The Civil rights movement started back, when the Supreme Court passed a ruling that African Americans were neither free nor regarded as citizens, but it was later overruled in the Civil Rights Act in 1866. The issue of slavery was finally abolished in 1865, and took effect in December. The Thirteenth Amendment of the constitution of the United States did this. This period marked an accomplishment of eliminating racial barriers and slavery. This later led to the vast transformation of the cultural, political and social life in America.
When civil rights movement is mentioned, Martin Luther King Jr. comes to mind. This is because of his soul stirring speech of ‘I Have a Dream’, at the capital of the nation. The gruesome memory of that day is the photograph of four schoolchildren murdered by a bomb that went off in a church, while attending Sunday school. This was because of white back lashing, which portrayed the civil rights movement. Most people think that the civil rights movement began in the fifties, but in the actual sense, it started when Africans were brought to America. Those who fought the abolishment of slavery and equality laid the groundwork for the civil rights movement.
After the Thirteenth Amendment, which eradicated slavery, the blacks were finally free but were illiterate and had no money or property. Additionally, inequality and racism were widespread in the South where slavery was predominant. This would assist the assimilation of blacks into the white dominated society. For instance, the14th Amendment assured the blacks of equality, whereas the 15th amendment approved voting rights.
These measures however were short lived, especially in the south where the whites were a majority. They used various means to stop the blacks from enjoying their newly found rights. Racist groups like Ku Klux Klan (KKK) used even more horrifying methods like executing those who pushed for advancing their rights.
The already passed amendments faded away slowly and in addition, the Supreme Court, in 1896, passed a law that stated the whites and blacks could be separated legally, as long as facilities were equal. However, these facilities were never equal. This issue of separate but equal gave the whites an upper hand to prevent the blacks from enjoying their rights as American citizens. The white supremacy in the South gave rise to the Jim Crow.
This was the law of the South where everything in the area was separated. By 1900, black leaders responded to these laws, which had expanded to all areas of public life. They came up with political strategies to fight racial inequalities and injustice. One of the key players for the early civil rights movement was W.E.B Du Bois, who supported and urged African Americans to fight for equality. Part of his crusade led to the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
During WW1, many of blacks joined the army but were put in different units from the whites. However, the migration to the North increased unemployment and other issues that had already crippled the north, and racial issues still went on. During the Second World War, the blacks were also subjected to discrimination in the military units and defense industries, in spite of their will to fight for their country. This later resulted to a course of black protests, which brought the Jim Crow under national inquiry.
In the fifties, two incidents sparked the civil rights movement again. The NAACP won the case of segregation in public schools, and the incident in Montgomery, of Rosa Parks, where she was later arrested. In protest to her arrest, the blacks boycotted and the black activists took advantage of the situation, and drew attention to their cause. This was when Martin Luther King Jr. became active. He established and piloted a resistance movement that disputed the laws of the racists.
The Montgomery boycott lasted for more than a year, until in 1956, where the federal court unified the issue. This boycott was important because it overpowered the explicit law of Jim Crow, which had oppressed the blacks. Martin Luther then became the leader of the movement, and his non-violent approach would characterize the civil rights movement, which inspired a large participation by blacks, as well as the whites.
Between 1950 and 1960, the civil rights movement had some success. Community based projects fought the barriers, which prevented the blacks from voting, whereas others targeted the terrorism by the whites, as they continued with their intimidation. During this period, Martin Luther was jailed, and his letter from jail got him the support of many whites who were sympathetic. As the demonstrations from the black community flared, President Kennedy addressed the nation, showing his alliance with the cause for the civil rights. He came up with a legislation that banned separation and increased protection of civil rights for everyone.
King and other activists planned the march on Washington. The aim of this gathering was to enhance economic prowess for the African Americans. This is where King delivered his famous speech of ‘I Have a Dream’. This gave hope to the blacks, but it soon dwindled, following the shooting of President Kennedy.
In the mid sixties, the activitists had started losing hope in the civil rights because the mandates of the courts were not granted immediately, and this left the blacks crippled politically and economically. Malcom X rose to stardom during this period. However, he did not comply with Martin’s non-violence advocacy, instead he urged the blacks to fight for their rights by any means necessary (Revolutionary view). The death of Martin Luther, in 1968 was the last stroke to the already crippled movement.
The civil rights movement no doubt left a mark on the society. The most explicit forms of discrimination came to a stop and the violence reduced. The blacks were given public offices, and millions have economic freedom. Minority groups found motivation in these movements, and started their own human rights movements.
However, the equality fight is still far from over, because the blacks still struggle to share the same freedom as the whites enjoy. On the brighter side, it changed the attitude of many, and at least gave hope that the dream of an equal and fair America, if not a reality, has at least some possibility.