Prominent Groups and Individuals in African American Civil Rights Movement - Essay Example

Prominent Groups and Individuals in African American Civil Rights Movement The Civil Rights Movement in the United s that peaked in the mid-1950s until the 1960s was focused on the struggle for racial equality. Prior to this, a large part of the country, particularly in the southern states, were still governed by what are known as Jim Crow laws. These laws are basically segregationist, depriving the African Americans with equal treatment in many areas of society. As the movement advanced, there were groups and individuals who became prominent. Many of these virtually became part of the core of the movement, rallying not only the Africa Americans, but also gaining the respect of the white majority in the country. The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured Peoples was not organized only in the eve of the Civil Rights movement. It was actually instrumental in the gradual growth of the African American political consciousness since its establishment in February 12, 1909 in New York. Apparently, it is one of the oldest civil rights organisations in the country. It was also one of the most influential. The aim of the NAACP was “to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination” (Watts 2010: 200). It is clear that the organisation was and is not just focused on the African American people. However, in the 1950s and 1960s, its objective was to arouse national consciousness about the inequalities suffered by the African Americans. In order to achieve this, the NAACP was involved in lobbying activities. Its leaders seized every opportunity to speak in public about the issues confronting black Americans. It also did publication work, utilizing the avenues provided by the mainstream media while publishing their own. The NAACP distinguished itself from other groups in the Civil Rights movement for its tendency to use the courts to question the legality of practices that were considered as racist or discriminatory. While the NAACP was more focused then making the public aware of the issue of racial equality and litigation, the Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was one of the first groups that took an active role in consolidating the ranks of civil rights advocates among the ranks of the students. CORE was founded in 1942 by students based in Chicago. The group was greatly influenced by the principles laid out by Mahatma Gandhi and Henry David Thoreau. Its aim was to secure equality for all people throughout the globe (deGregory 2009). At first, CORE was interracial and it does not have a formal organisational structure. However, as it tried to realise its aims, it expanded to the south, where African Americans were suffering the brunt of racial discrimination. Its working-class black membership swelled and soon CORE’s immediate objective was geared towards the end of the Jim Crow laws and racial segregation and discrimination of the African Americans in general. CORE became a trailblazer in employing militant but non-violent actions to further its cause. It was one of the first groups in the Civil Rights movement to apply coercive non-violent tactics. Among its most prominent actions are the Journey of Reconciliation in 1946 and Freedom Ride in 1961. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference became widely known, especially because it was able to produce leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. It was founded in 1957 by a group of mostly African American church ministers. The SCLC “mirrored a basic fact about the leadership in the Southern black movement of the 1950s and 1960s: ministers wielded influence out of all proportion to their numbers” (Fairclough 2001: 13). The SCLC’s aim was also to eradicate social ills, including racial discrimination which at that time was in the form of Jim Crow laws and racial segregation. The organisation’s immediate objective then was to mobilize the churches for Civil Rights movement. Its methods were mainly in the forms of boycotts and other similar non-violent actions that other organisations deemed as bordering on being passive. CORE and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee often criticised the SCLC for its lack of militancy. The Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee or SNCC was considered as the more militant organisations in the early 1960s. It was founded in April 1960 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ella Baker, executive director of SCLC, was instrumental in its formation. Baker, however, saw to it that the SCLC would not control the SNCC as she saw “the need of student activists to remain independent of adult control… (and) resisted efforts to subvert their autonomy” (Carson 1995: 19). SNCC’s aim was to achieve political and economic equality for African Americans through the mobilisation of action groups. While it shared the same objectives with other Civil Rights groups in its time, it soon became more militant as shown in its methods. Soon it split into two factions; one wanted to continue its adherence to non-violence while the other had started to espouse the violent and revolutionary struggles. Aside from prominent organisations mentioned above, there were also individuals who became very well-known during the peak of the Civil Rights movement; some of them have actually become icons in the struggle. Just like the groups, they shared the same aims but they ultimately differed in terms of objectives and methods. Of those who belonged to the militant wing of the movement, Malcolm Little, who soon became more famous with the name Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael were the most prominent. Malcolm X was labelled as the most influential radical African American leader at the time. Groups that believed in the establishment of a separate black American nation gravitated to him. It was said that “Malcolm X’s ultimate goal was the liberation of black Americans from what he believed was a brutally oppressive, white-dominated power structure” (Rummel & Wagner 2005: 2). Stokely Carmichael, on the other hand, was the leader of the SNCC that led the group towards radicalisation and revolutionary militancy. He was the first to use the term Black Power, the slogan that would embed his name in the pages of history (Joseph 2006: 2). Ever since he coined the phrase, the militant and radical wing of the Civil Rights movement was soon known as the Black Power Movement. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the most famous individual that was produced by the Civil War movement. A church minister, he was an eloquent speaker and was very effective in convincing the white majority that the Blacks are not interested in taking over the country but only for their civil rights. In terms of standing up for the cause, King was not different from the other leaders including those in the militant wing. What distinguished him from the others though was his strict adherence to non-violence. It was observed that those who joined him in the protest actions strengthened their resolve that “no matter how badly provoked, no matter how brutal their enemies, they had never turned to violence, because with every ounce of his being Martin Luther King believed in nonviolence” (Jakoubek & Wagner 2005: 2). The Civil Rights movement also saw a number of individuals who actually offered their lives for the struggle. One particular example of this is Medgar Evers. Evers was a member of the NAACP and was already a prominent activist even at the onset of the movement. He rose into prominence when he was active in promoting the right to vote for African Americans in 1955, which was what the NAACP was campaigning then (Brown 1994: 95). While new leaders rose became popular from new formations, Evers was the NAACP’s pride. However, in June 12, 1963, Evers was assassinated by a member of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan. It is clear that the groups that were formed in the height of the Civil War movement and the individuals behind these may not have shared the same principles when it came to methods. Nevertheless, because they have a common goal, they were still able to unite and achieved victory. List of References Brown, J. (1994) Medgar Evers. Los Angeles, CA: Melrose Square Pub. Co. Carson, C. (1995) In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awaking of the 1960s. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press deGregory, C. (2009) ed. by Smith, J.C. and Wynn, L.T. Freedom Facts and Firsts: 400 Years of the African American Civil Rights Experience. Canton, MI: Visible Ink Press Fairclough, A. (2001) To Redeem the Soul of America: The Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King, Jr. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press Jakoubek, R. and Wagner, H. (2005) Martin Luther King, Jr.: Civil Rights Leader. Philadelphia, MA: Chelsea House Publishers Joseph, P. (2006) The Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil Rights-Black Power Era. New York, NY: Routledge Rummel, J. and Wagner, H. (2005) Malcolm X: Militant Black Leader. Philadelphia, MA: Chelsea House Publishers Watts, D. (2010) Dictionary of American Government and Politics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Read More