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Essay Subject: Montgomery bus boycott, sit-ins, role of students & media, black voter registration, major organizations & leaders, black power, legacy.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Montgomery bus boycott, sit-ins, role of students & media, black voter registration, major organizations & leaders, black power, legacy. Paper Introduction: The civil rights movement helped prepare America to become a multicultural society. Before the civil rights movement, Americans had believed in the doctrine of "separate but equal." In demanding full integration into society, blacks paved the way for the inclusion of women, disabled people, and other minorities in the American mainstream. The Montgomery bus boycott of the 1950s was a watershed event in the fledgling civil rights movement. For years, the city bus system in Montgomery, Alabama had been segregated. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a black domestic worker, refused to give up her seat to a white male passenger. Parks was arrested and charged for violating a municipal ordinance. The arrest of Parks, who was a member of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), enraged the black community; Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Members of the Civil Rights movement also became involved in the anti-war movement. 167). Some blacks believed that the Vietnam War was partly a conspiracyto commit genocide on young black men. In Stephen Macedo(Ed.), Reassessing the Sixties (pp. (199 ). The rhetoric of Malcolm X and the Blacks Muslims contributed to thecall for black separatism. 232). The successful activist strategies of the bus boycott formed thefoundation for the lunch counter sit-ins, which became the next stage inthe civil rights movement. National attention focused on the brutal murders of volunteers MichaelSchwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney, two whites and one black,whose disappearance set off a massive search headed by the FBI. The SDSwas interested in a broad range of human rights issues. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth. When Malcolm X wasassassinated in 1965, he became a martyr to the black community, a symbolof a black man who stood up for his heritage and his rights. Martin's Press.----------------------- 3 The Freedom Rides were organizedby CORE to protest the continued practice of segregation of transportationfacilities in the South. 173). The arrest of Parks, who was a member of the NAACP (NationalAssociation for the Advancement of Colored People), enraged the blackcommunity; within days, she was tried and found guilty. 192). The civil rights movementforced America to examine its own prejudices: "The 196 s are memorable forthe optimistic ideals of racial rapprochement that spirited civil rightsadvances" (Allen, 1997, p. New York: W. Dominant groups in societyseldom relinquish their power, except by force. Taking advantage of the community outrage over the treatment ofParks, the NAACP sprung into action. (1995). We must form our owninstitutions, credit unions, co-ops, political parties, write our ownhistories" (Anderson, 1995, p. The KennedyAdministration was forced to provide protection by the National Guard forsubsequent rides. 62). in 1968. NewYork: New York University Press. The movement and the sixties. For years, the city bus system inMontgomery, Alabama had been segregated. The statement "outlined SDS's new system, and . W. Steigerwald, D. In the past decades, America has alsoexamined its views toward women and the disabled population. The lunch counter sit-ins started in the early196 s in Greensboro, North Carolina. This organization wasfounded in 196 by white student activists, among them Tom Hayden. Images filled the screen of black people being beaten by thepolice, having police dogs sicced on them, and being hosed into submissionwith water from fire hydrants. Althoughblacks today are still engaged in the struggle to obtain full equality insociety, much progress has been made. Reflections on black power. With the prevailing black sentimentbeing separatism, black organizations like SNCC and CORE eventuallyexpelled all their white members; SNCC members even stopped attending theannual SDS convention. (1995). Parks was arrested and charged for violating a municipalordinance. Any optimism about nonviolent civil rights was shattered with theassassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The SDS and other studentorganizations made unprecedented demands on the administrators of thevarious colleges they attended, including more student control ofregulations. As the buses reached the deep South, the occupants were subjected toextreme violence at the hands of whites, who severely injured some of theoccupants. 153). Some blacksinterpreted the assassination as a personal affront. The young men who bore the brunt ofthe draft were blacks and poor whites. Four black students from North Carolina A&T College decided tochange this racist policy. Rioting occurred in several major citiesthroughout the United States. The strategy of social protest. According to the Jim Crow laws of thesouth, blacks were not allowed to eat in certain sections of restaurantswith whites. African People's Party ten pointprogram. . The next morning the Greensboro 4 were joined by about 3 morestudents from A&T college, all of whom sat at the lunch counter withoutbeing served. King was in Memphis atthe time, and he seemed to have a premonition of his impending death. Reporters were invited along on the ride as twobuses containing black and white volunteers made their way from Washington,D.C. The young blacks who hadwearied while waiting for their elders to do something about segregatedconditions were beginning to get restless again. The members met with a coalition ofblack ministers, among them Martin Luther King Jr. W. 42). The black power movement of the mid-196 s reflected the increasinglycommon view among African-Americans that they would never achieve fullequality with whites until they took matters into their own hands. The media were especially instrumental in publicizing the injusticesthat both black and white activists endured during the next phase of theCivil Rights movement, the Freedom Rides. Television had only recentlybecome popular in the average American home, and viewers sat glued to theirsets as newscasts provided extensive coverage of the struggle for freedomin the South. 