...all a few of the many things that African Americans struggled with before the civil rights movement, and some even today. African Americans will most likely deal with some sort of unfair opinions and treatment forever, but hopefully not to the caliber as they were in the past. For decades, African Americans faced racism, unfair treatment and opinions, and everything that goes along with it. The Civil Rights movement was a movement that started in 1954 , and was made up of protests and other actions that were focused on obtaining one goal, equality for African Americans. Even today, African Americans face unfair treatment, and harsh judgement that still motivate them to strive for complete equality, and to be treated as so. The Civil Rights Movement...
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...“Same-Sex Marriage and the Civil Rights Movement” Shelby Atkinson COM/170 April 27, 2015 Vanessa D. Hayden “Same-Sex Marriage and the Civil Rights Movement” Is the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and the fight for same-sex marriage the same? African Americans fought discrimination and unfair treatment, segregation and hate for being who they were. Same-sex couples are doing the same thing, now in fighting for equality, rights, and liberties that America owes them all. Same-sex couples may not have been enslaved, but doesn’t that mean same-sex couples don't feel hurt all the same by not being allowed to be with someone they love or in danger because of it. Just because they didn't endure the years of hardship that African Americans doesn't mean same-sex couples don't have their fair share of discrimination for extremely illegitimate reasons. It boils down to people’s blatant fear of change and allowing anything new to blossom. Marriage equality is the same fight as the Civil Rights Movement because it will benefit everyone, end discrimination, and make a better future for our country. Marriage equality will benefit everyone like the Civil Rights Movement did in the 1960’s. Federal, state, and local government will benefit the same ways it did after the Civil Rights Movement. There are 1,138 benefits, rights, and protections available to married couples, but not to same-sex couples until marriage equality is approved everywhere. Marriage equality will create opportunities...
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...Introduction The Civil Rights Movement reached its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. An abundance of unfair events created a desire to secure equality for all Americans. Numerous historical leaders poured their lives into fighting for the basic privileges and rights of U.S. citizenship. Many African-American men and women, along with whites, organized and led the movement to fight against injustice. The eight resources below provide information about several historical leaders that made an impact on the Civil Rights Movement. These resources may be used to create assignments to help students develop a deeper understanding of the Civil Rights Movement. Furthermore, students will benefit from meaningful classroom discussions about these heroic leaders. Important People There are numerous well-known historical figures that influenced the Civil Rights Movement leading up to the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is probably one of the most powerful leaders involved in the fight for civil rights. Coretta Scott King worked and marched alongside her husband, Dr. King and continued his fight for justice after his death. In addition, Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American judge on the Supreme Court appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball which contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement. African-American...
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...interpret the civil rights movement in a different, more direct way, far removed from the "I Have a Dream" Idealism of the 1960s. This movement was pioneered by Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing, and the civil rights themed song Fight the Power composed by Public Enemy. In the Fight the Power music video, which was also directed by Spike Lee, Chuck D denounces the marches and speeches of the 60s and calls for more radical action, promising that "the young black America... ain't goin' out like that '63 nonsense." The clip documents a large rally in Brooklyn’s, Bed-Stuy against the racially motivated violence that had plagued the city. This landmark song and video are widely considered hip-hop greatest, and helped to mobilize a new youth culture with a civil rights movement of their own. The song became more than just a feature in a movie. Fight the Power means something big, refusing to let racism keep Black African Americans down. Furthermore, it's about not just talking the talk, but also walking the walk (Shmoop). In our dissertation, we will concentrate on why Spike Lee wanted to write Do the Right Thing and the message he wanted to send to America. Then, we’ll move into Public Enemy rising as civil rights leaders for black youth and their aggressive approach for equality along with their composition of Fight the Power. We’ll then shift into text and the meaning behind the lyrics of Fight the Power. In addition, we’ll also focus on the civil rights movement that followed...
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...The African Americans: The Birth of Equality after 1865 Leonard Stinson HIS204: American History Since 1865 Instructor John Durr December 5th, 2011 The African Americans: The Birth of Equality after 1865 This was a time when America was trying to find herself. These were the years known as the Reconstruction Period from 1865-1877. During this time period, the African-American people became free from slavery but one can only imagine what free really is. While the nation search for ways to establish true meaning of equality, African-American people continued to struggle to find out just what equality means and to have the same rights and freedom as the white people in the nation. Whether as slaves or free people, the political and social status of African Americans has always been to obtain the ability to participate in the nation’s economy. While many historians believe that slavery and politics can be attributed to the Civil War, more than 600,000 Americans died and with the help of the Emancipation Proclamation to start the motion to free the slaves, America became even more a divided country in 1865 than the previous earlier years (Bowles, 2011). Although freedom in the post-Civil War years did not guarantee equality, African Americans continued to struggle from racism, segregation and discrimination for many years, but the birth of equality is beginning to grow and show that all men and women are created equal. The effort to integrate...
