African American Contributions in the Effort to Gain Equality - Essay Example

African American Contributions in the Effort to Gain Equality Due Imagine you are applying for a job, to buy a home, or enter into an institution of higher education, but you are refused. You have the skills, desire, and the means, and yet, still you were refused. The only reason you are given is the color of your skin. How would you feel? It is unlikely in our modern society that anyone would ever here those bold and unkind reasons told out loud, but that was not always the case. There was a time when that was a perfectly acceptable reason to refuse African Americans from having certain jobs, living in certain areas, and attending certain schools.

This was the time of segregation, blatant discrimination, and, essentially, forced isolation.(Wilson, 2011) African Americans living in those times worked very hard to change the perception of the African American people, to insist upon their right to equality, and earn the respect they deserve as contributing citizens of this country. However, there is hardly enough time in a single essay to mention the names of every African American who participated in the fight for equal rights, but there are a few that will forever stand out.

If it had not been for these people then the world we live in today may be very different. In the early part of the 20th century the treatment of African Americans was one of second class citizens. Slavery had been ended for some time, but racism and discrimination did not come to the same end. Just because the laws had been changed did not mean that the mindset of white Americans, particularly those in the Deep South were any different. Bigotry and violence continued to be visited on African Americans; not to mention that finding work, housing, and education was not always easy.

But despite the levels of potential violence and lack of support among a lot of Americans, those encouraging equality never gave up on the idea that it was possible achieve equality and find an end to segregation and discrimination. The NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was founded in 1909. It was then, and remains, an organization dedicated,” to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.

” ("Naacp," 2013) W.E.B. Dubois was born in 1868 and would become the first prominent African American leader of the NAACP. He was born to a “free black family” in the state of Massachusetts and received a Harvard degree. However, his most marked and significant act in the fight for equality was the creation of “The Crisis,” a literary journal, of which Dubois was editor-in-chief, which focused on issues of greatest concern to African Americans in their communities; however, it also worked as a tool to inform America about the true horrors of racism.

(Johnston, 2011) There were two men in the post WWII America who set amazing precedent when they refused to just accept the quality of the higher education that was being offered. Heman Sweatts applied to the University of Texas Law School. He was denied acceptance solely based on the color of his skin. He responded by suing the state. In the meantime, the university opened a separate law school specifically for African Americans; however, it was rather poor in quality in comparison to its parent program.

However, regardless the court found in favor of the state. That same year, George McLaurin had already received his Masters Degree, then applied and was accepted to the Doctoral program at the University of Oklahoma. However the treatment he received was not very endearing. He was forced to sit alone and isolated while eating, he could only attend the library at certain hours, and the students were not very welcoming. He decided to sue the school. He claimed that the treatment was interfering with his ability to gain his education.

But, just as with Sweatt, the court found in the favor of the school. The NAACP did not think that either of these cases should have been lost. With the help of the NAACP, they took the case to the Supreme Court, both men, ultimately, won their cases. (Johnston, 2011) These men helped to advance the opportunities for African Americans to gain fair and equal education. They very likely paved the way for the later Brown decision of 1954 to be possible. It would be completely inappropriate not to mention the actions of Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her “colored” seat to a white passenger on a public city bus, remains one of the most inspiring stories of Civil Rights Movement.

This action by this one woman who made a stand over something as simple as a bus seat was significant. It proved that anyone, anywhere, can make a stand and have it matter. The actions of Rosa Parks cannot be ignored. She simply made the decision that enough was enough, and she was not accepting that sort of treatment anymore. She was ultimately arrested and charged for her “crime.” All the same it was an inspiring act, one that fueled civil rights fires everywhere, and encouraged the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which called for all African Americans to stop riding the public buses.

It also, brought, a then, unknown Montgomery minister that was appointed as the leader of a new civil rights organization titled, the “Montgomery Improvement Association.” That minister was Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Speaking of Dr. King, there are few people who when asked what they are familiar with about the civil rights struggles, the first name that comes to their mind is Martin Luther King. His work to gain equality was through an approach of non violence, peace, love, and faith; he received a Nobel Peace Prize for his encouragement of nonviolent protest.

(Austin , 2002) He often spoke of what makes us all alike, regardless of race, as opposed to whatever may make us different. Of course, the crowning achievement of Dr. King’s long road in the fought for civil rights was his famed speech, “I Have A Dream,” which to this day remains one of the most inspiring speeches in the history of this country, if not the world. Of course, his good works and efforts came to an end in April of 1968 when as assassin ended the life of the peaceful civil rights leader.

King’s contribution to the movement of equality is immense and, probably, had the greatest affect on changing the perspectives of Americans of the era. In the end, America has come a long way since then as a whole; however, there are many that will say that we still have much farther to come. We no longer live in a time when outright discrimination is unethical, illegal, and not always tolerated. However, all the same, racism still exists.(Rothwell , 2012) It is an ugly thing that is not unlike a disease; it mutates into new forms.

Many battles have been fought and won and many have fallen in the fight for equality, but the war may not be over. There may still be work to be done, but we are moving in the right direction. After all, we live in a time when we witnessed an event, an event that 50 years ago would have been thought impossible, the electing of our first African American President of the United States, Regardless of whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, or how you feel about Barrack Obama’s performance as President, it is still a huge testament to the hard work of those in the past and the proof that the goal of obtaining equality is possible.

It will never be easy and it will never happen quickly, but it is right, just, and entirely a goal worthy of achieving. References Austin , C. J. (2002). On violence and nonviolence: The civil rights movement in Mississippi. Mississippi History Now, 1. Retrieved from http://mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us/articles/62/the-civil-rights-movement-in-mississippi-on-violence-and-nonviolence Johnston, M. (2011). From exclusion to integration: The n.a.a.c.p.'s legal campaign against educational segregation.

Voces Novae: Chapman University Historical Review, 2(2), 1. Retrieved from http://journals.chapman.edu/ojs/index.php/VocesNovae/article/view/200/546 Rothwell , J. (2012). Reports of the end of segregation greatly exaggerated. The New Republic, 1. Retrieved from http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-avenue/100222/reports-the-end-segregation-greatly-exaggerated Wilson, W. J. (2011). Being poor, black, and american: The impact of political, economic, and cultural forces. American Educator, 10-25. Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/spring2011/Wilson.pdf Naacp. (2013).

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