Amy Smith

HIST 1700-069
The Civil Rights Movement in the United States
Over the course of nearly 350 years, Africans (and later, African-Americans) have been
on the receiving end of horrific discrimination and prejudice. From slavery in the early days of
The New World being discovered all the way to the March on Washington with Dr. Martin
Luther Kings I Have a Dream speech and unfortunately, for years to come after that. Through
those struggles, African-American people have shown great strength and determination and
attained rights that everyone should be entitled to.
African-American rights have been a significant part of U.S. history, possibly most
notably with the topic of slavery between the 17th and 19th centuries. African slaves were brought
to the New World as early as 1619 to aid in the production of tobacco.i Later the American Civil
War would be fought over slavery, whether to support or reject it, where a nation was literally
split in half over it. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to abolish
slavery in the United States and free all slaves but even while slavery was now illegal, there were
still prejudices and inequalities pointed directly at African-Americans. Even the laws that were in
effect in the 19th century, similarly influenced the laws that came in the later decade. The 18001866 Black Codes were almost used as a template in creating Jim Crow Laws, which allowed for
legal segregation.ii
As early as 1831, African-Americans were fighting to liberate themselves. A momentous
movement was in the form of the Underground Railroad, where freed blacks in the North would
help fugitive slaves in the south escape to the north through a loose network of safe houses.

Anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000 slaves reached freedom this way. Harriet Tubman, a freed
slave was a leader through the railroad. Rather than staying in Philadelphia, where she had
escaped to, she decided to make it her mission to free as many slaves as she could.iii
In 1909, a group of both white and African-Americans formed the group NAACP
(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Formed in response to the
horrific practice of lynching and the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Illinois; where a white mob
rioted in black neighborhoods, killing citizens and destroying businesses and homes.iv
The NAACP still continues today and is the nations oldest, largest and most widely
recognized civil-rights organization. Their principal objective is to ensure the equality of
minority groups in political, social, and educational settings in the United States and forward the
elimination of race prejudice. Now focusing on more detailed subjects and how minorities are
affected, such as; health care, education, voter empowerment, and the criminal justice system.v
One of the first major milestones for race equality was the Brown vs. Board of Education
on May 17, 1954. The case was ruled on by the Supreme Court and they unanimously decided
that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.vi The case was actually five separate cases
compiled together from different states all concerning the same issue and presented to the
Supreme Court. While each of the details of these cases was different, the main point was the
same: state-sponsored segregation in schools. After nearly two years, the court finally came to a
unanimous ruling that segregation in schools is unconstitutional. Chief Justice Earl Warren stated
Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.vii This was one of the first of many
events that would lead to a great change in the civil rights of all Americans.

One of the most famous events in African-American history was NAACP member and
secretary, Rosa Parks story. In 1955, a southern custom was that buses were segregated, where
the front section of the bus was reserved for white patrons and the back of the bus was the
colored section. If there were more whites than there were seats in their section, any black
passengers were expected to give up their seat for the white passenger. Rosa refused to offer her
seat up to a white passenger in the colored section resulting in her arrest. This instance was the
main event that launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott.viii
Taking place from December 5, 1955 to December 20, 1956, African-Americans refused
to ride buses in the Montgomery, Alabama area in protest to segregated seating. Beginning in
Parks refusal to move for a white passenger, the boycott would last for over one year and is
regarded as the first large-scale demonstration against segregation in the U.S.ix AfricanAmerican leaders decided to use this event to attack the ordinance and flyers began to circulate
letting citizens know about the boycott to begin on December 5th, the same day as Rosa Parks
trial. Church leaders, political figures, and other prominent men and women helped spread the
word to those in their community. Approximately 40,000 African-American bus riders boycotted
the system that day, while later that afternoon, black leaders in the area gathered to form the
Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), appointing local pastor Martin Luther King, Jr.
as its president.
Demands of the boycott and MIA did not initially include to change the segregation laws,
but demanded courtesy, first-come, first-seated policies and the hiring of black drivers.
Unfortunately, these demands went unsatisfied. Because about 75 percent of the Montgomery
bus riders were African-American, this left the buses nearly empty. Those involved in the
boycott met regularly to support one another in transportation options, with things like: the

