Pros And Cons Of The Civil Rights Movement

America has long been considered “the land of the free”, illustrated in many historic documents from around the time our country was born. The Declaration of Independence of 1776 immediately showed that freedom, as we declared ourselves independent of Britain’s rule. A little over a decade later, in 1787, the Constitution was created, after the failed attempt of the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution initiated the setup of America’s government during the Constitutional Convention, in which George Washington was selected as the first president of the United States. Another four years later, in 1791, the Bill of Rights was adopted as part of the Constitution, giving Americans their basic freedoms that are very much debated about today. In the Bill of Rights, Americans

Law enforcement has exposed minorities to discriminatory treatment and has many times physically abused minorities. Mistreatment is not always physical but sometimes non-violent harassment and humiliating. Police have been known to detain drivers for driving in certain areas or for driving a specific type of vehicle. The problem with racial profiling against minorities is that it creates distrust between racial minority communities and the police. The intensity and frequency of these complaints reveal a serious

According a study conducted by Chaney and Robertson, American’s attitudes about police officers have changed dramatically in the past ten years. Their study, which appeared in The Journal of African American Studies, suggests that instead of feeling safe and protected by police, many citizens actually feel animosity towards police officers, and are mistrustful and suspicious towards them (Chaney and Robertson 480). This situation seems almost impossible to rectify, especially since law enforcement is given the authority and the privilege to use force not only by the law, but also by society. In order to allow law enforcement officers this power, the public must completely trust those who are protecting them, and must believe that police are using force responsibly and ethically. People naturally assume that the police are well-trained to use force appropriately and fairly without prejudices.

The 1960-70’s was the height of the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans were dedicated to gaining liberties which only whites could exercise freely, and did this was done through peaceful as well as violent means of protest. Individuals such as Martin Luther King protested by means of preaching peace and utilizing nonviolent actions against whites while others such as Malcolm x and elijah muhammad resorted to not only violence, yet separatism to protest and show their urge to gain civil Liberties. Though, both methods of protest were aimed towards the same goal, only one was to be influential and bring about the change that African Americans desire.

During the tumultuous period of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s, the goal for bettering the lives of African-Americans was desired by many. However, the means of attaining that goal, varied greatly among the representatives of the movement. The African-American civil rights efforts were spearheaded by men of peaceful protest for integration, such as Martin Luther King Jr., and in contrast leaders such as Malcolm X who expressed separatist ideals. Other groups of civil rights advocated took an outright violent approach, such as the Black Panthers.

“A monday shooting at a Los Angeles police station was stopped in seconds by an officer carrying a weapon.” (stockman 6). Rifles have been a key tool in law enforcement for years upon years. “The spree ended when the killer was confronted by a military police officer with a weapon.” (stockman 3).

The 1900s was a time period filled with political corruption, social inequality and injustice, discrimination, poor working and living conditions. The progressive movement resulted in response to these issues. Members and advocates of this movement were usually white (some blacks too), middle-class, Christian, college educated women (and men). They sought to achieve social justice through equality and enhance life in America for everyone. To further the nation’s democratic ideals, they hoped to incorporate reforms based on the expectations of the majority public. The Progressive Movement was a success because even though they lasted only for a short period of time, they achieved many things that today we are benefitting from, like for example

In the 1960s the amount of injustices African Americans encountered were higher than ever. Africans Americans were merely fed up with the dehumanizing treatment , so they began to protest. This was called the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans were lynched , sicked by K-9s, hosed down , and even beaten in the streets by the police force for their equality. In fact as stated in Henry Louis Gates Jr’s Civil Rights Protest he elaborates on the police brutality African Americans experienced.

Reform or Revolution: Two Sides of the Civil Rights Coin The most famous mass movement in the history of the United States would certainly be the Civil Rights Movement. During the period of its highest activity, many different groups fought for racial equality. The movement started in relative unity, yet it splintered into different factions, which all different tactics in reaching the goal of equality. Bolstered by disillusionment with the nonviolent and gradualist tactics of mainstream civil rights organizations, groups such as the Black Panthers combined Marxism and Black nationalism to fight aggressively for the civil rights of African-Americans.

Instead the police often challenge black people for walking or driving. This leaves the communities frightened of police rather than feeling supported. In society today, the fear and violence in which the author lived when growing up in Baltimore still continue on. The growing media coverage of police brutality and racial injustice in the United States can be described as “An Event”. Because of all these issues taking place, many in society are becoming psychologically impacted never forgetting the events they have experienced.

Throughout history, the failure of the government to protect black people from ruthless enforcement officers, forced blacks to act in their own interests. During the 1930s, the National Negro Congress organized massive rallies against police brutality, the Black Panther was created to stem the tide of police abuse, and in the 1970s the Congress of African Peoples sponsored the “Stop Killer Cops” Campaigns (Fitzgerald, 2007). The list goes on and on of groups and campaigns that African Americans formed to protect themselves from white supremacy and most importantly police brutality. Although some observers claim that racial profiling doesn’t exist, there are an abundance of stories and statistics that document the

Thus it is very clear that the emancipation of slaves was no more than measure of war to give service to the paramount ob2 Lincoln’s emancipation policy , at the beginning , Lincoln planned to free the slaves of Delaware with Federal compensation at the rate of $400 per slave , showing though the huge expense was involved , the compensation at the rate of $400 each for all the salves was insignificant in comparison with one day’s cost of the war , which amounted to $2 , 000 , 000 , while eighty - seven days’cost of the war would be more than provide compensation at $400 each for all the slaves of Delaware , Maryland , the District [4]P375 of Columbia , Kentucky and Missouri. The other example is the emancipation proclamation. The e2 mancipation

There is a belief among some people that racist white police officers are hunting down innocent black men(Bandler, 2016). But thanks to a series of numbers brought to our eyes by the hand of a Heather Mac Donald, statistics from 2015 show that cops kill almost twice as many white people as black people (Mac Donald, 2016). On top of these statistics, the majority of the black victims were handling some kind of deadly weapon(Bandler, 2016). This does have a direct correlation with the amount of force used within the police force simply because of judgement and the way an intense time could alter the way people think or feel about specific situations(Bandler, 2016). Today, these specific situations almost seem like any traffic stop or crime confrontation(Bandler, 2016).

The number of shootings involving law enforcement officers and unarmed African American men has increased in the United States in recent months to the point where there is social unrest in one particular community: the African-American community. Groups such as Black Lives Matter have been created in the recent past to create tranquility between the police and the people of the Unites States. If media accounts of these incidents are accurate and these recent trends are taken together, the country is on the tipping point of a deadly unprecedented racial divide. It is safe to say that the majority of Americans would agree that the Civil Rights Movement achieved many of its goals, most would also agree that racism and racial profiling

Police officer’s reputations are reduced and they lose the public’s trust as protectors. Specifically, society talks about the act of a white police officer savagely attacking a black citizen. The black population was enraged by this act and formed activist movements to prevent any police brutality brought upon them. As the controversy rise, society starts picking a side to defend. In this case, the nation is split into two sides.