American Civil Rights Movements - Essay Example

American civil rights movements Introduction The Civil Rights Movements in the United s took place for a period during 1950s to 1960s. During this period, several reform movements took place with the aim of stopping racial discrimination and more so racism against African Americans. It is apparent that civil rights are viewed by Americans as those rights written in their constitution. Basically, this is viewed as the base for recognition of human rights in an official manner. Analytically, these rights did not just come easily. The subsequent section articulates on the developments of the civil rights movements (Chrisman et al 2011) Importance of these rights The rights movement in United States was very important to the nation itself and the whole world in general. It was able to institute that any form of discrimination was unjust and cannot be put up with, in any place within the country. This also set out a clear example to the oppressed groups around the county and other nations. The black people needed to have the same opportunities in education and working places. They also needed to have equal rights to vote and choose the leaders of their own like (Jarrett 2011). For a long time, it has been not easy for them to get a possibility to move away from the ghetto and be able to get decent jobs. Many of the schools were also segregated, and this made it difficult for the blacks to get good and better education. Moreover, the police forces mostly treated the blacks with contempt and violent behaviour. African Americans and other races that were being oppressed refused this form of rule and decided to defend themselves against it. They sought chances through lawsuits, political redress and other organisations that would fight and stand for their rights. The Reasons why the American civil rights Movements were Formed American civil rights movements were protests that were brought out by a group of many people who were against racial inequity in the United States of America. These movements were taken to be organised activities, which worked with an objective to achieve a better end in terms of the relations within the society. These movements took place during a period when the African American rights in the United States of America were being undermined by the whites. The African Americans decided to rally for the legal, political and cultural changes that do prohibits the discrimination of any race (Feinstein 2012). Different groups of citizens have been fighting for the fundamental rights in the American constitution. Because of their skin colour, the black people were not able to receive the same rights and privileges as the whites did. The social unrest that led to the civil rights movements was brought about by these injustices. Over the years in the American history, some courageous African American individuals decided to stand up and lead thousands of the oppressed people against the discrimination they were facing. Rosa Parks After she left the Maxwell Air Force Base, Rosa Parks worked for a couple named Clifford and Virginia Durr. After getting along with them, the couple sponsored her studies at Highlander Folk School in 1955. In essence, the school was a center designed to educate the black community about racial equality and the rights of the workers. Rosa’s quench for fight against racial discrimination was triggered by the murder of Emmett Till, a 14 year old black male, who was murdered by white men who suspected that he had flirted with a white woman (Eagles et al 1986). In addition, after Rosa took a job at the Montgomery Fair Department store, she witnessed a series of racial discrimination especially in buses, which she used to travel in to and from work. At that time, Blacks were not allowed to sit at the front row seats. These were reserved for whites. To make the situation worse, if the whites bonded the bus and found that the bus was full, and the blacks were discriminated. With such deliberations, Rosa and other activists in the black community complained of the continued violation of civil rights. In fact, it is noted that the heightened incidence was when Rosa boarded a bus from work (Feinstein 2012). After a while, the bus was full, though some three whites were standing at the bus stop. The driver ordered four blanks to relinquish their seats to the whites. Three black men seated next to Rosa moved, but Rosa remained seated. The driver called the police, who subsequently arrested her. This was when in the city of Montgomery; Alabama had enacted a city decree that gave drivers the power to segregate their passengers by race (Chrisman et al 2011). Even though, Rosa had not violated a section of the code that entailed the segregation law, the police charged her for violating that code. In fact, Rosa is cited to have argued that she was not ready to continue being mistreated. She further argued that, the more she continued keeping quiet, the more she complied with that kind of treatment. In light with this, it is apparent that Rosa was determined to fight for her rights (Chrisman et al 2011). Martin Luther king Jr. Martin Luther King has been presented as one of the leading individuals in the fight against the isolation and prejudice of the African race in the United States of America. He was able to lead thousands and millions of people in a peaceful protest. King was influenced by other people like Howard Thorman and Gandhi of India. He came to believe that the method of peaceful struggle is better and a ready way of fighting for fairness and dignity of the oppressed groups and individuals (Mazloomi 2010). Martin was made president of a boycott in 1955 after Rosa Parks was arrested for the reason of not offering her sit to a white person on the public bus. This reason made many of the black people angry. After this incident, several white terrorists started to bomb his home with intentions to scare him to abandon the fight against the American civil rights, but he did not. His organisation was able to make more and more demonstrations in the streets and different regions in the country (Riches and Terence 1997). Whites tried to break up the boycott, but they were unable. The city began to suffer immensely from this movement financially, and the case was brought to the court. The court finally ordered full integration, and by the end of that year, the