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...Racial Equality in a modern society Racial Equality Brian Dugas University of Phoenix In the decades previous to the nineteen fifties, African Americans were the subject of more discrimination than any other race or religion in all aspects of being treated both as a person, and a race. These people were up until almost the mid 1900’s as slaves, even though slavery was abolished long before, even in the mid 1900’s, African Americans were still considered “second class citizens”, not seen as equals in the eyes of others. It was during the 1950’s that African Americans, and other racial authorative groups collaborated to change their status in society. This challenge of fighting against discrimination and for racial equality among racial groups became one of the most important times in United States history; it was the beginning of what we know as the Civil Rights Movement. The fight for racial equality started long before the 1950’s, in the early 1900’s, the NAACP (the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) was created by Booker T. Washington, and Webb Du Bios, Mr. Washington was actually an ex-slave. As the NAACP grew in numbers and support, the NAACP also published its own newspaper, showing progress, and enticing people to come forward to support for their rights. One of its first victories was the laws of segregation in housing, and also the right of African Americans to jury duty. The NAACP helped in establishing other groups...
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...Does one believe we were made to be separated? The Civil Rights Movement was about African Americans trying to achieve being equal to the whites. Also, gaining equal opportunities like the right to vote, to get a job, education, and the right to be free of discrimination. Americans believed African Americans weren't good enough to be in the same building as whites. They showed that whites were more superior and that they were better and higher above. It was a struggle for justice and a fight for equality. It was a struggle for equality, but we got through it and fought for our rights. The Civil Rights Movement changed Americans point of view of everything. Plessy v. Ferguson was one case that segregated public facilities. This case began in Louisiana and it was a decision made by the US Supreme Court that it was created to be "separate but equal." Which means that we are all the same, but just different as individuals. It still separated blacks from going to the same bathroom as white people, or riding the same bus, but having blacks sit only in the back and whites in the front. Africans were brutally beaten up by whites if they do not obey the law....
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...The source I chose is a newspaper clipping from the 1955-1963 Birmingham bombings. The article contains a list of twenty recent bombing that occurred in Alabama during that time period. The article displays the boundless chaos the Whites wanted for the Negroes. I chose this source, because despite its simplicity, it withholds a deep underlying message that motivated the Whites and the Civil Rights Movement. The 16th street bombing supports the Civil Rights Movement because it clearly portrays the pure hatred the Whites had for the Negroes. Bombing a church vividly exhibits that the only way the Whites wanted the Negroes was dead. This is easily understood from the modern analogy of Middle Eastern Terrorists and Americans, but the Whites and...
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...humans who put their lives at hand to fight for what they believed was right. These stories address the lives of three outstanding people and their impact on the world before and after their lives. They discuss the connection society has with them through first-hand stories and experiences to convey a deeper perspective. Simultaneously, providing a more general overview of what they did and the impact they brought....
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...Enough is enough! African-American cannot take it anymore, which is why the Civil Rights Movement began. Though the 14th and 15th Amendments of the constitution were supposed to grant voting rights and citizenship to Blacks, it failed. In the south, discrimination and segregation was still a major issue. On December 1, 1955, the modern Civil Rights Movement began when Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus. This started the unification of many African-Africans to congregate to end racial discrimination. The Civil Rights Movement was an ethical movement where African-Americans unified to fight for the rights that were legally appointed to them. In order to understand this movement, we must first revisit the origins...
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...of the most influential civil rights activists ever. However, what most do not know is the story of his wife, Coretta Scott King, and her fight for all people, peace, and one whose bravery should be recognized for many more years to come. When speaking she said, “I am made to sound like an attachment to a vacuum cleaner,....the wife of Martin, then the widow of Martin, all of which I was proud to be. But I was never just a wife, nor a widow. I was always much more than a label.”- and to that she truly was. Early Life: Coretta Scott King was born on April 27, 1927, in Marion, Alabama. She was an exceptional student and graduated valedictorian from Lincoln High School. This was one of the greatest accomplishments of Coretta’s young life- considering the fact that her entire childhood she experienced and fought against racial prejudice/ violence- at 15 years old, Coretta Scott King’s name as well as her father's sawmill were burned down by white supremacists. This act of violence left a long-lasting impact on Coretta and she was determined to do something about it....
