A Brief Summary Of The Civil Rights Movement

With the rapid development of America’s economy and the rise of liberalism, a series of movement took place in American society in the 1960s, including civil rights movements among American Negroes, feminist movements among American women, and anti-war movements among young people. In order to prevent the prevalence of communism, America intervened in the Vietnam War, which caused dissatisfaction of common people. Being discriminated by the society, American Negroes and women began to fight for equal rights. Although the goals of the movements are various, they are intended to build a more equal, free, and peaceful America. These movements make a great contribution to changing Negroes’ and women’s status in politics, economy, culture as well

Martin Luther King was arrested. It was in the Birmingham jail where he wrote the famous Letter from Birmingham city jail. In the letter, King rejected the accusations against nonviolent resistance and civil rights activists made by white clergymen. This letter is an effective argument against the white clergymen’s criticism. The clergymen criticized that the nonviolent resistance created tension. To this, King defended that they just brought “the hidden tension” “out in the open where it can be seen and dealt with”. The clergymen accused the civil rights activities were untimely. However, King argued that “this ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never’.” They had waited long enough and it was difficult to wait any longer. The clergymen spoke highly of the Birmingham police force. To this, King set forth an array of misdeeds of the police and it was easy to judge whether they were laudable. King also used lots of rhetorical skills in the letter, including parallelism, ethos, and pathos. For example, he used parallelism when he described the conditions of Negroes: “when you have seen vicious mobs…”, “when you are humiliated day in and day out…”, and “when your wife and mother are never given the respected title…”, hoping that the clergymen and other officers could identify themselves with the Negroes and understand them. The letter was of great importance because it outlined the conditions of African Americans, defended civil rights movements, and illustrated the measures Martin Luther King and other civil rights activists took in the movements. It is still important today because it provides an opportunity for us to witness and reflect on the