil rights revolution came as a surprise, the causes fought for were necessary. According to Foner, “the United States in the 1950s was still a segregated, unequal society with half of the nation’s black families living in poverty.” (902) Many whites paid little attention to segregation because they felt it had no impact on their everyday lives. Segregation impacted blacks, especially in the South, on a daily basis. They had separate restrooms, drinking fountains, schools, entrances to public places, and were unable to enter many public institutions altogether. (902) The arrest of Rosa Parks sparked a year-long bus boycott and marked the beginning of the civil rights movement in the South. (904) With Martin Luther King Jr. leading the movement, the freedom of justice and equality finally seemed within reach. According to the text, “King was a master of appealing to the deep sense of injustice among blacks and to the conscience of white America. He presented the case for black rights in a vocabulary that emerged the black experience with that of the nation.” (906)

Protest against injustice is deeply rooted in the African American experience. The origins of the civil rights movement date much further back than the 1954 Supreme Court ruling on Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka which said, "separate but equal" schools violated the Constitution. From the earliest slave revolts in this country over 400 years ago, African Americans strove to gain full participation in every aspect of political, economic and social life in the United States.

By 1963, racial injustice in America was a central issue. The struggle for equal rights of African Americans has reached its peak in the 1960s. Two famous people for fighting against racism

The most celebrated freedom song is “we shall overcome”. Which was made by tobacco workers, who performed the song for Zilphia Horton of the highlander folk school which had an important biracial training ground for activists interested in labor organizing and progressive democratic reform in the south This song was basically brought up to an unofficial anthem for the movement which was about hybrid nature and improvisational which was not just for the African American musical culture, but also of the movement itself. The song gave a spiritual energy moral and constitutional authority, and a valiant attempt at strategic planning, it was ultimately to be more concerned and aware with dogmatic notions of ideological or tactical correctness than