4th paper

Here is my fourth paper, 4 down 2 to go. =) haha

-Discuss the civil rights movement in America since 1950, illustrating the challenges as well as the accomplishments involved. Be sure to comment on some of the differences within the civil rights movement, and the significance of those differences.

African Americans have been fighting for equality since they were first brought here to the United States of America. After the civil war blacks did gain freedom from slavery but they weren’t looked at as equals to whites. Many northerners fought for slave freedom during the civil war but were they thinking of the post war outcome if they won? Were these white men ready to work side by side with a black man in an office? Did they want these blacks voting in the booth next to them? Were they thinking that everything would be sunshine and lollipops for the slaves that had just gained freedom in a foreign land to them? Slaves were uneducated, knowing nothing but hard labor and punishment. Many didn’t understand that with the freeing of slaves all the problems wouldn’t be solved. Blacks wouldn’t be satisfied with only half freedom. Everyone has the right for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

“For Whites Only”. This is what signs said outside of businesses throughout the northern and southern parts of the United States. Segregation was the main problem and what the blacks fought the most. Cities were divided based on race, there were the white neighborhoods and the black back alley slums of the city. All over, the blacks were reminded that they weren’t white which made them different. Nice schools were for the white children. The front of the bus was designated for whites and blacks had to move from their seat if asked. Blacks weren’t paid minimum wage and didn’t have a say in any type of politics but did some of the hardest labor and were brushed under the political rug of issues to deal with. The American people knew that something was going to happen sooner or later, like Dr. King says, “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever.”

The first major step towards desegregation was in 1954 with the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The Chief Justice, Earl Warren, had a lot of pressure placed on him when this case entered his courtroom. He knew in the past how segregation cases were ruled (referring to the Plessy v. Ferguson case which stated that “separate but equal” was constitutional). Warren decided to focus on “today” and not concern himself with the customs or reasons that made segregation possible in the past. He said this, “In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.” He continued to point out that equal access to buildings and facilities didn’t necessarily indicate equal opportunity for education. Warren decided that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” The decision was based on the Fourteenth Amendment rights. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. With this ruling the nation was in shock. There was reorganization of schoolrooms, bus routes, and classroom roles. Warren designated desegregation as a top priority and then gave jurisdiction to the lower District Courts to handle the details and demanded that the changes be made “with all deliberate speed.” Many objecting states found this their excuse: they needed to slow the process and demanded state sovereignty. Many laws were passed and implemented to slow desegregation in southern states. Although it met with fierce opposition, this one event paved the way for large scale desegregation and gave blacks that ray of hope that they desperately needed.

There were many prominent leaders during the civil rights movement, but none were as influential in my opinion, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King was born into a segregated country in 1929. He attended school and acquired his doctorate after many struggles. Later in life King became a Baptist preacher in Alabama, whose courage and confidence in equality led to many protests against segregation. Many didn’t like King; one angry white woman even took a letter opener and stabbed King in the chest but luckily she barely missed his heart. Although King suffered many hardships he never used violence as an answer to the problem. King looked to two great examples of nonviolence; the first being Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi inspired King to fight injustice not with hate but with love. The second example that King looked to was Christ. Christ was the only one to suffer so much and did literally nothing to fight back or get even. He even forgave the men that were crucifying him saying, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” There aren’t many out there that could sit back and allow terrible things to happen to them and not say a cross word to them. Doctor King taught those that would listen to not fight back. In 1963 King led a protest in Birmingham, Alabama and spent several weeks in jail for doing so. While in Jail he wrote one of the most profound letters in defense of nonviolent protests that has ever been penned.

Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” explains the reasons why the movement must protest, even if it breaks the law. In this world there are just laws and unjust laws. A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that’s out of harmony with the moral law. If the law uplifts the human personality then it’s just but if any law degrades the human personality then it must be considered unjust. King stated that all segregation statues are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. He tried to help the people see that there are events in the past where people have broken the law or what they did wasn’t breaking any law but looked at as a bad thing. He reminds them that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid or comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany but King tells them that if he had lived in Germany he would have helped those Jews who were struggling. King makes a good point with this saying; one who breaks an unjust law must do so with a willingness to accept the penalty. Look where King is! He’s in jail willing to accept the punishment for his “crime.”

Another point he hits in this letter is his disappointment with Christians and their leaders. One white man from Texas wrote a letter to King saying this, “All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but it’s possible that you are in too much of a hurry. It has taken Christianity almost 2,000 years to accomplish what it has. The teachings of Christ take time to come to earth.” They had waited since the 1600’s for their freedom and to be treated like equals. King’s response to this was that time is neutral and that it’s only through the tireless efforts of men willing to sacrifice that change is brought about. He mentions that oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever and that eventually the yearning for freedom manifests itself. The black is reminded of his/her birthright of freedom and that it can be gained. King points his finger at those, both black and white that call themselves Christians but don’t take a stand to help the movement and sit on neutral ground, not willing to help either side. These are those that remained quiet, cautious, and safe behind their stained glass windows while others openly opposed and refused to support any such movement for desegregation. King felt as though there was no support outside of those blacks that felt the weight of oppression crushing them, and even though King tried to promote nonviolence, there were many that had had enough of doing nothing.

There were many acts of violence since the end of the civil war, most were done by whites. Dr. King was the greatest advocate for nonviolent protests. He tried to teach his followers that the war would be won not through violence and hate but through love and endurance. Many followed this counsel and participated in peaceful protests. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was a group of college students that explained their reason for participation in nonviolent protests. They say that by appealing to conscience and standing on the moral nature of human existence, nonviolence nurtures the atmosphere in which reconciliation and justice become actual possibilities. There were others that didn’t listen and thought that through violence more problems would be solved. One group, the Black Panther Party renounced nonviolence and had a new idea. In their protest they wanted everything just handed over to them and were willing to take measures if the country didn’t go along with what they wanted. Jan Howard mentioned though, that nonviolent protest were what really helped the civil rights movement because it was “only when racist whites responded violently to peaceful black protesters because only then would the broader public, appalled at the violence, give their support to the blacks.” When you think of it from her point of view, you can understand the strength of nonviolent protests. After the brutality of police officers during the march in Birmingham, Alabama the civil rights movement gained ground. There were many whites that acted very violently claiming the lives of thousands, but one group had been the most destructive, the Ku Klux Klan. Between 1884 and 1920 more than 3000 black men had been lynched.

There aren’t many that haven’t heard the “I Have a Dream” address given August 28th, 1963 in Washington, D.C. Dr. King gave that speech to over 250,000 people, around 60,000 of them being white. He told of how even a hundred years after the Civil War they still weren’t free; they were still crippled by the chains of discrimination. After that great March on Washington and a bombing killing four girls in Birmingham, Alabama, the ball began moving and change was occurring.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by President Johnson and was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. The Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The act also provided the federal government power to enforce desegregation. Then in 1968 another act was passed prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. In 1965 an act was passed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which made it easier for southern blacks to register to vote. The literacy tests, poll taxes, and other ridiculous requirements to restrict blacks from voting were made illegal. Although acts were being passed it would take more than a mere act to change the way of thinking of white Americans.

From 1968 to now there has been a real change of thinking. Blacks are accepted as equal citizens and treated like any other person. We have a black president, well he’s part black and we aren’t really sure if he’s American and he hasn’t done a very good job, actually he’s ruining our country. Although you still find people that don’t look at a black the same as a white. Blacks, at times, still feel the sting of discrimination but this isn’t a perfect country filled with perfect people, we are trying to get better and see each other as our brothers and sisters, not our inferiors. If we followed the counsel of the Declaration of Independence then we wouldn’t have so many problems, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”