blacks decided to end the boycott. The boycott had marked the first vital fight for the rights of the African American. Later on, The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was formed that saw the struggle for the rights of the Africans American through the later periods. For instance, Linda Brown was a young girl that used to study in Monroe elementary school which was located five miles away from her home. This school was for the African Americans. But, when her father Reverent Oliver tried to enroll Linda into a closer newer school, the principle denied her a chance because of the skin color (Harvey 2011). In addition, Martin did not endorse any of the candidates that were vying for any of the political seat. This made him to stay in a position of non-alignment, where he gets to look at both parties: The Republican and The Democrats, without any form of leaning more toward one side. Later on in 1963, Luther King decided to organise a very huge protest march that took place in Washington D.C, where thousands of the Americans from both races attended. He gave his famous speech of “I have a dream”. This protest march was of much victory because the government passed a law that gave the black people the same rights as the white individuals (Mazloomi 2010). The civil rights protests were carried on for some years. These determination and pressing on after the Birmingham protest made the congress to pass the American civil rights act that made racial segregation to be banned. Also, the voting rights act was passed, and every citizen was allowed to vote and select the leaders of their choice. Malcom X Malcom was an African American Muslim leader and an activist of the human rights. He was strong and courageous to stand for the rights of the blacks. He mostly exemplified the “black power” way of life. He believed in the setting up of separate community of the black, and the making use of brutality in the self protection. His ways, which were vigorous and rigid, terrified the whites (Riches and Terence 1997). In July of 1959, a documentary was aired on the national television of Malcom X’s self-motivated speech that was able to reach thousands of people. He became a national figure and was able to get interviews from different places, because of his refusal to accept non-violent strategies. Many of the whites were unsettled because of his views. He joined and fought to keep NOI: Nation of Islam up and running. Due to his cleverness and expressed speech, he at times explicitly reprimanded the whites for being murderers and hypocrites and most of the time scoffed at King for sticking on to non-violence strategy. The importance of Malcon X’s movement was seen, when thousands of the blacks applauded him of his strategy to fight for the rights of the Africans (Morrison 2003). His message was able to live for several years and the riots were experienced throughout America. Many of the civil workers had disclaimed Martins’ way of integration and instead they were calling for black power. This was due to the continuous oppression of the blacks. They were denied trading and industrial opportunities. Furthermore, there were mass racial brutalities in opposition to the blacks. Later on there was no rise of black power-type leaders who came after the civil rights movement was able to win the legal gains. This was until the first black American president. President Obama President Obama has tuned out to be the first African American leader of the American country. Barrack Obama has pushed hard to create a better and fair criminal justice system. On the august of 2010, he signed the Fair sentencing Act, which saw the reduction on the amount of drugs like the cocaine in powder form and the crack cocaine, which were required to trigger certain penalties in the administrative system. This lowered the sentencing of the criminals in the society. For very many years, this part of the regulation had unfair treatment on the racial minorities (Jarrett 2011). The president has also set up council that has resulted in the improvement of employment and job retention means. He also condemned racism at the time when the police arrested Professor Gates based on his colour, and he urged other leaders not to respond with mass actions but to push a legislative response, which is much more non-violent and of understanding. Conclusion During the end of 19th century, the whites in United States of America had enforced a system of white supremacy, where there was separation of different races in public places, which included: schools, hospitals and transport sections. The rights of voting of the blacks were taken away, and intermarriage was also banned. African Americans have been fighting to gain their rights. Some well-known ministers and civil rights activists came up to lead the people and fight for these rights. The civil rights protests were carried on for some years. The determination and pressing on after the Birmingham protest, made the congress to pass the American civil rights act that made racial segregation to be banned. Also, the voting rights act was passed, and every citizen was allowed to vote and select the leaders of their choice. These civil rights movements have made important advances throughout these individuals. They changed the society by making a great difference in people’s attitude and the law. Bibliography: Chrisman, R. et al., 2011. The Obama phenomenon: toward a multiracial democracy. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Eagles, C. et al., 1986. The Civil rights movement in America: essays. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. Feinstein, S., 2012. Inspiring African-American civil rights leaders. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Harvey, P., 2011. Through the storm, through the night: a history of African American Christianity Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers. Jarrett, G., 2011. Representing the race: a new political history of African American literature. New York: New York University Press. Mazloomi, C., 2010. Journey of hope: quilts inspired by President Barack Obama. Minneapolis: MBI Pub. Co. Morrison, M., 2003. African Americans and political participation: a reference handbook. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. Riches, M. and Terence, W., 1997. The civil rights movement: struggle and résistance. New York: St. Martins Press. Read More