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The Struggle For Change And Equality In The 1960's

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The fight for change and equality was not an easy one. In 1955, a black seamstress named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. This landmark of civil disobedience was one of the many demonstrations of the struggle for change and equality. In addition to African Americans, women and immigrants have faced similar hardships for years on end. Many groups have struggled for change and equality from the 1940s to the 1960s.
African Americans were one of the many groups to have struggled for change and equality. The march on Washington was one of the several battles against racial discrimination to have taken place during these times. Prior to World War II, 75 percent of defense contractors refused to hire African Americans, and another 15 percent employed them only in menial jobs. In response to such discrimination, A. Philip Randolph, president and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, planned a march on Washington where he called on African Americans to come to capital on July 1, 1941. President Roosevelt, in fear the march might provoke white resentment or violence, asked Randolph to back down (Danzer et al. 771-772). Randolph refused, but cancelled the march after Roosevelt agreed to issue an executive order, “...calling on …show more content…

After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. citizens feared another Japanese attack. They began to believe false rumors that Japanese Americans were sabotaging the United States by mining coastal harbors and poisoning vegetables. A wave of prejudice against Japanese Americans had risen from U.S. fear and uncertainty, eventually resulting in the internment, or confinement of Japanese Americans, where they were rounded up and shipped to “relocation centers” (Danzer et al. 800). Pearl Harbor paranoia from the United States caused Japanese Americans to struggle for change and

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