American Civil Rights Movement - Case Study Example

AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT By Location American civil rights movement Were the contributions of American civil rights movement from (1955-1968) enough to bring the levels of democratic equalities that are currently being experienced in the United States of America? After the Confederate States of America being defeated during the American Civil War, there was a period that was referred to as the Reconstruction. This was the period between 1865 and 1877. However, from 1877 there is evidence of violence and laws that were discriminatory targeting the minority races, the African-Americans are the most affected. Despite there being the Fourteenth Amendment that aimed at bringing an end to discrimination, elected and appointed government officials in most of the states allowed fragments that would encourage discrimination. The African Americans felt that they deserved being treated equally leading to a series of events and reform movements that were referred to as the American Civil Rights Movement. The movements were characterized by civil disobedience and nonviolent protests which led to productive dialogues between government officials and activist. The forms of disobedience used included boycotts, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, protests such as the Greensboro sit-ins; and marches, such as the Selma to Montgomery marches. The movement saw the contribution of famous activists and revolutionists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Robert F. Williams. Paths of Debate It is undoubtable that the American civil rights movement had both political and social effects of racism in the United States of America. Many people believe that American civil rights movement is the sole reason as to why the United States of America was able to attain the levels of democracy and racial equality that is currently experienced in the nation. However, other people have the belief that the impacts of the American civil rights movement are always exaggerated, and that the democracy and racial equality levels are a result of gradual political and social developments in the country over the many years of the nation’s existence. Social and political impacts of American civil rights movement Before the American civil rights movement there were separate schools for white Americans and African Americans in the United States of America. However, this kind of segregation was brought to an end by a court ruling during a case that is commonly referred to as Brown v. Board of Education. In this case the plaintiff asserted that the racialsegregation of learning institutions was unconstitutional. The concerns were mainly raised regarding the difference in the quality of education offered in schools attended by white Americans and those attended by African Americans. The case was filed by NAACP. According to the plaintiff racial inclusion in learning institution would be the only way through which racial inequalities would be reduced even in the general population.This case resulted to the review of rulings that had previously been made by the judiciary with regard to racial segregation of learning institutions (Davis 1998, p. 201).Previously, it was argued that separate but equal education would be beneficial to all the races in the United States of America. In 1955 the court gave the verdict that racial segregation in learning institutions would be removed from the system. Greensboro, North Carolina was the first city to adhere to this and others followed afterwards. This was a landmark change as it led to many changes in the education sector, including election of African Americans to school boards. Boycotts were also used by the American civil rights movement that is believed to have been a success in the movement towards racial equality. The two most famous boycotts were as a result of two African Americans refusing to offer their seats to white passengers in public buses leading to their arrests. They were both charged for violation of local ordinance. This led to organized boycotts of public transporting demanding that all races should be treated with equality. About93% of African Americans in Montgomery were involved in the boycott, which took place for more than a year (Sartain 2013, p. 156). Given the fact that the African Americans formed the highest percentage of public bus riders in Montgomery, the bus revenue experienced a significant decrease. A ruling by a federal court in the following year led to busses being desegregated. This brought an end to the boycott. The boycott can be used to illustrate the strive of the American civil rights movement that led to the abolition of desegregation in public transport. Sit-ins were also very important to the course of American civil rights movement. Most sit-ins involved African Americans protesting sitting arrangements in lunch counters by sitting in areas that were allocated for white Americans. During the sit-ins the participants were encouraged to occupy all the seats regardless of which races were supposed to occupy them. White sympathizers were also encouraged to join the sit-ins. The sit-ins were mostly organized by highly organized African American college students (Anderson 2012, p. 202). However, police officers occasionally used forceful means to bring out the participants from the stores. The sit-ins did not only target lunch counter, but also other public facilities such as beaches, libraries, and museums (Hine 1996, p. 312). The sit-ins cannot be said to have been influential as the boycotts and lawsuits that they were able to bring some little change with regard to racial segregation. Another way through which the American civil rights movement advocated for racial equality is through freedom rides. Civil rides were journeys undertaken by civil rights activists with the aim of ensuring that the Supreme Court decision to desegregate public transport was effective. These journeys involved travelling to the southern states using integrated buses. The freedom riders were occasionally arrested with the reason that they were disturbing peace by using white-only facilities (Gilbert 2013, p. 133). However, the increase of sympathy towards the kind of treatment that the freedom riders were subjected to left John F. Kennedy and his administration with no option but to introduce desegregation reforms. The Interstate Commerce Commission policy was introduced in the year 1961 allowing passengers to sit wherever they wished to in public busses. Before the American civil rights movement there were many requirements that were put in place to make sure that African-Americans were not registered as voters. These restrictions included literacy tests and residency needs. In fact, some of the literacy tests that the African-Americans were given were so complicated that even the most educated white Americans would find them challenging. The move to organize for African-Americans’ voter registration began in Mississippi with local leaders being involved (Pinkett, Robinson & Patterson 2011, p. 187). However, this