Civil Rights Movement: Great Success And Legacy

Civil Rights Movement Name Institution Civil Rights Movement The 1960s were a defining moment in the United States. Having depicted its might by annihilating Japan during the Second World War, the US was seemingly unstoppable, but the Soviet Union had other plans, and this led to the Cold War which lasted the better part of the second-half of the 20th century. However, while the country was externally showing its might and getting involved in an arms race with the Soviet Union, internally, it was disintegrating, and the cohesive forces that had seemed unbreakable were slowly growing softer. From the antiwar movement to the civil rights movement, the country was taken through a series of events which forever changed and altered its trajectory. Many will agree that the country’s history was re-written and took a turn during the 60s mainly because of these two movements. The antiwar movement was against the country’s involvement in the Vietnam War, but the Civil Rights Movement was for social justice something which had been inherently ignored since the country’s independence. The African Americans had since before independence been regarded as inferior to the White Americans and apparently, the law allowed the disparity to exist. However, people like Philip Randolph, Dr Martin Luther King Jr., James Farmer Jr., John Lewis, Whitney Young Jr., and Roy Wilkins had had enough and sought for change. These individuals had seen it all and had decided that they wanted a different and new America. One which recognizes the rights of the African Americans and considers them equal to the White Americans. While seeking to dig deeper and uncover truths about the civil rights movement, it is essential to note that the movement did achieve great success and its legacy forever remains ingrained in the brains of the Americans and the history books. The discontent that Inspired the Movement in the First Place The civil rights movement cannot be said to have begun in the 1950s because the African Americans have been fighting against social injustice since time immemorial. From the slavery era to the Jim Crow laws, the African Americans found themselves fighting against statutes that were purposefully instituted to humiliate and condemn them. While their struggle might have paid off, there seems to be still issues that need to be dealt with even today. However, none can say that the change has not been immense. Some of the issues or the discontent that led to the civil rights movement include: * Segregation laws. * Inequality in everything. * Discriminatory housing laws. * African American inclusion in the government and other institutions. Main Goals and Objectives of the Movement The civil rights movement had several goals and objectives which it sought to achieve. Aside from exposing the rot in America’s system, the movement showed the world the social injustice as well as the unequal divide between the white and black races. The government had allowed the adoption of laws which only meant to seclude and condemn the black race to poverty. In the minds of some white Americans, the African Americans were still second to them and were meant to serve. However, as more African Americans became informed about their rights, it became apparent that status quo had to be altered. Therefore, from the 1950s, African Americans started speaking out against laws that seemed to demean them as well as others which seemed to reinforce the idea that they were second-rate citizens. Slowly, the African Americans started to organize themselves, and even though the civil rights movement did not start in the 1950s, it gained momentum then as more African Americans started to depict dissatisfaction with the system. As the movement increased its reach, its goals and objectives became more pronounced. They included but were not limited to the following: * Desegregation of schools as well as other public facilities – even though the founding fathers affirmed independence and equality, it never felt the same for everyone and especially the African Americans who were made to feel less human by their white counterparts. Segregation was a heinous but widely accepted law in the US. Apparently, the African Americans were not considered equals and therefore, were not allowed to some places. They were deemed inferior and inadequate and therefore, could not be allowed in. They were restricted to certain institutions, schools, playgrounds, restrooms, sections of the buses, restaurants, etc. In the Southern States, the Jim Crow laws ensured and enhanced segregation. Therefore, desegregation became an objective that was to be achieved as the movement started. Dumenil (2012), notes that “desegregation was both a legal goal of the civil rights movement and a process by which segregation in schools, public accommodations, housing, and employment would be eliminated.” Slowly, the African Americans started to show signs of discontent and a need for more recognition. Notable examples of people who showed discontent regarding these laws include Rosa Parks, Nellie Hunt, as well as the young men who organized the sit-down strike in Greensboro. Segregation was a cruel way to tell the African Americans they were not adequate and therefore, many of them decided to dissent. * Equality in everything – while equality was promised in the independence documents, it was never achieved in real life. African Americans were considered second-rate citizens and never seemed to match their white counterparts in anything. From education to other issues such as access to healthcare and provision of security, the country was indeed widely unequal. These issues angered the African Americans, and many of them decided to come together and work as a team as they seek to demand for change. * Voting – voting is today considered a fundamental right for every citizen. However, back then, it was not considered as such because African Americans were not ‘expected’ to vote. However, Weinblatt (2016) opines that “in order to truly change the status of blacks on America, the ability to freely vote was greatly desired by African Americans”, and this made it a worthy objective. * Increased access to jobs and housing – jobs were for those who were deemed qualified or competent/skillful enough. For the African Americans, this meant that since a majority of them did not have basic education or were not trained in any field, securing a job was an uphill task. Apparently, this was a ploy to condemn them to a cycle of poverty because lack of jobs simply meant that one could not access healthcare, or education for their children, or even housing. The discriminatory laws in place which were often overlooked by the government condemned the ‘people of color’ to abject poverty, and many of them suffered as a result. However, the civil rights movement offered them a chance to air their grievances and to demand change and this they did. * Seek to reverse the “separate but equal” rhetoric – this rhetoric was common with the White Americans who wanted to be considered equal to the African Americans but not equal enough to want to share everything with them. The White Americans wanted to live a separate life and did not want to interact with the African Americans at any level. They wanted a life different and separate to who and how the African Americans lived. The civil rights movement sought to repeal this behavior and change the rhetoric to simply equal. This became an important and valid objective or goal for the movement. Important Individuals and Leaders who were Involved The civil rights movement attracted millions of African Americans all over the country. They were tired of a system that always seemed to consider them last and never seemed to want to consider or even debate on issues that afflicted them. Gradually, several people came together and decided to unite under some individuals who seemed to have a vision of an America that treated everyone equally and had a place for even the feeblest of humans. Several people became famous during the movement, and while some of them never survived to tell of the great successes, their names will forever remain in the history books of not only the US but of the world. Below is a list of important individuals and leaders who were involved in the movement: * Martin Luther King Jr. – King, was a pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, and while preaching the gospel did help him attract people around him, it is his contribution to the civil rights movement that made him popular and endeared him to the millions of Americans. After Rosa Parks was arrested after refusing to give her seat in a bus, King organized a nation-wide bus boycott for a year, and while its success brought joy to the millions of African Americans, he was considered a menace by the White Americans. King later decided to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) which mainly organized protests in the South. While he still continued his work as a pastor, King found purpose in being an activist, and for fourteen years he fought and wrestled the social injustice that was prevalent in America. His heroics were honored mainly “because of the nonviolent strategies he used in his fight for civil rights” (Weinblatt, 2016) and he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and later the Presidential Medal of Honor. * Philip Randolph – Randolph was a man who had seen it all and therefore, desired change. Before his death, he had served as an activis...