White Resistance to the Civil Rights Movement Essay

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - - Martin Luther King, Jr.

African American people have come a long way from the illiterate slaves, who were once picking cotton in fields, to powerful political leaders. A prime example would be President Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States of America. But first we must ask ourselves, how did this occur? Who lead African Americans to better living standards? Civil rights leaders, such as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks, just to name a few. However, among these great names in history, there is one that stands out, and that man is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King gave hope to those in need with his awe inspiring sermons he performed at the church his grandfather founded. He changed foes to

Chapter 21 Question 2: What key issues and events led the federal government to intervene in the civil rights movement? What were the major pieces of legislation enacted, and how did they dismantle legalized segregation?

Before a White person can even consider joining the fight for the liberation of Black people or any other racial or ethnic minority, that individual must acknowledge that because our society is rooted in White Supremacy and the belief that people of color are inferior, being White is a distinct and tangible advantage.

The 50s, 60s and 70s were a tumultuous time in American society. Roles were constantly being redefined. Events like the war created upheaval in the lives of many individuals and everyone was scrambling to find his or her place in society. The same was profoundly true for blacks in America. No societal movement had a more profound effect on the lives of Black Americans than did the Civil Rights Movement. The status of Black Americans would be redefined to a revolutionary degree. Civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X would bring the cause to the national stage. Although the movement was plagued with violence and death, it was eventually successful. The South was radically changed from a society of

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution form what is known as the Bill of Rights. In essence it is a summary of the basic rights held by all U.S. citizens. However, Negro citizens during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950-70’s felt this document and its mandate that guaranteed the civil rights and civil liberties of all people; were interpreted differently for people of color. The freedoms outlined in the Constitution were not enforced the same by the government of the United States for the black race as it did for the white race.

The latter part of the Civil Rights Movement was characterized by action and change as it was no longer centralized in the South or only fought for by black individuals. Rather, northerners were active in achieving black equality and the white community was campaigning for integration. Although many lost their lives in this struggle, their valiancy did not go unrewarded and soon enough African Americans were able to vote, work, study, and simply eat lunch beside white individuals.

The Civil Rights Movement was an unforgettable era in American History because it has influenced so much of this countries laws and norms, making what was at a time acceptable in this country extremely unacceptable and unpracticed. This inevitable struggle for freedom, natural human rights, and acceptance was a violent and non-violent volatile reaction to a broken and unjust system. Many leaders and citizens fought for the freedom and justice of the minorities in the United states of America during the Civil Rights movement, by using unique approached, strong strategies, and intelligence to earn this respect and freedom. Civil Rights leaders like the well-known Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many other influential people bravely led the Civil Rights Movement and creating a new America where “the system of Jim Crow segregation and racism was reformed and eliminated”1 Additionally, the cause of the Civil Rights Movement, the various forms of protest, and the aftermath of the movement will be discussed throughout this essay, and the reader will be able to gain a stronger understanding of the Civil Rights Movement as a whole.

"We 're not Americans, we 're Africans who happen to be in America. We were kidnapped and brought here against our will from Africa. We didn 't land on Plymouth Rock - that rock landed on us" (Malcolm X). This quotation symbolizes the sentiments of many African Americans past and present who were involuntarily brought to the shores of the United States of America. Since arriving here, African Americans have been mistreated, misinformed, misguided, misplaced, and misunderstood more than any other ethnic group that has set foot on these soils. In this paper, I will attempt to provide a brief history and describe the timeline of African Americans from the Civil Rights Era until the present day.

On January 31, 1865, Congress passed the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery in the United States. This guaranteed everyone’s freedom against slavery and involuntary servitude. However, this did not free people from racial discrimination and equal rights. A perfect example of racial brutality was the summer of 1955 when Emmett Till was brutally murdered by two white men. This murder case promptly seized the attention of millions and modified the history of the United States. The Emmett Till murder case established itself as a defining event in the United States history because it became a spark to the Civil Rights movement, transformed people’s hearts and minds into realizing how dangerous segregation was, and it proved how African Americans did not receive justice during that time period. Emmett Till’s barbaric homicide was evidence used to represent racial discrimination and segregation.

However, Soundtrack For A Revolution only shows half of what the Civil Rights Movement is about. This documentary fails to show the Armed resistance aspect of the African American Freedom struggle. As the documentary shows the nonviolent part of the Civil Rights Movement it leaves out how important the role of armed resistance was in the African American freedom struggle. It unsuccessfully shows how armed resistance made the Civil Rights Movement possible and protected many civil rights leaders such a Martin Luther King. Soundtrack For A Revolution does not demonstrate how gun owners protected institutions of the movement like churches and freedom house nor does it explain how nonviolent protesters would’ve been driven out of town without armed resistance. Armed resistance was a vital part of the Civil Rights Movement and the failure to include it in the documentary does not accurately represent the African American freedom struggle.

The Civil Rights Movement lead nonviolently by Martin Luther King in the 1960s is an important era to examine when analyzing the extent to which the ideology of Carl Schmitt remains relevant to domestic conflict outside of the interwar period. Schmitt’s theory assists in understanding the racial segregation in the United States as political. However, while King identified similar critiques of liberalism as Schmitt, he believed that nonviolent direct action was an effective, politically engaged method which sought to obtain equal civil rights for African Americans as opposed to usurping power from the state. While not inherently political, Schmitt argues that societal realms such as economic, religious, cultural, and for the purpose of

The black freedom struggle has not yet come to an end – there are still prejudiced and racist radicals that try to negotiate white supremacy and dominance in order to prevent the blacks from their long wait for equality. Consequently, the movement has progressed very sluggishly in the past few centuries. Nevertheless, the campaign for equal rights has led to the triumph over slavery and has led to the accrual of suffrage rights. However, this is still not enough, not after centuries of enslavement, lynching, segregation, and discrimination. Oftentimes, there is still no justice in court houses, especially when black people are accused and convicted, even for the simplest of crimes – as compared to the white and powerful who are charged for heinous misconducts and get away scratch free. Hence, throughout the period of the Blacks’ long fight for freedom and equality, several Black intellectuals have come front with ideas that could administer better treatment for their people. A good strategy to encourage the black populace to fight for their freedom and their rights is by inverting popular ideas so that there is a clear distinction between the reasonable and unreasonable notions of equality and justice. Thus, it was not uncommon for these literati to undermine dominant discourses in order to bolster their own analyses. Among the discussed black intellectuals who inverted prevailing dissertations, three that stood out the most are Frederick Douglass, Anna Julia Cooper, and

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,

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”.