Emergence of the Modern Civil Rights Movement 1950s - Report Example

Emergence of the modern civil rights movement 1950s Several groups have tried to fight for their rights as provided for by the constitution, for example, the civil rights movement was a campaign that involved the black Americans. These African Americans did not have chances of having equal rights with the white Americans. This is because of their color. This discrimination happened for a long time. Social unrest was the main impact caused by the injustice done to the African Americans. In the early 1950s, the blacks joined hands to fight for their rights. They fought against the social systems and the public authorities that had denied them the rights they deserved. Some of the white people had to support this movement (Levy 45). Slavery had to stop and citizenship given to the African Americans. This happened after the civil war when the African Americans had the right to vote. However, despite the fact that the rights were offered to these black people, these new imposed rules were often ignored. More black people were discriminated. This was evident when some southern cities introduced rules and laws that publicly separated the blacks from the whites. Mostly, the black people were referred to as second-class citizens. When the movement started, a black woman who lived in Alabama refused to give her seat to a white man in a bus. This woman, Rosa Parks, was then arrested for this protest. This then made the blacks boycott the bus system. The boycott started when the blacks refused to seat at the back of the bus. To support and strengthen the movement, they chose Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to be the leader of their protest (DeLuzio 321). The boycott acted as an empowerment to the African Americans. The black citizens in other cities were encouraged to protest for their civil rights. The chosen young minister, Dr. King, acted as a good spokesperson for the protest group, and it helped them a lot in the protest. The spokesperson spoke in radio and television programs, and he urged most of the blacks to be involved in the protests. The protest was called “freedom rides and sit-ins.” On several occasions, the spokesperson and some other thousands of people were arrested for their protests but it did not kill their morale. The Second World War acted as a turning point for the black people. The experience they got from the war helped them to upkeep the civil rights movement in the early 1950s. This was the main roots of the movement. This was the time when jobs were on the increase since blacks were denied job opportunities. The black migration to the northern parts had to hit the unprecedented scale. Most of the blacks before the First World War were reported to be living in the south. About 90 percent of the blacks were in the records. Additionally, about 77 percent of blacks were living in the former slave states and only 27 percent were living in these states (McGuire 250). When it came to the year 1946, the manufacturing industry employed more blacks that increased to about 135 percent as compared to 1940. Additionally, the blacks also joined the industrial unions under the influence of the congress of industrial organizations. Tens of thousands of black people were employed in the industrial union while one hundred thousand black people joined the aircraft industry. The aircraft industry was organized and managed by the United Auto Workers. On the other hand, five thousand blacks entered the National Maritime Union. There was a total of 75,000 black voters in Texas and a total of 100,000 black registered voters in Georgia by the year 1946. This was before the sit-ins and the non-violent demonstrations started to occur. This calm situation lasted for almost ten years with no mass movements, overt and street demonstrations which challenged racism. With arguments flying over, the prominent and strong leader of the black people and the trade unionist, A. Philip Randolph, supported the anti-communist purge of the unions. However, it seemed that it was the main reason for the decline in the AFL-CIO’s commitment to fight against the racial segregation (Levy 75). The Negroes’ reactions had to reveal a distinct boundary in the American Negro opinion. Most of the successful business and the professional men either remained silent, or they were antagonistic. Reasons for this still remained unclear, but most of the black people believed that the government had the chance to own the actual proof of the subversive activities on their part. This made the black people wait for the disclosure. The black people had to learn and imitate the American behaviour to enable them to fit in the society. They decided to propose that they will make money and use it as they are pleased. They owned beautiful homes, large and very expensive cars and coats with furs. The black people generated hate against communism and socialism much than the white American (McGuire 204). There are several factors that delayed the existence of the civil rights movement. The first factor is the lynching of Emmett Till. Despite the existence of these factors, the movement had no way to turn to the old ways. After the war was ended, and the black people lost their jobs, they were affected like two and one-half times more than the white workers. Lately, the murder of Emmett Louis Till touched many hearts of the black citizens. The man’s inhumanity towards fellow man means man’s