THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Before the civil rights movement, discrimination against African Americans was
commonplace. Although slavery was abolished in 1865, thanks to President
Lincoln, the right to vote and the right to have a job in the legal field was still
prevented from African Americans. The situation worsened with racial
segregation, formally established in 1896 with the passage of the Jim Crow
Laws which divided every sector of public life between whites and blacks.
Applied mostly in the southern states, everyone would receive all kinds of
services, but in separate buildings. Racial segregation has produced social,
economic and political tensions. The civil rights movement changed the
situation.
The civil rights movement is the mobilization of African Americans and
progressive whites for the repeal of racial segregation in the southern United
States. During World War II, the movement was encouraged by a federal
Supreme Court ruling that incorporated African Americans into public schools
in 1954. The movement found as leader Martin Luther King, a Baptist pastor
who applied the techniques of non-violent direct action, giving more power to
the struggle of blacks. In 1963 a 40-day march, even with the arrests of about
2500 black people, achieved great success in the final demonstration in
Washington. This was followed by the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
which prohibited segregation in public places and discrimination in
employment. Despite the arrests, convictions and murders of M.L. King the
civil rights movement has achieved notable results, inspiring mobilizations of
other minorities such as Indian nations, Hispanics and homosexuals. The
movement also prompted several previously established organizations that
also aimed to eliminate discrimination. One of the most famous is that of the
Black Panthers. The organization's goal was to further develop the liberation
movement of African Americans discriminated against, socially, politically and
legislatively. However, the Panthers rejected King's nonviolent and
integrationist demands, in their opinion ineffective and even motivated by a
hidden collusion with the power structures of the whites. The Panthers
replaced the principle of nonviolence with that of self-defense.