The Civil Rights Movement was a period of time during which African-Americans in the United States actively pursued civil liberties and equality. There were several protests calling for an end to prejudice and integration at this time. The period known as the Civil Rights Movement was marked by several significant incidents involving discrimination against African-Americans.
Africans were enslaved in the United States, and this practise is often regarded as the country's most egregious act of cruelty. Slavery may have been abolished, but the underlying problems that sustain prejudice remain. The Civil Rights Movements gave rise to many notable figures in politics, including Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson. People's bravery and determination are what ultimately bring about change in a nation.
The civil rights movement was influenced by the legacy of slavery. After the New World was found, African Americans were immediately put to work in factories. An estimated 11 million Africans were carried to North and South America throughout the four centuries of the Atlantic slave trade, as stated by Jacobs. Most of these people were forcibly transported to North and South America.
They were frequently removed from their families and subjected to mental and physical violence. Slaves had little choice in where they lived or who they worked for, thus most were separated from their families. They have little recourse in the event of abuse due of their lack of legal protections. Learning the alphabet was also against the law.
Educated individuals were seen as having a higher possibility of leading a successful uprising, which is why this was the case. Many slaves tried to go to the north, where slavery did not exist, in the hopes of finding a more humane existence. On occasion, anti-slavery activists attempted to aid slaves in their quest to flee America.
An excellent illustration of individuals assisting African-Americans in their flight north is the Underground Railroad. "The Underground Railroad had no track and no locomotives; it was, instead, a system set up by opponents of slavery in the antebellum United States to help slaves escape to free states, Canada, and other locations," writes Brooks. This system was responsible for the liberation of approximately 75,000 slaves.
If citizens did nothing to pressure the government, policymakers would not budge. People took action despite the knowledge that they faced imprisonment or death if they were discovered aiding African Americans in their flight to freedom. Think of all the brilliant brains we lost as a result of the inhumanity of slavery. I'm willing to put all my money on the fact that we'd be a more progressive society if slavery did not exist.
The Civil War in the United States served as the foundation for the eventual emancipation of African-Americans. Tensions between the northern states and the southern states built up over many years, eventually leading to the American Civil War. Hickman claims that eleven southern states seceded and founded the Confederate States of America in the months after the 1860 election.
The Civil War was started because President Lincoln wanted to keep the country together. After two years of fighting, it appeared that the South was on the verge of victory. In 1863, the tide turned at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The South capitulated in April of 1865, giving the North the victory.
The United States had significant societal shifts as a result of this conflict. Slavery in the United States was outlawed with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. The 14th Amendment ensured equal protection under the law for all citizens. In addition, the 15th Amendment eliminated all barriers to voting based on race. Numerous states have devised ways around the 14th and 15th Amendments.
As a result of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865, Vice President Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency. Since President Johnson was partial to the south, he did little to stop states from rejecting the amendments. Congress tried to impeach Johnson since he was such a terrible leader, but they failed. There is an argument to be made that if President Lincoln had not been killed, the country would not have seen as much upheaval and African-Americans may have won civil rights much sooner.
The Jim Crow Laws were one of several factors that contributed to the development of the civil rights movement. Most Southern states established racist laws against African Americans after the Civil War. When Homer Plessey was arrested in Louisiana in 1894 for using a "whites only" train car, the Jim Crow laws were put to the test, as argued by Ring. Despite Plessey's best efforts, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Louisiana court.
William B. Brown ruled that "separate but equal" racially segregated facilities were constitutional. Just one justice, John Harlan, dissented from the majority opinion. Also included were laws that made it illegal to integrate public accommodations like restaurants, theatres, hotels, and movie theatres, as well as transportation options like trains and buses for people of African descent.
In fact, there were statutes that explicitly prohibited African Americans from casting ballots. Most of the time, an African American would be treated differently than a white person if they were to visit these establishments. They were frequently ignored and/or made to feel ashamed. Because of the widespread belief that whites are superior to those of all other races, these people would be denied equal treatment.
