Explain How Civil Rights Have Affected You

Priscilla Blackmon

Research Paper

POLI 215 001

04/10/2021
 The Civil Rights Movement was a nonviolent civil freedom movement that began in the

1950s. The movement was started to bring change to discrimination that was taking place against

Black Americans and minorities in America. Several civil rights advocates took leadership

during the movement by using protest tactics to help reach the goal of desegregation and to stop

the unethical treatment. The civil rights movement led to there being constitutional changes in

America.

The importation and enslavement of Africans marked the beginning of the Black experience

in America. In 1808, there was a ban on the import of slaves but the prohibition was in vain

because the trade continued. (History.com, 2021). In 1865, the emancipation proclamation was

confirmed by the constitution, which outlawed slavery. The Civil war officially abolished slavery

but did not end descrimination and racism towards Black people. Abolishing slavery created a

new world order in America. With minorities now being citizens of society, they wanted to do so

with equal rights as well. The Civil Rights Movement was a struggle for social justice that took

place mainly during the 1950s and 1960s for Black Americans to gain equal rights under the law

in the United States. Civil rights are the non political rights of a citizen, for example, public

education, rights to vote, a fair trial, etc. During this period, people rallied for social, legal,

political and cultural changes to prohibit discrimination and end segregation. Segregation refers

to the intentional separation of African Americans from whites. People fighting for civil rights

used peaceful protests and sit-in tactics to reach the goal of civil equality. (Roy,2021 ) A sit in is

a tactic often used by African American students during the civil rights movement. Students

would attempt to force desegregation by sitting in white only restaurants. These sit-ins were
successful, leading to the end of Jim Crow at many establishments. Jim Crow laws were policies

that enforced the descrimination of African Americans by designating the use of many places

such as parks, schools, and restaurants for whites only or coloreds. Democrats and republicans

from southern states opposed the movement. Members of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK), American

white supremacist hate group, were also opposed to the movement and to any minorities

obtaining equal rights.

There were plenty of impactful civil rights leaders including Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther

King Jr, Frederick Douglas, Malcolm X, and John Lewis. All of these leaders, and others,

provided guidance and support to Black Americans that were seeking equality, throughout the

era of the movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is considered the most prolific leader in the

Civil Rights Movement. He was known for his nonviolent approach towards ending

discrimination and his famous I Have a Dream speech at the March on Washington in 1963. Rosa

Parks is credited with the launch of the bus boycott which resulted in the buses being

desegregated over a year later. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

(NAACP) was founded in 1909 by a group of black and white people. The NAACP fought to

achieve rights for African Americans through the legal system. The movement was divided

between followers of Dr. King and followers of Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party. The

movement continued to divide apart due to the lack of strong influence and leadership it had

during the 1950s and the early 1960s (Roy, 2021). Also it is believed that the assasination of Dr.

King led to the end of the movement.

 The Civil Rights Movement affected American society by its most important achievements of

Civil Rights laws getting passed by congress and ensured constitutional rights for Black

Americans and minorities (crf, 2021). The civil rights act of 1964 led to greater social and

economic mobility for African Americans across the nation and banned racial discrimination. It

also helped provide greater access to resources for women, religious minorities, African

Americans, and low income families. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color,

religion, sex, or national origin (crf, 2021 ). In 1954, the supreme court ruled that racial

segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The case of Brown v. Board of Education of

Topeka overturned the case of Plessy v. Ferguson which established the policy of separate but

equal accommodations for African Americans (crf, 2021).

The Civil Rights movement was a successful aid for African Americans and minorities to

gain equal rights under the constitutional law. Lives were impacted both negatively and

positively during the movement. Many people suffered from discrimination and the unfair

treatmeant of supremacist. There were also demonstrations to encourage perseverance of the

movement. We are still facing battles today dealing with inequality in America. The Black Lives

Matter movement hopes to keep spreading awareness of the importance of minority lives.
 Bibliography

History.com , 2021 https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/the-emergence-of-the-civil-rights

-movement/

US department of labor , 2021

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/civil-rights-center/statutes/civil-rights-act-of-1964

Roy, Candace, 2021 The Civil Rights Movement

https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/civil-rights-movement

Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2021

https://www.crf-usa.org/black-history-month/the-civil-rights-act-of-1964

Dulaney, Marvin The Day the Civil Rights Movement Ended , 2018

https://www.jfk.org/blog-the-day-the-civil-rights-movement-ended/