12 April 2010

Discuss how successful the civil rights movements in America were in the period 1955 to 1968. Neither of the mainstream civil rights movements were entirely successful as they were unable to alter the economic side of inequality in America, although they still succeeded in bringing about a mostly de-segregated society. Both were successful in their own ways however and both contributed to the passing of important civil rights acts. The acts passed still did not change the position of the Negro in the American economy and it did not end racial discrimination. There were two major civil rights movements in America between 1955 and 1968. The Civil Rights Movement was headed by Martin Luther King Jr. whose main goal was to integrate the Negro into white society with equal rights. The second movement was the Black Power Movement, whose most infamous activist was Malcolm X. He believed in fighting fire with fire, saying, If they make the Ku Klux Klan non-violent, Ill be non-violent. Martin Luther King Jr. became inspired by Rosa Parks refusal to give up her seat to a white man and organised, along with 50 leaders of the African American Community, a Bus Boycott in Montgomery to protest against segregated busses. This was possible because the principle of separate but equal was struck down in 1954 after the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to have desegregated schools. From this point on he became a figurehead for the Civil Rights Movement. King and the Civil Rights Movement had adopted Mahatma Gandhis philosophy of non-violence knowing that they would win the moral war. They were however also non-passive activists and they knew that they would wear down their enemy through their capacity to suffer. There were many key events of the Civil Rights Movement, from the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 to the famous March on Washington in 1963 and Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination in 1968. All of these events were stepping-stones to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 64, the Voting Rights Act of 65, the Civil Rights Act of 68 and the rest of the smaller but no less important laws such as bus and school de-segregation. Each of these events showed just how influential King was and how successful the Civil Rights Movement was when it came to getting civil laws passed. The Montgomery Bus Boycott resulted in bus segregation being declared unconstitutional. In 1957, President Eisenhower sent federal troops to Little Rock High School in order to force the school into allowing 9 black students to attend. After the Freedom Rides of 61 the Kennedy Administration took a stand on civil rights and outlawed segregation in interstate busses. The March on Washington in 1963 did not immediately result in the Civil Rights Act of 64 being passed but a newspaper reporter wrote, no one could ever remember an invading army quite as gentle as the two hundred thousand civil rights marchers who occupied Washington. The Selma March and Bloody Sunday were tragic but directly lead to the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 65 and finally the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. was sadly one of the key events resulting in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 68. Many Negros became frustrated with the Civil Rights Movements slow progress and non-violent methods as even though they had made some headway, the Negros still lived in slums and had the lowest paying jobs. This made them turn to the much more radical Black Power Movement which called for black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community. They did not believe in assimilation into white society, preferring to separate themselves completely from the white man. The Black Power Movement was very much against what they referred to as the Ghetto mentality, not doing anything and waiting for handouts, saying that Negros must be self reliant both economically and politically. The Black Power Movement was very broad whose significant aspects included: racial dignity and self-reliance, black heritage, culture and history, and the necessity for Negros to look at the world through their own eyes. The Black Power Movement was not looking to change laws as they did not want to be integrated into white society, but instead tried to make black people stand up for themselves and learn to trust in themselves rather than in others. In this way the Black Power Movement is arguably as successful as the Civil Rights Movement because they taught black people what they needed to survive in a white dominated country while the Civil Rights Movement tried to obtain equal rights for all races. Neither of the movements can be said to be more or less successful than the other because they were focussed on different goals in the long run. In the short run however they both wanted the Negro freed from the death grip the American government had on them. They did mostly succeed in that concern, however they were not able to achieve their ultimate goals and economically, the Negro was still disadvantaged. In the grand scheme of things though, both movements were greatly successful as they were able to give black people their freedom back and their confidence, which is all that really counts.

Benjamin Torr Mr. Holding 12.1