African Americans needed to pass a literacy exam and pay a steep poll fee before they could vote, and the test was riddled with informal loopholes and trick questions. I was taken aback when, in my BMCC political science class, our lecturer administered a Jim Crow literacy test to the whole class and we all flunked it.
The Jim Crow states tried everything in their power to deny African Americans the franchise. By the 1890s, Southern governments had begun to systematically deny African Americans the ability to vote, as argued by Johnson. In the states of Alabama, Louisiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina, voters were needed to meet property standards by owning $300 or more in real estate or personal assets before they could register to vote.
Several states required residents to own property before voting, including Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, and Texas. A minimum level of education was the third most typical requirement for casting a ballot. ” African Americans had minimal political representation from the 18th century until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. People will take advantage of situations in which they have no say.
Most whites, especially in the south, did not believe African Americans were entitled to civil rights; if only they could vote, officials would not cater to other groups since it does not help them. White people believed that if they granted civil rights to African Americans, their own values would be undermined because other values would be considered in the shaping of public policy.
Equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Forces was established on July 26, 1948, when President Truman signed Executive Order 9981. It took 17 years, but once Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981, the United States military was finally integrated, as stated by Maxwell. This is reminiscent of the proposed healthcare reform law. Because of the necessity to gradually implement the modification, it was impossible to do so overnight.
There was a chain of events that eventually led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Rosa Parks initiated a significant progressive campaign in the winter of 1955. Rosa Parks, according to McGuire, refused to give up her seat on a municipal bus in Montgomery, Alabama, to a white man.
There was a local ordinance that she broke by not complying with Jim Crow laws. Parks was taken into custody, tried, and sentenced to pay a fine. The Montgomery Bus Company faced widespread criticism once Rosa Parks' arrest became public knowledge.
Many individuals refused to utilise the bus service for a whole year until the corporation reversed its discriminatory stance. There was a call for desegregation in public transit, and it was heard. Black people were required to pay the same fare as white people to take the bus. The only thing they asked for was to be treated decently on the bus. Because they were African-American, they did not want to be asked to give up their seat.
Governments often form panels to study issues of workplace inequality within the country. "The President's commission on equal employment opportunity led by Vice President Johnson evaluated seventeen hungry allegations of discrimination in employment," claims Donald, Presidential Studies Quarterly.
In order to prevent any kind of bias from occurring at work, this committee was set up. Vice President Johnson led the group that analysed the 1,700 complaints. From their investigation, they found that 70% of the claims were valid. Research helped establish a foundation for the issue, but despite this, African-American employment remained low until the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Many court cases, including Brown v. Board of Education, might pave the path for a civil rights statute. Cozzens states, "The Supreme Court knocked down the'separate but equal' concept of Plessey for public education, ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, and forced the integration of schools across America." Because of the precedent set by this case, it is now illegal for public schools to exclude students because of their race. It created an opening for further social transformation in the USA.
After the University of Mississippi discriminated against a student because of his or her race in September 1963, President John F. Kennedy intervened. Williams says that James Meredith, a black man, had shown interest in attending the University of Mississippi, a historically white institution.
Objections from the institution's administration should have been expected. Meredith sued the University of Mississippi with help from the NAACP and ultimately prevailed. When John F. Kennedy was president, he ordered the military to guard James Meredith at his university. As a result of this choice, there were several riots. President Kennedy ordered the deployment of military personnel to safeguard himself, Meredith, and everyone near them because they faced imminent danger.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was established in February 1909, and it is now the largest grassroots group fighting for civil rights. The 1960s were a busy decade for marches to the nation's capital organised by this group. They planned to rally for a new direction by marching. The group actively sought out young people and women for membership. Young people were the key to passing additional civil rights legislation since they represented the future.