192). Their efforts were concentrated inMississippi, and the campaign became known as the Mississippi FreedomSummer. Before the civil rights movement, Americans hadbelieved in the doctrine of "separate but equal." In demanding fullintegration into society, blacks paved the way for the inclusion of women,disabled people, and other minorities in the American mainstream. Blacks were opposed to the VietnamWar for several reasons. in the South where themovement stood to lose in any violent clash with white authorities"(Steigerwald, 1995, p. The bus boycott lasted for a year and was an unmitigatedsuccess; it generated publicity and put the national spotlight onMontgomery. Norton. During the summer of 1964, blacks and whites worked together to getSouthern blacks registered to vote. . Between 1965 and 1967, President Johnson's administrationescalated American involvement in the Vietnam War; this meant thatthousands of young men were drafted. PhilipRandolph, and Martin Luther King were alarmed by the militancy of the blackpower movement. Blackswere tiring of Martin Luther King's tactics of nonviolence: "The blackpowerites argued that the civil rights establishment had failed to obtainmeaningful, positive changes for the masses of black folk" (Kennedy, 1997,p. Although Malcolm X was not as popular as MartinLuther King Jr., the black community empathized with Malcolm'saggressiveness toward whites. The Montgomery bus boycott of the 195 s was a watershed event in thefledgling civil rights movement. The media played an important role in creating solidarity amongdiverse groups in the civil rights movement. 226). In 1961, the SDS steering committee met in Port Huron,Michigan to set into writing its statement of policy. The sit-ins continued with more participants and for longerperiods: "The Greensboro protests were not so spontaneous as theyappeared. Nonviolence had achievedlittle in the way of equality. The civil rights movement demonstrated the ability of certain groupsto raise the consciousness of the mainstream. All the violence was caught on tape and broadcast. One such reserved lunch counter was located in a Woolworth'sstore. (1997). Inhis last speech, he spoke of having seen the promised land. Allen, A. Viewers in the North were shocked by whatthey saw: "the collective action repertoire of the civil rights movementprovided great television" (Gamson, 199 , p. The MontgomeryImprovement Association (MIA) was formed, and King was appointed aspresident: "Although King had been in Montgomery for only a year and wasjust 26 years old, he was educated, the best speaker, and a minister, allassets which would pull the black community together" (Anderson, 1995, p.45). (1997). The civil rights movement helped prepare America to become amulticultural society. a"twentieth century Uncle Tom" (Anderson, 1995, p. Anderson, T. Unlike whites, who had only witnessed the injustices in themedia, blacks had firsthand knowledge of violence perpetrated onthemselves, their friends, and their relatives. That summer proved extremely violent for the civil rights workers. Malcolm X labelled Martin Luther King Jr. 152). Without the triumphs of the civilrights movement, America would not have been able to benefit from thediversity of its population. In Stephen Macedo(Ed.), Reassessing the Sixties (pp. The young activists wanted change now, even if it meantviolence. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks,a black domestic worker, refused to give up her seat to a white malepassenger. When the white waitress refused, the studentsremained seated until the store closed, then left peacefully. The civil rights movement represented a diversity ofinterests: "[It] spanned a range of [social movement organizations] fromwell-established prior organizations (NAACP and Urban League) throughchallengers as different as SCLC, CORE, SNCC, the Black Panthers, andvarious black nationalist groups" (Gamson, 199 , p. (1995). New York: W. Gamson, W. 157). The nonviolent strategy of boycotting was uniquely suited tothe time and place: "In theory, nonviolent confrontation allowed a weakgroup to confront a much greater power . Another positive benefit was that it broughttogether factions of the black community which had hitherto been incompetition with one another: black political organizations and the blackchurches. 19 -192). The half-life of integration. During this period, blacks' consciousness about their own roots,racial pride, and their unique contributions to world society was growing.As one black activist noted, "If we are to proceed toward true liberation,we must cut ourselves off from white people. King wasgunned down that evening by James Earl Ray, a white drifter. .was a radical document that clearly was a response to and a rejection ofthe immediate past" (Anderson, 1995, p. Norton. The result was thePort Huron Statement. References African People's Party. Eventually, the students formed their own group SNCC (StudentNonviolent Coordination Committee) headed by leaders like Julian Bond andStokeley Carmichael. The sixties and the end of modern America.New York: St. The students sat down at the counter anddemanded to be served. Thesestudents became known as the Greensboro 4. 44) The established black civil rights organizations made overtures tothe college students about working together for the cause, but findingcommon ground between the two generations regarding tactical issues wasdifficult. Their firstconference was attended by members of CORE, the NAACP, SNCC, and the UnitedAuto Workers. Moderate blacks like Roy Wilkins, A. New York:Oxford University Press. Kennedy, R. 2 7-227). First, blacks believed that their own strugglewas on American soil: "Carmichael blasted Selective Service as nothingmore than 'white people sending black people to make war on yellow peoplein order to defend the land they stole from red people'" (Anderson, 1995,p. As one black nationalist group putit, "We believe that Black people should not be forced to fight in themilitary service to defend a racist government that does not protect us"(African People's Party, 1995, p. King's death was a shock to the entirenation, and President Johnson called for a national day of mourning. 228-252). 159). As StokeleyCarmichael contended, "When white America killed Dr. King, she declared waron us" (Anderson, 1995, p. In Lyman Sargent (Ed.), Extremism in America (pp. The students who intitiated and led the sit-ins had been raisedwithin a community that had a long tradition of resistance to segregation"(Steigerwald, 1995, p. . Schwerner,Goodman, and Chaney were not the only casualties: "This set the tone for asummer in which the remaining volunteers were subjected to beatings,bombings, arrests, and other forms of harassment" (Gamson, 199 , p. The black civil rights workers were joined in some of their effortsby the SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.