What do the sources reveal about the most important obstacles
confronting the civil rights movement? Among other topics, be sure to
address the divisions within the movement.
The sources show that the civil rights movement in the United States encountered several obstacles,
including violence, political opposition, and divisions within the movement. These challenges are evident
in the sources examined. The first source being A Sharecropper's Daughter Responds to the Voter
Registration Campaign reveals the difficulty of mobilizing rural black communities. The source highlights
the challenges faced by those attempting to register voters, including the lack of transportation,
inadequate facilities, and limited access to information. These challenges created significant barriers to
progress, making it difficult to mobilize rural black voters and ensure their participation in the political
process due to distance and or circumstance. This is show by Hollis Watkins in this source who was a
sharecropper who had hopes to vote due to the possibility of her bettering the situation for the black
community, however she had a “thirty-mile ride to the county seat in Indiana,” where the registrar’s
office was. This is an obvious problem that may stop others from being able to vote due to the lack of
transportation, but another obstacle that Hollis Watkins faced was her plantation owner who asked her
to withdraw from the vote as soon as her found out that she voted. The second source, The An "Insider"
Recalls the Divisions in SNCC reveals the divisions within the civil rights movement. This source highlights
the tensions and conflicts that arose within SNCC, a key organization in the movement. These divisions
were driven by ideological and strategic differences, as well as personal rivalries. Two of the conflicts or
tensions that I realized and found important was the fact that “they simply didn’t say the same things
that Dr. King has said, and I don’t think they wanted the same things that he seems to want.” This means
that there was a division between strategies in the black community leading to infighting that was not
needed. Yet another thing that caused even more infighting was the attempt of white Americans to help
in SNCC activities. It was said that” but they simply didn’t say the same things that Dr. King has said, and I
don’t think they wanted the same things that he seems to want.” The divisions hindered progress,
leading to a loss of focus and resources.