In 1964, lawmakers argued passionately over the Civil Rights Act. On the campaign trail in 1960, John F. Kennedy advocated for a civil rights measure. Over 70% of the black vote went to Kennedy, it was found after the election. People thought he would be the most effective civil rights activist because he was youthful and full of vitality. However, Kennedy did not propose the promised legislation during his first two years in office.
In a televised speech on June 11th, 1963, President Kennedy said, "The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of the section of the nation in which he is born, has about one-half as much chance of completing high school as a white baby born in the same place on the same day; one third as much chance of completing college; one third as much chance of completing the military." This speech was pivotal in getting the civil rights bill brought before Congress in 1963.
Black Americans were not given the same opportunities as white Americans and were therefore less likely to succeed economically. African-Americans were denied their right to an education due to segregation in schools. This is one of the factors contributing to the high rate of school abandonment among African Americans. Why bother sending them to school if they will be harassed there?
In addition, they received several death threats, making them reluctant to attend classes. When President Kennedy was killed on November 22, 1963, Congress was still debating his proposed Civil Rights law. Davis writes, "Senator Robert C. Byrd finished an address he began 14 hours and 13 minutes earlier, at 9:51 on the morning of June 10, 1964." The bill that would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964 consumed 57 business days (and six Saturdays) of the Senate's time. Hubert Humphrey, the Democratic Whip and manager of the measure, said the day before that he was certain he had the 60 votes needed to finish discussion.
By delivering such a lengthy speech, Senator Byrd was engaging in what is known as a filibuster, an attempt to prevent the measure from being put to a vote. Senator Byrd and the other opponents of the civil rights measure would have been able to speak for as long as they liked if Humphrey hadn't had the 67 votes to terminate the filibuster. If my wish had come true, the measure would not have been enacted.
It was in July of 1964 that the progressive trend that so many had hoped for finally took place. President Johnson made a broadcast announcement right before he signed the measure into law. He made a public statement on national television, explaining, "The objective of the law is straightforward.
It does not limit anyone's freedom in the United States so long as he does not violate the rights of others. Racial segregation in entertainment venues, eateries, and lodging establishments was declared unlawful by this statute.
Further, it mandated that businesses give equal job opportunities, which improved the prospects of African-Americans in the United States. People thought the law was dead and buried when President Kennedy was assassinated, but President Johnson picked it up and pushed to have it approved. When he was president, he spent a lot of time working on civil rights issues. It bothers me that so many people judge him poorly as president because of the Vietnam War, rather than appreciating the positive social transformations he oversaw.
Only one other civil rights measure was approved during Johnson's presidency, and it was the Civil Rights Act. In 1965, President Johnson successfully lobbied Congress to approve the Voting Rights Act. The then-president Johnson stated that "every American citizen must have the equal right to vote" in a public address.
Nonetheless, the unfortunate reality is that in many parts of the country, Black men and women are denied the right to vote solely on the basis of their race. The President believed that all citizens, regardless of race, should have the right to vote. Politicians in the South were opposed to the measure because the public there did not support granting black Americans the right to vote.
In spite of the fact that many elected officials were against the law, it was ultimately approved by a wide margin of voters. The House approved it 333 to 48, and the Senate did as well, 77 to 19. This law ultimately provided federal authorities the authority to register voters whom individual states had declined to do so.
We don't often see leaders like President Johnson, who anticipated a massive backlash against Democrats in the South but nonetheless rallied the people to support his party, in this position.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is just one of many brilliant leaders that emerged from the civil rights movement. During the eleven years between 1957 and 1968, King "travelled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and in the meantime, he wrote five books as well as countless articles," as stated by the Nobel Peace Foundation in 1964.
Dr. King devoted most of his life to the struggle for equal rights for underrepresented groups. He was adamant that America make a giant leap forward and guarantee black citizens the same protections enjoyed by white citizens. He and a large number of other people were arrested in Alabama during the event.