initiative was met with resistance from the local law enforcement agencies and the Ku Klux Klan. The voter registration activists were brutally treated with many of them being arrested, and some even being murdered. The opposition towards registration of African-American voters was so strong that the civil rights organization had no option but to unite for a common course. This led to the formation ofCouncil of Federated Organizations (COFO) (Karson 2005, p. 134). This campaign spread all over the Mississippi state and was later adopted by other states in the south. Racial discrimination was evident in every aspect of American life. Even employment was affected by racial discrimination. In the year 1941 a match in Washington, D.C. was organized by activists with the aims of demanding elimination of racial discrimination in the country’s defense (Hall 2008, p. 43). This march only came to an end after the government gave the Executive Order 8802 which illegalized racial discrimination and formed an agency that was to make sure that the order is adhered to. The second march involved leaders from all the activist organizations that were led by African-Americans. It was during this march that Martin Luther King gave his speech that is commonly referred to as, “I have a dream” (Alexander 2011, p. 245). The march led to the invitation of Luther King and other leaders involvedin the civil rights struggle to the White House to discuss their concerns. The Civil Rights Bill that was introduced to the congress by President Kennedy’s administration was only able to go through during President Johnsonrein who was President Kennedy’s successor after his assassination (Delgado & Stefanic 1999, p. 1521). Challenges There are a number of challenges that were faced by the American civil rights movement. Some of the challenges included brutal treatment by law enforcement agencies and the Ku Klux Klan, arrests, murders, and assignation. However, the challenge that had the most impact to the course of the movement was the division among the Africans. The lack of unity was a result of difference in ideologies with regard to the war against racial discrimination. Some of the activists believed that peaceful means of seeking racial equality will never be effective in bringing racial equality in the United States of America (Jackson & King 2007, p. 164). One of such leaders was Malcolm X. Malcolm and the other activists with the same opinion were motivated by the fact that even when African-American decided to use the peaceful means of seeking equality they were always met with brutality. Therefore, some of the activists decided that violence was the only way to make sure that racial equality was enhanced in the United States of America. Other activists believed that peaceful activities would be more appropriate for bringing an end to racial discrimination in the country. This notion was brought about by the need to give the message that the African-Americans could also be civilized and seek for what they thought that they deserved through peaceful means (Gaines 1997, p. 382). Martin Luther King Jr. was among the civil rights leaders that were convinced that peaceful activities would be the most appropriate in bringing racial equality in the United States of America (Crosby 2011, p. 111). The difference in opinions was in some cases seemed to be brought about by the difference in religious beliefs. Most African-Americans, who were Christians, mostly advocated for peaceful means while those belonging to the nation of Islam preferred using violence. However, it should not be assumed that all Muslims supported violence during the period. The other obstacles such as brutal treatment by law enforcement agencies and the Ku Klux Klan, arrests, murders, and assignation were effective in slowing down the course of the movement as it sometimes meant that the organizations had to exist without their leaders who were at sometimes arrested, killed, or assassinated (Ezra 2009, p. 201). These obstacles could be said to have been effective in instilling some degree of fear among the activists. Conclusion It is clearly evident that the American civil rights movement was able to bring a number of social and political changes in the United States of America. These changes include abolition of segregation in learning institutions and public transport. The movement was also responsible for the increase in political involvement of African-Americans during that period through voter registrations. These successes can be said to have made it easier for the other developments that took place after the period. It was during this period that the Africans Americans first felt that they could actually get equal treatment. Therefore, the confidence that was developed during this period is what can be said to have motivated the push for further racial equality. However, the movement itself can be said to have had its foundation on the activities that had been undertaken by civil rights activists before the period between 1955 and 1968. Bibliography Alexander, SL 2011, An army of lions the civil rights struggle before the NAACP, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. http://ezproxy.viu.ca/login?url=http://muse.jhu.edu/books/9780812205725/. Anderson, JJ 2012, The civil rights movement, ABDO Pub, Edina, Minn. Crosby, E 2011), Civil rights history from the ground up: local struggles, a national movement, University of Georgia Press, Athens, Ga. Davis, T 1998, Weary feet, rested souls: a guided history of the Civil Rights Movement, W.W. Norton, New York. Delgado, R & Stefanic, J 1999, “Californias Racial History and Constitutional Rationales for Race-Conscious Decision Making in Higher Education” UCLA L. Rev., 47, 1521. Ezra, M 2009, Civil rights movement: people and perspectives, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, Calif. Gaines, K 1997,“Rethinking Race and Class in African-American Struggles for Equality, 1885-1941”The American Historical Review, 378-387. Gilbert, M 2013, The Routledge atlas of American history, Routledge. Hall, HR 2008,“5 Tensions, Ironies, and Social Justice in Black Civil Rights”Handbook of social justice in education, 43. Hine, WC 1996, “Civil Rights and Campus Wrongs: South Carolina State College Students Protest, 1955-1968” The South Carolina Historical Magazine, 310-331. Jackson, TF & King, ML 2007, From civil rights to human rights Martin Luther King, Jr., and the struggle for economic justice, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, Pa. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10748486. Karson, J 2005, The civil rights movement, Greenhaven Press, Farmington Hills, MI [u.a.]. Pinkett, R, Robinson, J & Patterson, P 2011, Black faces in white places 10 game-changing strategies to achieve success and find greatness, AMACOM, New York. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=617423. Romano, RC 2006, The civil rights movement in American memory. Univ. of Georgia Press, Athens, Ga. [u.a.]. Sartain, L 2013, Borders of equality: the NAACP and the Baltimore civil rights struggle, 1914-1970. Read More