The Civil Rights Movement in the USA Report (Assessment)

Introduction

This paper covers two parts. Part one of the paper is a summary of chapter ten of the book “Studying At University, how to be a successful student” by David Mcllroy. The chapter title is “Applying for a job” where Mcllroy advises the university students on how to apply or seek for a job.

He also advises about how they should select a course to study in the university. Part two of the essay is Research summary on ‘The Civil Rights movement in the USA that took place from 1955 thru 1968’.

The Civil Rights Movement in the USA

This was a movement that took place in the United States of America between 1955 and 1968. The movement was instituted when the southern states of America were dominated by racial discrimination against African Americans and denial of voting powers. The movement’s main aim was to end the racial segregation and fight for the voting power of the black people in America.

However, the aim was enlarged to include the fight racial dignity, freedom from oppression, and political and economic self sufficiency which were the major concerns of the African-American people. This was escalated by the emergence of the black power movement that took place between 1966 and 1975.

Their concerns and demands were fought using major campaigns of civil resistance where the issues were addressed. There was rampant oppression of the white people by the Native Americans during the period of (and before), the movement. The situation in America was worse and needed to be addressed with immediate effect.

It is apparent, therefore, that the movement came up due to the need to fight the racial discrimination that was being directed to the Americans of African origin. According to Renée (2006), these people had been denied various rights they were entitled to as Americans.

According to Renée (2006), the government had deliberately failed to provide adequate public services like schools and hospitals in the areas perceived to be occupied by the African-American. He states that even those that were lucky to have these services did not get the right quality.

He says that although the blacks’ population in the United States was small compared to the Americans, they eventually won the battle and were given all the rights as other Americans.

Exploitation was another cause that led to the emergence of civil rights movement. According to Newman (2004), the people of African origin were being exploited economically. He argues that although slavery had been outlawed long time ago, the subsequent governments failed to address the plight of these people.

In places of work, he acknowledges that Africans and other colored people were paid very little compared to the whites for the same kind of job. This created a lot of tension among these people.

However, with the influence of one of their prominent leaders, Malcom X and W. E.B. Du Bois, they decided to demonstrate so that the government of the day could address their needs effectively and as soon as possible. He says that other notable leaders in this movement were Martin Luther King, Jr, and Rosa Parks who was regarded as the mother of civil rights movement.

It was also reported that there was a lot of violence that was directed towards the black people in different parts of the United States of America. This is according to Renée (2006) who points out that the local police were blamed for being used as agents of the government in suppressing any revolts that may have been anticipated to happen.

He argues that the local people, in collaboration with the police, organized attacks against the blacks. This was meant to instill fear in the black people so that they do not continue making demands for equal rights. He, however, says that under the leadership of the black leaders, the blacks and other colored people were able to fight for their rights. He says that today all people in the United States of America are equal before the law.

The other cause of this civil rights movement was the need to demand for equal voting right as the other citizens of the United States of America. This is highlighted by Edmund (2010) who argues that the Democrats passed laws prohibiting all the black people from voting when they came to power.

This angered the affected people and therefore they organized themselves and called all the black people to come out in large numbers and participate in the movements to demand for their rights to vote.

One of the key highlights of this movement took place on 1^st December 1955. The day was dominated by nonviolent protests and civil disobedience which was lead by Rosa Parks. Following this act, Newman (2004) argues that she was subsequently arrested and charged with breaking the local ordinance an act that angered her fellow counterpart in the whole of United States.

As a response to her arrest, the African –Americans decided not to use the public transport until the government addressed all their concerns. According to Newman, this boycott took more than a year after the government intervened and decided to do away with such laws.

After the civil rights movement took place, the government of the day and the subsequent one yielded to the pressure and the black people gained their full rights as Americans. Several acts like Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 among others were passed to address the concerns of the blacks in America.

Conclusion

Part 1. David Mcllroy has endeavored to venture in a field where very little has been written about. Therefore, any person who is about to attend an interview should find this book very resourceful since it gives a detailed explanation of the do’s and the don’ts during an interview.

Part 2. The Civil Rights Movement in the USA took place in the United States of America between 1955 and 1968, a period that was characterized by racial discrimination and denial of voting power to the blacks. The movement’s main aim was to end the racial segregation and fight for the voting power of the black people in America

Reference list

Edmund, L., 2010. America in the 1950s. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books. McIlroy, D., 2003. Studying @ university: How to be a successful student. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Newman, M., 2004. The civil rights movement. Trowbridge: The Cromwell Press.

Renée, C., 2006. The Civil Rights movement in American memory. Georgia: University Of Georgia Press.