We shall have to repent in this generation not just for the terrible words and acts of the wicked people but for the dreadful silence of the decent people," he stated in a letter he penned from prison called Letter from Birmingham Jail. The message called for a nonviolent demonstration, and he urged readers to participate.
He hoped for the movement to gain momentum so that it might receive greater attention in the press and on television. Movements that are too tiny to garner widespread interest will be overlooked.
The "I have a dream" speech that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made in August of 1963 was one of his most famous and influential works. After hearing the whole thing, all I can say is that it was a fantastic speech. He begins by discussing President Lincoln's proclamation of freedom for slaves and then goes on to say that African Americans were not truly free even after they had been liberated from slavery.
King says all men were given a check and promised freedom, but the check has bounced for African-American men and women. King and his many followers insisted on immediate independence. They had had enough of being seen as second-rate citizens. They, too, yearned for the opportunity to live freely.
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of several people assassinated in the 1960s. A guest at the Lorraine Motel, James Earl Ray shot and murdered him when he was visiting Memphis. After the news of his death spread, there were widespread disturbances.
There was widespread outrage and sadness after a leader who did nothing but help his people was slain by gunfire. Who knows, maybe Dr. King might have ran for president if he hadn't been assassinated. Among underrepresented communities, he enjoyed widespread acclaim.
Malcolm X was another influential leader who laid the road for social progress. Knight claims that when Malcolm X was incarcerated in the late 1940s for grand theft, it was a watershed moment in his life. He often said, "It's a good thing my period as a wayward and confused teenager put me in jail, because that's where I was introduced to the Nation of Islam.
Malcolm X was raised in an impoverished home and often heard that he would never amount to anything because of his race. His drug use and subsequent theft were directly related. Sometimes doing time in jail is necessary.
Malcolm X changed for the better throughout his time in prison. He was a staunch supporter of civil liberties after his release from prison. "While criticising the dregs of white
white supremacy, challenging the concept of civil rights, and supporting black rights to self-defense. Malcolm X spoke to racially and culturally diverse audiences in public venues and was included in innumerable interviews and discussions that were broadcast on television and published in newspapers and magazines. ” Malcolm X's statements, while sometimes a bit extreme, yet inspired people to seek change. In doing so, he encouraged others to challenge oppression.
In 1968, John F. Kennedy's brother Robert Kennedy made a bid for the presidency. A supporter of civil rights, he also spoke up for them. When asked about the possibility of a black president in 40 years, he famously predicted it before his death. When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, his prediction came true.
John McCain, the Republican Party's nominee, won the once Confederate states of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Tennessee. However, Obama won the formerly Confederate states of Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia.
He's losing support in the polls, and many people think it's because of his race. This is seen by many as a contributing factor to the Democratic Party's dismal performance in the recent midterm elections. Evidently, racism persists in the United States today. Although we still have a ways to go, progress has been made.
One of the various types of racism that persist in the modern world is discrimination against African-Americans in the workplace. Reporting on a research published on Thursday by an economic think group, Haynes writes, "Unemployment among African Americans is forecast to reach a 25-year high this year, with the national rate skyrocketing to 17.2 percent and the rates in five states reaching 20 percent." Since this is such a large figure, I conclude that prejudice is still more common than most people realise.
While the economy was thriving, Haynes claims that minorities still lagged behind whites in terms of employment. However, African Americans and Latinos have experienced considerably more rapid increases in their respective unemployment rates than whites had during the crisis. The issue persisted even when the economy was thriving.
Many people worked in the 1990s, but minorities were frequently kept in the dark about these opportunities, reducing their chances of succeeding.
Evidently, human civilization has advanced much. It's shocking to learn that slavery was legal in the United States. While the United States was established on the principle of individual liberty, it wasn't until the 1960s that African-Americans were granted such liberty. It is possible that the government will reverse damaging policies if enough individuals resist their implementation.
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