Historical Strategies of Resistance in African American Communities - Essay Example

Historical Strategies of Resistance in African American Communities Historical Strategies of Resistance in African American Communities Throughout American history, communities of African descent has encountered numerous threats to their personal and civil liberties, even when numerically they are in the majority. While the means and methods of turmoil and difficult might be different today, historical patterns of discrimination and prejudice still remain in many countries throughout the country today. There is a still a sense of ‘us against them’ that pervades the mindset of both African Americans and Whites, to the point that many question if racism is actually making a strong comeback in this country today. At various times throughout history, individual communities within the United States have banded to combat discriminatory and racist actions. Both Whites and Blacks have taken part. Some of the efforts have resulted in lasting changes, while others simply contributed to the divide that has persisted in racial issues the years. One such example of this is the Freedom Riders movement of the 1960s. Communities throughout the country have certain had their share of turmoil in regard to treating people of colour equally. In fact, long periods of segregation have existed in the few centuries that the nation has been in existence. Communities have banded together in recent decades, however, to usher America into a new era of civil rights, even though much work is still to be done. Consider the example of the Freedom Riders to illustrate a movement the occurred in numerous communities throughout the South that truly altered the landscape of the region in terms of how businesses handled the issue of race. The freedom riders themselves were made up of activists in the 1960s that aimed to fight the racial segregation that pervaded much of the Southern part of the United States. On the one hand, some would say that they failed due to the reality that many of them were beaten and arrested. On the other hand, their message resonated with many across not only the South, but the nation as a whole. That message was designed to end the prejudice and segregation that still existed a century after the end of the Civil War. While policy changes may not have been initiated as a direct result of the Freedom Riders, the reality is that these activists highlight a rift within American society that would have to be dealt with. As a result, the Freedom Riders did end up having an impact of the Civil Rights movement by strengthening the voice of the African American person, bringing attention to the pervasive problem of segregation, and moving the government towards action in the end. This impact continues to this day, and has spread to other regions of the country as well. The movement began as a result of great angst resulting from a lack of transportation services, and the reality that those offered to African Americans at the time were of a substantially substandard quality in comparison to whites, many in the African American community felt that they needed to be more proactive in making their voices heard and begin the process of desegregating the South once and for all. The rides are believe to have actually begun in force on a Mother’s Day in 1961. As time has revealed, one of the most segregated areas of the country was the rural South, and Alabama was all to eager to enforce segregational laws and policies, even after such laws were declared unconstitutional (Manby, 2012). The African Americans in this area were not heard and they had no voice in local or state politics. As a result, some brave white and many blacks took it upon themselves to begin to be heard. The freedom riders themselves actually integrated certain Greyhound bus routes, mixing black and white passengers, at great risk of personal injury. In many locations, such as the first report event in rural Alabama in 1961, a small mob of whites actually attacked the bus with a mix of rocks and bricks. The slashed tires and smashed through windows with both metal pipes and axes. In the end, they then lobbed firebombs through broken windows and barricaded both the front and back doors of the bus so that there would be no escape for the passengers on board. They pelted the bus with racially tarred language and were quite vocal in their desire to kill on board. The actions of the Freedom Riders were not confined only to busses, however, as they also sought to draw attention to the segregation taking place in the waiting rooms and restaurants at bus terminals throughout Alabama. The Freedom Riders became so noticeable throughout the region because of the perseverance, even in light of the obvious persecution they were suffering on a continual basis. This certainly had an impact on the Civil Rights movement as a whole because this was another outlet by which the voice of the African Americans were truly heard and the plight they were suffering was realised by the masses, many finally understanding what was going on for the first time. Just a few hours after the aforementioned attack on a Greyhound bus in rural Alabama, for example, both black and white passengers that were on a similar bus owned by Trailways went into whites-only waiting rooms and restaurants at the bus station in Birmingham, together, and without and reservation or regard for existing policy. As a result, they were beaten bloody by an angry mob that quickly assembled. Once again, however, the word began to spread throughout the region about this group of individuals from both races who would not give up until their goal of desegregation transportation routes, waiting rooms, and eating establishments was realised. During this era of American society, the argument was made the segregation was acceptable because the rules was the separate but equal facilities were to be provided to blacks and other minorities, while the same types of facilities would be reserved for white people only. As common sense quickly revealed, however, the facilities were far from equal. In addition, the emotional toll this took on communities throughout the South, and African American people in particular. It is emotionally difficult to be told that you cannot do something or sit somewhere simply because of the colour of your skin, and by the mid 1960s, blacks throughout the South had simply had enough. In addition, while not sizeable in number, more and more whites were jumping on board with crying out against the evils of segregation, and this can be reflected in the actions of the Freedom Riders. Whites that took part were subject to the same violence that Blacks were, and they were thus labeled throughout their community as a sympathiser for the African American people, which put their families at risk (Rathke, 2011). All of this occurred due to the problem of segregation, and the Freedom Riders highlighted the growing rift and feeling of discontent that was taking place throughout America, and the South in particular. In the end, the Freedom Riders were so effective as a community based movement because of their perseverance and their ability to get recognised on both a national and international scale. Their voices and the violence that was occurring simply because they refused to stay away from public busses, waiting rooms, and restaurants were finally heard and the federal government ended up with little choice but to finally begin to enforce existing legislation throughout the South. The path was not easy, however, as it took dozen of such rides, continuing through the hot summer months, to ultimately pave the way towards eventual civil rights and equal treatment under the law. This is significant because it demonstrates that, at time, even civilised countries get it wrong from time to time, and it takes acts of civil disobedience to right the course. The Freedom Riders, interestingly enough, were not breaking the law, as existing policies of segregation had already been declared unconstitutional. Because of a lack of enforcement to this end, however, brave blacks and whites throughout the South were forced to go against societal norms and integrate the bus system throughout the region. Only is no doing did equal treatment eventually come to all in terms of the law, even though feelings of racism and prejudice inevitably still exist in pockets throughout the country today. Thankfully, however, opportunity, hopes, and dreams abound for minorities today and equal protection under the law appears to have finally come to the United States of America. References Manby, J. (2012). Freedom riders: 1961 and the struggle for racial justice. Ethnicity and Race in a Changing World: A Review Journal, 3(2), 64. Raeburn, J. Freedom riders. (2013). The Journal of American History, 98(3), 931-934. Rathke, W. (2011). Jerome Smith and the Freedom Riders. Social Policy, 41(2), 70. Read More