The US History: Winning Liberty - Essay Example

Winning Liberty "You know better than to sit here along with the white folk." That was usually what any African American had to hear if they sat next to the Caucasians in the United States of America, the so-called land of freedom and opportunity. Throughout history there have been incidences of a race of less advances to be dominated by a self sufficient people who believe themselves to be more advanced simply because their way of living is different from the other race's. However the most recent and horrifying example has been the segregation of African Americans in the US from the early slavery days until even sometimes today. However no one can stand oppression forever and once and for all stands up for their rights. So did the African Americans through the civil rights movement during the late 1800s until the late 1900s. They used good tactics such as quiet strength and no violence, but some of them didn't basically work because the general people were not ready to accept equality. They were also lucky to have such brave and courageous leaders as Fredrick Douglas, Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman. Another prominent name is of Martin Luther King Jr. He accomplished a lot but by the one the one thing that really made a difference was his arrest in 1960 due to the sit-in. Few of the techniques used to overcome racism were quiet strength, meaning their silence would have to bring in results not shouting, yelling or arguing. There are many examples of this through out history. There was Rosa Parks who sat in the front of the bus as a silent protest against the segregated seating system. She did not use any violence, did not shout only sat in the front section of the bus. Another general move from the African American community was that they started to migrate to the Northern areas from the South. The general notion was that, "They did not expect that women would be vulnerable to rape and exploitation simply because they were black and defenseless. In the Northern cities they did not expect to have to teach their children to move out of the path when white people were approaching"(Harding, Kelley, and Lewis 446). Most people expected to be treated more fairly in the Northern states. This movement to the North was another expression of their no violence tactic. "Throughout the South, white supremacists were desperate to preserve an old world that was coming to an end. ..Many also conspired to use illegal means, from economic coercion to acts of terrorism, to keep their black fellow Southerners "in their place""(Harding, Kelley, and Lewis 452). Since the people in the Southern states were not ready to give up domination over the African Americans, therefore the healthier approach was to progress to a different region where this was not the common vision. However every effort to prevent racism was not successful. Some did not even make a difference at the time. But mostly this was the game of time. As the 1900s began to come around the acceptance of African Americans as human beings with feelings and a mind of their own came around. Previously they were just assets owned by plantation owners. In the beginning it had been impossible to get any rights at all. Many lives were lost. Finally, during 1880 -1900 eighty percent of Africa Americans now owned land, a symbol of freedom. "White Southerners did not want black laborers to leave, because their low-paid work made white economic gains possible"(Harding, Kelley, and Lewis 282) Even migrating to the Northern states was no easy tasks. Obviously the white farmer would lose control and means of economic prosperity. White farmers were not ready to give up control. "Through Giglio, Johnson met with black TCI workers in Ensley, an industrial suburb of Birmingham, and subsequently recruited the first Communist Party unit at a street-corner meeting in a black section of town. The Party even opened an office downtown (21171/2 Second Ave. North), though its presence was brief. A few weeks later, on March 23, 1930, the TUUL held its first mass meeting. Some two hundred participants, about three-quarters of who were black, piled into the Joy Boys Dance Hall in downtown Birmingham to hear speeches by Giglio, Tom Johnson, and Walter Lewis, a newly recruited black steel worker from Montgomery. The meeting went without incident, but within days Giglio's home was firebombed"(Kelley 14 and 15). This was just a little proof of how unwilling the white people were to give equality to their fellow blacks. During the mid-1900s civil rights for blacks became a proper progression and many parties and movements were formed. "Louis Burnham's hope that SNYC would lead a militant Southern civil rights movement seemed well on its way to becoming a reality by the time the Sixth All-Southern Negro Youth Conference met in Atlanta in December 1944. The seven-year-old movement had attracted several prominent civil rights activists of the past and future, including Charles Gomillion, F. D. Patterson, Percy Sutton, Martin Luther King, Sr., Benjamin Mays, Ralph Abernathy, Modjeska Simkins, and Nannie Burroughs, to name but a few"(Kelley 222). One of the most prominent of figures would be of the son of Martin Luther King Sr., Martin Luther King Jr. King Jr. was inspired by Gandhi and had followed to preach to everyone the concept of a non-violence movement. He wanted to bring about the full rights of citizenship to every black without causing any riots. Due to which he was also arrested when he displayed a quiet sit-in in Atlanta. However he did not give up his ideology. This arrest was an inspiration to many and numerous youths joined the movements. He wrote a moving letter from the jail, called King's letter from Birmingham Jail. It would be known as one of the most classic statement of freedom, however it did not reach everyone until at least a month after it being authored. However black leaders were a bit reluctant at first to let their youths be involved. May 2, 1963 was the day when demonstrations would be held allowing high school students to participate. Even though this was no easy task. "That morning Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, the usual meeting place, was filled with hundreds of children. Before the day was over, more than six hundred of the children discovered that the way to freedom led directly Birmingham's jail"(Harding, Kelley, and Lewis 508). It was a hard time for every African American but this showed the white opponents that even the young one were serious about gaining their full independence. The land of freedom and opportunity was no longer a dream for the African American, it was well on its way to becoming a reality. They were African Americans, no longer just slaves but people on their way to becoming the citizens of America. Countless lives were lost, scores of homes were burned and innumerable families were separated. However in the end their efforts did not go unheard of. Despite all the movements and the hard work still today sometimes the African American citizen is treated with prejudice, but now at least the other races are accepting their faults and a re willing to work with everyone to evolve into a better nation. Works Cited Harding, Vincent, Robin D. G. Kelley, and Lewis. "Chapter 9 1945-1970." To Make Our World Anew: A History of African Americans. Ed. Robin D. G. Kelley and Lewis. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. 445-542. Questia. 17 Mar. 2008 . Kelley, Robin D. G. Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists during the Great Depression. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1990. Questia. 17 Mar. 2008 . Read More