inhumanity to children. This was evident in some public schools which gave out essay questions with fatuous questions. The sense of asking a kid on how he would punish Hitler for his crimes seems to be ambiguous. One black girl gave a startling answer, which stated, “I would put him in a Black skin and force him to spend the rest of this life in the United States.” This meant how black people suffered in the United States of America. Emmett Louis Till had information about the desperate nature of the people who lived in the southland. The movement was driven by the essence of building a world in which children will be spared such lessons (Levy 100). The southern blacks had to produce their own leadership and organization since there was no political organization that had the choice of standing for the people who lived in the southland. There was segregation maintenance between the two American parties. Since the black people were regarded as the middle class people, their organizations were also referred to as organizations of middle class professionals. These organizations included the black organizations, the NAAZP and the urban league. These organizations were aimed at reducing or stopping the segregation through the possible legal procedures. At first, they never wanted to use mass struggle. The main factors that were to fuel this movement were initiated in the boycott in Montgomery, Alabama (DeLuzio 301). The bus boycott at Montgomery, Alabama, was started and influenced by Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a certain white passenger as discussed earlier. This happened on 1st of December 1955. Rosa Parks was secretary to the local NAACP and a seamstress. Upon her refusal, the bus’ driver called the police who came and arrested Rosa Parks. Parks was charged with the city’s segregation ordinance (DeLuzio 221). After Parks was arrested, call for a meeting in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s church was initiated. This meeting was aimed at boycotting the Montgomery buses the whole of Monday. This happened on 5th December 1955. This is when the first president of Montgomery Improvement Association was elected. This was Martin Luther King, Jr. the boycott went on for about 381 days in that they elevated to National prominence (Levy 156). The Montgomery movement had no bad intentions during their protests and boycott. They never intended at challenging the segregation system as many believed. Their demands were moderate. The only thing that the MIA asked for was courteous treatment for black passengers. They asked for “first come, first served” system in the buses. The MIA also asked for a chance so as black Americans could be employed as drivers on the black routes. The NAACP failed to reach a meaningful decision despite the fact that they discussed on the previous boycott. The spirit owned by the Montgomery officials and the virtual unanimous support for the boycott changed totally the character of the struggle. In fact, king said; Feeling that our demands were moderate, I had assumed that they would be granted with little question; I had believed that the privileged would give up their privileges on request. This experience, however, taught me a lesson. I came to see that no one gives up his privileges without strong resistance. I saw further that the underlying purpose of segregation was to oppress and exploit the segregated, not simply to keep them apart (Levy 200). The newly appointed leaders of the movement like King never complemented radicals. He was not only the expression of the new mood, but he was also inspired and influenced by it. The movement and the leaders believe was that their struggle was a moral struggle. They insinuated that the nation was suffering from the existence of racism. King said that the fight was a moral issue which had options of determining the Nation’s destiny in the struggle with communism (McGuire 324). The bus boycott was only a way of challenging the order of things as stated by the king and other movement leaders. The king said that they were an asking for an end to segregation. As other citizens, blacks had the right to sit on vacant chairs. King stated that they didn’t like the idea of Negroes standing up yet there were vacant seats in the bus. Their capacity of suffering will be used to wear down the capable white Americans. There was a need to form a new organization to give direction to the movement. this was done after the movement succeeded on the Montgomery boycott. This was done by leading participants such as the king. As a result of this, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was established in the year 1957. Its major aim was to demand rights with no use of violence. The major rights that they fought for were right to vote and work in any organization. Actually, in the current world, it is easy the disadvantages of such methods but however the commitment seen in the mass action was a real commitment despite the fact that the aim of the congress was to demand from the southern and or federal authorities. After the movement gained the momentum, it started taking a greater level. It even started going beyond the intentions of its founders. This was not bound to happen, but it did so because the movement had picked up and was able to stand alone (Levy 121). The SCLC had rough contacts with the established black organizations such as the NAACP. This is because NAACP saw the movement as a great threat to their activities