The Civil Rights Movement: American Society In The 1960's

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

The African American Civil Rights movement existed at large between the early fifties and the late sixties in a society that was constantly on the verge of social destruction. The black rights movement existed politically, socially, and economically everywhere in the United States. As time progressed the movement developed and saw many changes along with schisms separating activists and how they approached getting their rights. In the early fifties there was a large non-violent integration based movement spearheaded by figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. However, as the time progressed, the movement started seeing a more aggressive leadership with figures such as Malcolm X, but eventually it turned into an extremist movement

Thurgood Marshall played a part in the change through his rulings on the Supreme Court and by helping defend others like on the decisive Supreme Court case “Brown v. The Board of Education”. As Marshall stated once "The position of the Negro today in America is the tragic but inevitable consequence of centuries of unequal treatment . . . In light of the sorry history of discrimination and its devastating impact on the lives of Negroes, bringing the Negro into the mainstream of American life should be a state interest of the highest order. To fail to do so is to ensure that America will forever remain a divided society" (“The man who turned racism into history THE LAW’If white supremacy has subsided in the United States, it’s largely due to Thurgood Marshall of the Supreme Court.”, par 10). African Americans were mistreated, viewed as lower class, and were not equal in the eyes of the people or the law. Although the law changed, people were not as quick to the change, so African American were continually mistreated until others stood up for them and put their feet down just like Thurgood Marshall did in order to let African Americans gain equality. Marshall was a strong believer in the law and that things can and would change for the better like how he suggested "The Negro who was once enslaved by law

The tactics used civil rights movement of both the 1950’s and 1960’s were different helped them succeed in different ways. During the late 1950s the tactics that were used were political, while in the early in 1960s they used social and political tactics to get their goals achieved, but in the late 1960s the tactics that were used were primarily economic and social,

The Civil Rights Movement was the movement that changed history for the African Americans. They had been struggling for many decades to be able to vote and now they can. They have faced the struggles of being ostracized from society, being sold, born, and forced into slavery. They were not liked well when they were apart of anything dealing with politics. The Civil Rights Movement was a successful movement in terms of helping the African Americans. The Civil Rights Movement helped the African Americans gain their ability to vote, there wasn’t anymore discrimination, and they had equal rights.

Have you ever wondered what started school integration? Imagine having to be bullied only because of your skin color. Not being able to get an education just because you're a different race than everybody else. Desegregation was very hard subject for americans in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Fortunately, there were people willing to fight about this. African Americans were not welcome in schools with white people for a very long time, until some people started battling for a change.

All people deserve equal rights, no matter what. African Americans who lived during the 1960’s were treated unfairly: They couldn’t use the same bathrooms at white people, they couldn’t swim in the same pool as white people, and they couldn’t even drink from the same drinking fountain as white people. African Americans even went to Vietnam to fight for the common good of their country, though they weren’t even well respected after they risked their lives for their country. After a long time of being treated unfairly, people realized they needed to fight for equal rights. Both adults and young people had to help to change the nation. (Expert 21: America Dreaming)

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.

The United States, born of oppression, has grown a cancer that imitates the very subjugation that the country was birthed from. Racism in America is a lingering narrative that has extended itself to the modern era. The Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s appeared to be the zenith of black suffrage; racism seeming to reach a resolution were. However, racism towards the black community is still seen in the 21st century, shown by the rise of police brutality seemingly targeted towards the black community and the Black Lives Matter movement. Racism in America still perseveres after the Civil Rights movement, shown by the unremitting discrimination of black men and women.

In the journal article titled Legal Control of the Southern Civil Rights Movement, Academic scholar Steve E. Barkan summarizes past social and political movements during the Civil Rights Movement. Barker analyzes the success and failures of the movements by referring to two distinct types of social movements “Resource Mobilization” and “Political process” and their responses to white “Legalistic” and “Violent” attacks. Resource Mobilization focuses on how movements gain power by accumulating resources available to them(Unions, Civil rights groups, The Federal government, Northern support). The political process theory explains how groups are inspired to mobilize and how access to the political system is available to everyone. One of the PP

The Black Power movement is recognised as a more radical group of civil rights campaigners who believed in separatism amongst black and white Americans. They were known to approach the civil rights issue using more revolutionary tactics than those of other civil rights seekers, for example, Martin Luther King’s. However, their intent was not always violent; their goal was to give black Americans equal health service, education, etc. Although most of their efforts resulted in bringing negative impact on the civil rights movement, the Black Power movement also had positive impact on the social and economic status of African-Americans.

I believe that a new civil rights movement is forming in America. Intersectional feminists, the BlackLivesMatter organization, and many individuals are striving for a change. Even presidential hopeful, Bernie Sanders sees the need for change in America. I have seen ordinary people organize protests. Others paid for the funeral costs for the police brutality victims. No matter the contribution, most people demand the call for equality. Average students are becoming more and more like Dr. Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael, and even Rosa Parks (who is often compared as Bree Newsome in this time - the woman who tore down the Confederate flag at the South Carolina State House). Millennials are striving to fix the problems previous generations

The 60’s was a platform for the people of the United States to speak up for what they believed in and to create cultural revolutions. Two of the most impactful revolutions during this era include the anti-war Vietnam and Civil Rights movements. Consequently, both movements had multiple interactions because of their overwhelming influence. Both of these movements overlapped in numerous ways as well. Including the struggle against media distortion, suppression dissent, and being a multi-issue movement all at the same time. Despite these complications, they both related political struggles to domestic ones and is the reason they are so meaningful. As the Civil Rights and the anti-war Vietnam movements emerged the Cold War unfolded simultaneously.

The life of Black people nowadays in America differs substantially from that of Blacks in the past. When black people first arrived in America, they did not have any rights. However, in the process of acquisition of rights, Black people experienced many movement such as American Civil War, and Civil Rights Act. As a result, their life was improved and gained more rights, liberty, and happiness through long history.

As Elie Wiesel once said,“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.” When it comes to changing the course of history as we know it, and to influence society’s norms and values, social activism is a must. The movement cannot move without the support behind it. While many movements throughout history have succeeded, and are now praised for the tireless work and determinism that the many leaders put in over the years, many more have faded into the past. Thankfully, the Civil Rights movement had the support it needed in order to create the change it wanted to accomplish. Many men and women dedicated their lives to the movement, and eventually these activists achieved their goal. However, the entire United States wasn’t like the