Achieving Equality During The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement in America lasted during the 1950s and 1960s. It was a time in which oppressed African Americans demanded change in society, both socially and legally. Some sacrificed most of what they had in order to make their point clear; they were jailed, assaulted, and even killed by the government that was supposed to protect them. Nonetheless, their protests proved to be powerful because some laws and Supreme Court decisions were in their favor. This includes the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas case ruling, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; all of which helped put an end to segregation in the country.

For most of the United States’ history, civil rights for the black community was essentially nonexistent. Most African-Americans were forced into slavery and the law rarely sided with them on matters that involved the majority. However, as time progressed the black minority was given more and more liberties. For example, during Abraham Lincoln’s time as President of the United States, slavery was abolished; however, the black community still did not have the same rights as the majority. Nearly 100 years later, the Civil Rights Movement was able to successfully make the government pass legislation that would give African-Americans the same rights as that of the majority.

Do African American people still face racial discrimination for getting a job or even getting their basic rights in The United States of America? Many incidents in our daily life prove that African American still faces discrimination than white people faces. According to the poll from the public religion research institute, “Over 85% people still feel that African American people get discriminated to get the basic rights. But not many white people agree to this. Only 49% of the white people believes that African American does not face racial discrimination at any place”(www.CNN.com).

The blacks also stated that the constitution was disobeyed since constitutional rights towards them were broken. The 1960s were the highest point of African-American struggle towards equality and many historically important events that changed the course of history for these people took place. The 1950s gave the blacks hope for an improving and better future without being violent. Many groups such as SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) were formed by the African-Americans including young aged activists in order to peacefully change the situation and circumstances they had to deal with. Yearning for equality and trying to prove it right, African-Americans began to capture the attention of the media.

When reconstruction ended, we all could say we were united under one nation. This ensured that blacks would always be free from going back to the life of a slave; although, many people were so against reconstruction it caused a lot of hate in the south towards the blacks. The black people were given rights that were much like the rights that white people had. The southern states had new constitutions and recognized the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments’ after reconstruction ended in 1877. Education was provided to the blacks, not just the whites.

Equality For All To African Americans, equality was not always given to them. During the Civil Rights Movement they fought and gained their equality. There were many events during the Civil Rights Movement that helped advance tolerance and equality However, the Brown versus Board of Education case is a key event in the Civil Rights Movement because it allowed children of any race to go to the same school. Some may argue that there are other key events in this huge movement. However, the Brown versus Board of Education case is by far one of the most monumental because of its effects on the fight for tolerance and equality.

During and a bit before the Civil War, many white Southern folk took for granted their freedom that many other people didn’t even have. When slavery hit America, it split it up, by making it two sides. The two sides were people that were for freedom and equality for everyone no matter what or who they were and the other side were the people who wanted only freedom and equality for them and them only. That is how the Civil War first started. A role model for many, Abraham Lincoln, gave a speech during the Civil War about freedom and equality for the nation because he said that is what made the “nation”.

Race discrimination trend in the 20th century was quite complicated with changes in many fields. Black endured a long period of unequal treatment and limited opportunities from the white, so they always desired to change their life and improve their social position. As a consequence, they started participate in politics and received support in the election. The black also began attend in the same schools as the white. Their performance in education and the permission of the white expressed the alternative attitudes of the white to the African Americans.

This decision being made was largely due to the young black student’s fierce protest against the injustice. In early 1951, many black virginian students protested against the injustice of the “separate but equal” mentality of the law. They revolted against the poor conditions common amongst black schools and the segregated educational system in general. Though the NAACP attempted to convince the protesters to conceal their protests, the relentlessness of the students showed through and the NAACP eventually joined the fight by challenging the system in a series of five cases. The Supreme Court ruled in their favor stating, "segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children.

An In Depth Essay On racial equality in America since the Civil Rights Movement Racial equality is a huge ordeal in the United States and a lot of people still struggle with it. Rotham (2013) explains, “Inequality and racism do exist in America – in varying degrees, they probably always will.” After the Civil War, racial equality did improve however, not by much. Even though blacks were given all the rights of the white people, segregation was a still a big issue and things such as public facilities, transportation, and all in all having completely separate societies were ways in which segregation took place. Patterson states , “Although the Civil War finally brought about the abolition of slavery, a harsh system of white supremacy persisted

Even though slavery was abolished after the civil war, many Southerners were still against the idea of equal rights for all black people, such as the Republicans. However, many northerners, like Abraham Lincoln, tried to look for ways to help increase the guarantees of equal rights of the African Americans, like passing down laws and acts that is beneficial to the African Americans. President Lincoln, who was

About 6 million African Americans tried moving from Southern United States to the North. But what made them want to leave so badly? African Americans were not treated the same; the white Americans believed that they were superior to everyone else and they made sure African Americans knew that. Harsh segregation laws began, known as the Jim Crow Laws. Some examples of these laws are, “It shall be unlawful for a negro and white person to lay together..’ and, ‘Separate free schools shall be established for the education of children of African American descent...” These were just a few of the laws that began the separation of blacks and

Nothing was fair; nothing was as it should have been. White Americans felt the need to treat African Americans as lesser beings, when they were not any less than themselves. While being treated like nobodies caused civil right activists to rise up and take their stand for what was right (Howell np). Civil rights activists fought for years before anything they did started to make a difference until the Brown V. Board of Education case. “The first legal step taken to put an end to the practice of segregation came with the unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of

After the Brown versus Board of Education case, they realized that African American children probably felt inferior to the white, so they changed that precedent, and after that case, not wanting any race to feel inferior to anyone else. In the end, people have fought in court to stop discrimination and segregation, and the way the United States, and the way people viewed different races have changed. The Supreme Court may change the way they see things, and precedent changes. The case of Plessy versus Ferguson and Brown versus Board of Education changed the way we see other races