The civil rights movement was a well-known lobby meant to safeguard African-Americans rights to equal access of chances to the key advantages and rights of United State Citizenship. The movement traces its roots to the 19 th century but it gained tract in the 1950s and 1960s. African-Americans along with white allies marshalled and spearheaded the movement at national and grass-root level. The movement sought to achieve its objectives through negotiations, petitions, legal means and non-violent protests. It was among the largest movements of the 20 th century and had a major influence on the women rights movement and student movements of the 1960. The civil rights movement was mainly focused in America’s south regions since the area was densely populated with an African American population. The southern region’s African American population mainly faced racial bias in education, politics, economic opportunities and legal proceedings. At the start of the 19 th century, state and local authorities enforced segregation legislation known as Jim Crow laws; they were means to impose limitations on voting which posed the black population economically and politically powerless. The movement was therefore meant to address mainly three areas of bias: voting rights, education and social discrimination (Adamson, 2016). The paper will address if the civil rights movement was successful in achieving its main goals and garnering nationwide support. There has been significant progress achieved due to the successes of the civil rights movement, however it was not fully successful as racist attitudes and perceptions still exist today.
The Rosa Parks incident in 1955 was noted as the beggining of the civil rights movement causing blacks in the Southern region to protest for the end of lawful segregation. Rosa Parks was a 42 year old woman who was forced to vacate a seat in a bus for white participants. Blacks were assigned places rear end of the bus while whites were assigned front seats. Rosa Parks and three black friends had complied with the law but since there was no space at the front the drivers asked her and three other black friends to vacate the seats. Park’s refusal to vacate her seat caused her arrest which ignited outrage and support; the event was credited as the start of the civil rights movement. Black community heads established the Montgomery Improvement Association with Martin Luther King Jr. as its leader, later he would become integral in the fight for civil rights. The campaign assumed two forms; a boycott of Montgomery buses and a legal defense of Rosa’s action. The boycott was crucial since the nation came to a realization of blacks economic power they comprised more that 70 percent of all bus riders. Park’s courage incited Martin Luther King and the association to stage 381 days boycott which consequently led to segregation seating being declared as unconstitutional (Andrews et al. 2015 p. 1021)). The boycott achieved limited results since it did not contribute to the end of segregation however it was crucial since it did show what could be attained through organized and peaceful non-violent protests. Martin Luther King was once quoted saying, The re comes a time when people get tired – tired of being segregated and humiliated: tired of being kicked about by the brutal feet of oppression. The boycott also caused the establishment of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to campaign for civil rights.
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The 1954 United States Supreme Court decision of Brown v, Board of Education of Topeka , Kansas was a turning point for the civil right fight (Andrews, 2018). The resolution criminalized racial segregation all public schools. Whites were opposed to the resolve; in the Southern region white supremacist gatherings such as the Ku Klux Klan resisted desegregation in attempts that sometimes led brutality. The main earmark of the supremacist groups was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The pioneering national civil rights organization NAACP assumed a crucial part at the grassroot level; blacks in the Southern region arranged branches to limit inequalities in their communities. The initial efforts to follow the Brown decision happened in Arkansas, capital Little Rock in 1957. The attempt at implementation was mainly influenced by NAACP leader Daisy Bates (Adamson, 2016). A local school board admitted nine black student to a predominantly white high school. The admission of the Little Rock nine as they were later called happened amidst protests that actually escalated to violence. The Little Rock Nine showed up at Central High School to start classes but were countered by the Arkansas National Guard under the order of Governor Orval Faubus and a violent mob. The students tried to access the school later and made it in but had to be escorted out due to the escalating violence. President Eisenhower intervened and ordered that the students be escorted to and from school however they faced discrimination and prejudice all through. The efforts of the students brought attention to the issue of segregation fuelling more protests. The Little Rock incident was crucial to the Civil rights movement since it brought attention to the struggle of blacks in the nation.
The sit-in campaigns and the freedom walks were important for the civil rights movement. On February 1, 1990 four African American students entered a restaurant in an attempt eat food at a whites-only counter in North Carolina but were declined service. In an act of protests the students remained seated at the restaurant until it closed (Bigler, 2018). The next day they returned with 25 others who proceeded with the sit-ins despite protests and threats from the whites. By 5 th February there were more than 300 participants in the sit-in protest. At the end of the year 1960 more than 700,000 protesters had joined in the sit-ins nationwide. The sit-ins were quite successful since they attained popularity nationwide. The protest highlighted the racist attitudes to many southern blacks. The sit-in protests were crucial since the bravery and devotion of the protestors achieved approval nationwide. During the summer of 1960 most lunch counters were desegregated. Despite the tremendous achievement the sit-ins did not succeed in ending segregation in the Southern region since the effects were only felt in the grassroots. The sit-in protests was a little part of the overall campaign to terminate segregation and inequality in the South (Bigler, 2018). The Freedom rides were aimed at determining if the segregation had been eliminated in public facilities. In traditional Martin Luther style of non-violent protest, citizens challenged the law by using these facilities. This led to violent attacks in states such as Alabama; the pictures broadcast throughout the nations were deeply shocking (Bigler 2018). By the end of 1961 the Federal Government had instructed the end to discrimination in all public transportation.