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...still fighting for freedom and equality. Federal, local, and state government’s skirted around laws and policies to keep the African Americans in their “rightful place” which was beneath anyone white. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott set into motion the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement that would inspire the African American people to take a stand and fight for change. On December 1st, 1955, a black women by the name of Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama (Tindall & Shi, pg. 1277). Montgomery law stated that African Americans could not sit in the first ten rows of a public bus even if there were no whites riding at the time (Tindall & Shi, pg. 1277). Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the eleventh row to a white man, and because of this she was arrested and given a court date (SI: Civil Rights Movement). When Parks was asked why she would not give up her seat, she simply stated that she was “tired of giving in” to white racism...
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...Civil Rights in the Sixties The 1960s brought about social change in America. America elected the second youngest and the first Catholic president (John F. Kennedy) and the Anti-War Movement began. The Anti-War Movement was based on people mostly the youth of America protesting a war (Vietnam War) that they believed America could not win. At the same time people were protesting the war they were objecting to the social injustice surrounding minorities; thus began the Civil Rights Movement. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was instrumental in starting The Civil Rights Movement the yearlong battle for equal treatment on buses gave minorities the strength to fight for more equal treatment and gave rise to Martin Luther King Jr. who was elected by the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) to lead the boycott. During The Montgomery Bus Boycott whites tried to use the media to put out false stories by claiming the boycott have come to an end and that minorities settled for the same moderate desegregation plan that they received before the boycott. Public opion in Montgomery Alabama at first was against the boycott, but once the business community realized they were losing money because minorities were no longer shopping downtown their opion began to wane. Throughout the civil rights movement the media was a constant force some believe that without the media exposing the at times moving and often unsightly events of the movement that it would not advanced as much as it did. Some Southern...
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...African Americans and the Struggle for Racial Equality After the Civil War and the reorganizing of the Southern states, Black Americans inaugurated a crusade and difficult journey for sanctioned racial equality. Members of the Radical G.O.P. assisted Blacks by bringing forth legislations such as the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendment; however, White anti-Black supremacists in the Southern States ignored these laws and made certain that Blacks remained fearful, and away from the voting booths. Several strategies employed by the Whites hindered and kept Black Americans from acting upon their newfound Civil Rights laws. Some of these tactics included: poll taxes, testing Blacks for their ability to read, and write and that also familiar, public lynching’s were employed by the Black Codes. Even though the Civil War ended, racial disapproval, and destruction in the Southern States continued (Bowles, 2011). The Compromise of 1877 ruined the chances of Blacks to depart from a life of farmers and inferior citizenship. Along with many injustices Black Americans faced following the Civil War, only strengthen their efforts, and never once consider giving up the fight for equality. After Black Americans battled in the war between the North and South, the social and racial environment was very crucial in America, and insisted upon immediate attention. Blacks were thought of as contraband of war before they were authorized to contribute to the war effort;...
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...September 21, 2014 Maria Kithcart Women and LGBT Diversity in the United States It is fair to say that great strides have been made concerning equality for women throughout the United States. It is also fair to say that the fight is far from over. For nearly 167 years, women have fought tirelessly to gain equal rights. The Feminist Movement began in the summer of 1848. “The first women’s rights convention began, attended by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and other pioneers in the struggle for women’s rights. This first wave of feminists battled ridicule and scorn as they fought for legal and political equality for women” (University of Phoenix, 2012, p. 350). Susan B Anthony is probably the most widely recognizable participant from the suffrage movement. She was arrested while attempting to vote in the presidential election in 1872. It was not until 1919 that women finally gained the legal right to cast their votes. “Despite the opposition, the suffrage movement succeeded in gaining women the right to vote, a truly remarkable achievement because it had to rely on male legislators to do so” (University of Phoenix, 2012, p. 351). Unfortunately it would be many decades before a notable amount of progress was made. In the 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement took up much of the attention. The anti-war movement did as well. Women’s rights seemed to get moved to the backburner. In the meantime, women were becoming increasingly dissatisfied and unfilled with life at home. Women wanted...
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