History 137
Civil Rights Essay
Leading from the Brown vs. Board of Education through the Black Power Movement. It was
always expected that there would remain a constant flow of segregation among the United States. The
United States had accomplished everything, including the idea to reach among the leading world
powers and it was successful, but the one thing that it could not achieve was justice within its own.
Many movements erupted due to this that took place in the mid 1960's that included revolts, marches,
and meetings seeking justice. Some were more successful, others resulted in violence. Among these
movements was the Civil Rights Movement which was formed solely on the intent of outlawing racial
discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. From this movement,
The Black Power Movement was then established which enlarged the aims of the Civil Rights
Movement to include racial diginity, economic and political self-sufficiency, and freedom from
oppression by white Americans. Events such as Civil Rights Movement put many African Americans
through the hardships they did not deserve which only led to a series of events that determined the
justice for their hard-earned peace.
After the court handed decision regarding the Brown vs. Board of education, African Americans
were given the academic freedom they direly needed. The constant struggle for equality ended when
the court finally overturned the previous ruling called “Plessy vs. Ferguson” which was the concept of
“seperate but equal”. Of the many confrontations, this marked the first victory for Africans. This lead to
the Great Migration From 1910 to 1970. A total of 7 million blacks left the south in hopes of a better
life. Among the blacks that didnt leave, they were faced with “Massive Resistance” by proponents of
racial segregation and voter supression. In defiance, African Americans sought a way to direct action,
but without violent resistance. This gave rise to The Civil Rights Movement which started in 1955 and
lasted until 1968. It consisted of a series of several civil disobedience produced crisis situations
between activists and government authorities. Federal, state, and local governments, businesses, and
communities often had to respond immediately to these situations that highlighted the inequities faced
by African Americans. One of these included the Alabama “Montgomery Bus Boycott” that took place
in 1955 which resulted in success. Another act took place in North Carolina in 1960 which became
known as the “Greensboro sit-ins”. Finally, the last major act took place in 1965 in Alabama consisted
of 25,000 people and several mini-marches which became known as the “Selma to Montgomery
Marches”. Some of these were crisis situations that gave strategies to civil rights leaders, strategies
such as sit-in's were used as a non-violence weapon. From this erupted the Black Power Movement.
The Black Power Movement agreed with the Civil Rights Movement but not in terms of non-violence.
It sought to retaliate, and failed to see non-violence as an option. After many retaliations, civil rights
activists decided to consult President Kennedy in hopes he would support to bring the movement to
national attention. After consulting, President Kennedy realized that the nation had achieved its place
among the world's leading powers but still struggles to make freedom at home. So this made the
government reluctant to support it and soon after people started to accept his decision to do so.
The inequality finally ended when federal government played its role. President Johnson signed
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 which banned discrimination. Followed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965
that restored and protected voting rights. These successes were big achievements for African Americans
because they finally accomplished what they had longed for. This resulted in the eventual loss in
momentum for the Civil Rights Movement as they had already gained what they had once lacked. In
conclusion, These events restored peace for the African Americans by allowing them equality and
voting rights. It ended racial discrimination and opened up a vast amount of opportunities for not only
African Americans that resided, but the immigrants that migrated from other countries that were also
automatically a part of this category.