African-American taxi-cab drivers charging the same 10-cent fare as the buses did to AfricanAmerican passengers, carpooling and choosing to walk to their destinations. Finally, on June 5,
1956, a Montgomery federal court ruled that laws racially segregating buses was violating the
14th amendment. Later that year, on December 20, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling and the
next day, buses were integrated and the boycott ended successfully after 381 days.
You cant have a discussion about modern civil rights in America without Martin Luther
King, Jr. being a main topic. As stated before, he led the MIA as president among other great
movements for the cause. He was also appointed president of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (later shortened to Southern Leadership Conference) in 1957. In its early meetings, it
focused on involvement in local communities, adopting nonviolent mass action where needed,
and a held a determination to make the SCLC movement open to all, regardless of race, religion
and background.x
With the forming of organizations like MIA and SCLC, more and more AfricanAmericans were seeing opportunities to stand up for their rights in everyday life, even when they
often came with added struggles. Dr. King continued spreading his message, meeting hardships
along the way. While there were many people who were listening intently to his message and
supported it, there were also many who did not. In fall, 1958, at his book signing, he was
stabbed. He was then rushed to the hospital where doctors successfully remove a seven-inch
letter opener. Over the course of this life, he endured many more difficulties that affected not
only him, but his family as well. Including, bombings to his home, massive amounts of hate-mail
and threatening letters, and being arrested for a silent, sit-in protest.

In the early 1960s, a new tactic that was accepted by those supportive of the movement,
was the sit-in. It displayed a strong message with nonviolence, which the movement held in very
high regard. Students in Greensboro, North Carolina walked to a whites-only counter and
ordered coffee. When they were refused service, they sat patiently and waited to be served. Sitins just like this one were happening all over the south, often by students, and sometimes found a
violent response. If the patron performing the sit-in received violent action, they had decided to
just accept it and not retaliate. They hoped that the white community would see their nonviolent
nature, notice that the violence was coming only from their white brethren, and understand their
cause. This movement led to groups that would do wade-ins at segregated swimming pools
and pray-ins at white-only churches.xi In October of 1960, King is arrested in a department
store sit-in.
Probably the most notable event of Kings life is the march on Washington for jobs and
freedom. It was one of the largest political rallies for human rights in United States history.xii An
estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people were in attendance that day, where Dr. King delivered his
historic speech, I Have a Dream. King stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28,
1963 and called for an end to racism. Years of planning and preparation went into the march,
including meeting with President Kennedy. While the march consisted of multiple speakers, it is
usually only Dr. King that is noted for his speech.
While the march had done great things for the movement, in sending a great statement to
leaders all over the world, the civil rights movement still had opposition. Often times, from
within itself. Malcolm X was a civil rights activist, who had the same goals in mind, but had a
different outlook on how to achieve them. He urged his followers to defend themselves against
white aggression by any means necessary.xiii Malcolm X was the leader of the Black Muslim

community. He and Dr. King met, but only once, and only for a few moments. Although later in
life, Malcolm had changed his views and become nonviolent, he and Dr. King were never able to
work together during the height of the civil rights movement.
Possibly the biggest victory of the modern movement was the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The act outlawed discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex, or national origin.xiv This act later expanded to include disabled Americans,
senior citizens and women in collegiate athletics under its umbrella. Congress had finally
responded to the movement in such a way that the people involved could feel an ultimate victory
had been achieved. Later, this act had led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, also signed into law
by President Johnson. It allowed African-Americans to overcome barriers at state and local
levels that prevented them to exercise their right to vote.xv
In March of the same year, three marches took place, starting in Selma, Alabama, and the
end of the march set to be in Montgomery. The first march, ended and became known as
Bloody Sunday because law enforcement beat the marchers when they crossed the county line.
Two days later, the second march began, led by Dr. King. When the troopers stepped aside to let
the marchers pass, King turned them around and headed back to the church. That night, a white
mob beat and murdered civil rights activist, James Reeb, who was with the second group. The
bloodshed of the first march and the death that occurred after the second march shed light on the
situation and Lyndon B. Johnson responded with protection for the third march. The third march
began with nearly 3,900 members of the Army and National Guard protecting them as they
marched to Montgomery. They arrived on March 24th and the next day, gathered in the capital
city in support of voting rights.

Even though the 1964 and 1965 acts had been passed, African-Americans have now
received many of the same legal protections that other Americans already have, there were still
many discrimination acts that happen, and unfortunately, continue to happen even today. Both
Dr. King and Malcolm X (among others) were assassinated for their beliefs and their cause, Dr.
Kings assassination happening after the acts of 1964 and 1965 were passed. Unfortunately,
passing laws doesnt always change the beliefs and feelings that people have about a certain
topic. Discrimination still exists today in regards to civil rights. Luckily, we have technology on
our side today and can spread a message lightning fast and often with more information than
ever.
As Americans, we cannot take our history lightly. We need to remember the negative
portions of it as well as the victories. Its the past events that shape what our nation has become
today and the civil rights movement paved the way for things like religious freedoms to become
easier attained and could shape the outcome for todays current civil rights struggle, LGBT
rights. The definition of Civil Rights does exclude a certain group, however it states that it
applies to a certain individual or minority group. As minority groups shift and change over time,
as a nation, we need to be open-minded and remember that America was founded in the hopes of
being able to be oneself without persecution.

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viii
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xv
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vii