In 1961, James Meredith attempted to join the University of Mississippi but was denied access twice (Andrews, 2018). He submitted the case to court and they concurred that he was being treated unjustly. Barnett the Mississippi governor was under the notion that a black man was created different to punish him and therefore denied James Meredith access. Federal Marshals had to intercede to safeguard him due to the protests and riots, they escorted him to class each day for a year (Andrews, 2018). August 28, 1963 was a crucial day for the civil rights movement since it was the day Martin Luther King gave his famous speech . More than 200, 000 blacks and their supporters matched to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The event was crafted to attain one of the main objectives of the civil rights movement which was to gain publicity and garner nationwide success, Martin Luther King gave a legendary speech (Spring, 2016). The March and speech highlighted the problem of civil rights to the president who was convinced to act. Birmingham was considered the most bias city in the country. The Governor of Alabama was once quoted declaring, segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. Demonstrations were conducted nationwide under the leadership of school children, the public was angered by the violence meted among the children by law enforcement. Martin Luther King used this publicity to the advantage of the movement forcing the president to act. the Federal Government intervened and President Kennedy forced a termination to segregation in Birmingham (Sanders, 2017 p. 691).
In the course of the civil rights movement, four civil rights were passed that contributed to the success of the movement; the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1968 Fair Housing Act. Each of these laws passed sought to solve the racial problems of the time; together the acts furthered the goals of the civil rights movement. The acts improved the economic conditions of the black population by providing them with opportunities, providing voting rights for blacks and alleviation of desegregation. The civil rights activities and demonstrations described above paved way for the passage of these acts. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was attributed to the end of segregation in most sectors. The act was attributed for the end of inequality in public places, banning of employment discrimination due color, nationality, race, sex or religion. The act was regarded as one of the main legislative attainment of the civil rights movement. The act first proposed by John F. Kennedy endured opposition from southerners in Congress but was eventually signed by Lyndon B. Johnson (Gilkes, 2017). Johnson was not an ardent advocate of the civil rights movement; he was a Texas senator before his presidency and had done nothing to end segregation in his career. The main highlights of the act were banning of segregation in all public places such as restaurants, hotels, movie theaters and petrol stations, discrimination on the basis of any factors was banned in all places that employed more than 25 individuals, and finally all states that discriminated against blacks would be charged in a court. The act was crucial since most individuals believed that it was a key help towards helping African Americans attain all civil rights. However the act failed to solve inequality in the housing sector or voting rights. The act did not reassure blacks of their security, groups such as KKK still issued threats against black people made an effort to utilize the freedoms stipulated in the act. The Voting Rights act of 1965 was signed into law on August 6, 1965, this was a step further from the Civil Rights Act. The new law banned the use of voter literacy acts as a restriction for blacks to vote. The Fifteenth Amendment ascertained that all Americans had the rights to vote despite their race (Sanders 2017 p. 691). Despite the amendment, most states in the South had placed limitations for voting registration such as literacy tests. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 granted blacks their rightful dignity, Martin Luther King said that without voting it was a deserved dignity without strength. After the passing of the voting rights act most than 250,000 black were registered as voters. Despite the Supreme Court decisions such as Shelley v. Kraemer of 1948 and Jones v. Mayer Co. of 1968 which illegalized the discrimination of African Americans from some areas of the city, race-based housing was still enforced by the late 1960s (Button, 2014) . Blacks and minorities who opposed the decision often received hostility, resistance and violence. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Committee against Discrimination in Housing lobbied for the passing of the legislation. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was made into law just a few days after the assassination of Martin Luther King. The law was designed to prevent discrimination founded on religion, race, religion or nationality. In the United States congress debate over the bill, Senator Edward Brooke the first African American in the Senate described personal struggle to provide decent housing for his family due to his race (Chong 2014). It was the final legislation passed during the civil rights movement era.
The Civil Rights Movement had some of its successes, however it failed to achieve some of the objectives of the movement. There are many successful African Americans in the United States today ranging from the entertainment industry, politics, and academia; the country actually had a two term black president. Despite the successes, African Americans are still in an inferior position compared to whites in most notable areas. For instance the four civil rights laws enforced provided chances for African Americans by opening doors to potential opportunities however the lack of complete achievement in these areas cannot be a result to the failures of the legislation but rather it was due to persistent discrimination and segregation. There is still a lot of racism against black people today especially with the existence of groups such as KKK (Sanders 2017 p. 691). The recent years have been marred with police brutality against African-Americans, an issue that was a main concern for civil rights activists in the 1950s and 1960s. Police brutality is another area where the civil rights movement did not succeed in changing. There are no direct laws causing segregation in public facilities but there is definitely a sense of internalized racism among most individuals. One of the main proponents of the civil rights movement Martin Luther King propagated for economic empowerment. I Have a Dream speech and March was mainly for jobs and freedom. The civil rights movement might have abolished segregation and discrimination but most Africans Americans still experience the highest rate of unemployment and low income. The main economic problems targeted by the Civil Rights movement have not been overcome. It is important to acknowledge that racism did not end in the 1960 since it still persists in most areas. By 1990, the median income of a black family was significantly less than that of an average white family. The government has not been able to stop private discrimination; this is an instance where a white person gives excuses for not hiring a black person. Black people continue to experience bias when they try to purchase a house since most individuals assume that they have low credit scores as a result of internalized racism (Crimi 2017). The Republican Party which was in power for most of the 1980s and 1990s tried to stop affirmative action since they believe that it was reverse discrimination against white people. The civil rights movement was important since it made significant strides in the fights against inequality and segregation however the movement was partly successful since some of the problems are still in existence today.
References
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Andrews, K. T. (2018). Freedom is a constant struggle: The Mississippi civil rights movement and its legacy . University of Chicago Press.
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Button, J. W. (2014). Blacks and social change: Impact of the civil rights movement in southern communities (Vol. 1029). Princeton University Press.
Chong, D. (2014). Collective action and the civil rights movement . University of Chicago Press.
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Sanders, C. R. (2017). You Can't Eat Freedom: Southerners and Social Justice after the Civil Rights Movement by Greta de Jong. Register of the Kentucky Historical Society , 115 (4), 699-701.
Spring, J. (2016). Deculturalization and the struggle for equality: A brief history of the education of dominated cultures in the United States . Routledge.