such as lobbying and legal efforts. The movement entered a new phase within a period of one year. At this phase, the traditional organizations and even the king himself failed to control the movement (McGuire 500). The southern racists planned and initiated their counter attacks after the civil rights movement succeeded in the years 1956 and 1957. White Citizens’ Councils were arranged and organized in the south. At this time, there was terror in the south that opted to fight the movement. This is the time when C. Vann Woodward referred to as the time when “all over the South the lights of reason and tolerance and moderation began to go out.” The essence of rebellion existed in the south in that war and fear reigned the region. The black television programs were banned; libraries destroyed, newspapers were also slanted while magazines were rare in the stores. On the other hand, books were banned while the films were excluded. When it came to school, lecturers and teachers were questioned and driven out of the region. Hate was flying in the air (McGuire 441). This is the time when black people wished that it would end, but to no avail. Actually, many words took different meanings as compared to their original meanings. Words like moderate meant a man who dared open his mouth, extremist meant someone who favored eventual compliance with law and compliance meant treason. Actually, defiance to the government was at par when the politicians started vying with each other. The king and his supporters looked for help from the government, but no help was found. The president confessed not to commit himself or his time to anything. This was in a meeting between the SCLC and Eisenhower. In fact, the president concluded that, “Reverend, there are so many problems, Lebanon, Algeria.” This method spread like a bush fire to 78 southern communities. Around two thousand students, got arrested. In the year 1961, more than 70,000 Blacks had participated in the sit-ins, and almost 3,000 individuals had been arrested. It was a disaster to the Black Americans (Levy 101). To coordinate and plan for the future, a new organization with student members was formed in the year 1960. This organization known as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was arranged by Ella Baker then the committee was addressed by the king. Around 120 student activists were present in the conference in that almost six colleges and high schools in twelve southern states and Columbia district were represented. The strong organization presented the first representative for the freedom fight. These two representatives chosen in the early 1961 were sent to protest against segregation in the Greyhound and the Trailways’ southern bus line. The SNCC was encouraged to mobilize more black students to fight for their rights. This was done after a racist mob foisted the first thirteen riders to give up. The mobilized students recruited were for the jail-ins in the city of Jackson and other cities (McGuire 303). It came a time when the Freedom Rides subjected the SNCC and other civil rights movement into a rough conflict with the Kennedy administration. Robert F. Kennedy, who was the attorney general, had to face a difficult situation. He had to choose between providing protections to the freedom riders or let them continue protesting without protection. Both choices had consequences. For example, he would be risking the alienation of Dixiecrats who have major powers in the Democratic Party if he protected the freedom riders. If the attorney general did not avail protection for the freedom riders, the racist beatings and the possible lynching would grow and spread to be an international embarrassment. Additionally, it will give the lie to the progressive image presented by the new administration to the newly independent countries like Africa and Asia. Upon this protests, Kennedy played his cards well. He announced a deal to the SNCC and other civil rights activists. He said that the SNCC should stop the freedom rides and keep their concentrations on the voter registration at Mississippi with a guarantee that the organizers will be protected by the government. The king uttered no comment in giving explanations on his proposed voter education project. Kennedy said, If you cut out this freedom rider and sitting-in stuff and concentrate on voter registration,” he told representatives of the student organizations, “I’ll get you a tax exemption” (McGuire 94). The civil rights movement and other organizations really fought for their rights in the U.S.A. they had many challenges that delayed the upcoming of their movement, but this did not make them loose hope. The choice of electing leaders helped them to fight for their rights with morale and influence. Works cited "Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s." The Modern Civil Rights Movement Of The 1950s And .... N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. http://www.039312018x.reader.chegg.com/homework-help/questions-and-answers/modern-civil-rights-movement-1950s-1960s-often-called-second-reconstruction-compare-legisl-q1085649 DeLuzio, Crista. Womens rights people and perspectives. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Print Levy, Peter B.. The civil rights movement. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998. Print McGuire, Danielle L.. Freedom rights new perspectives on the civil rights movement. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2011. Print Read More