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Civil rights movements in the united states
The civil rights movement in the usa and its social impact
Civil rights movements in the united states
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Protests kind of scare me. They do not scare me because of their ideas or anything like that. No, they scare me because people too often get hurt in them. I live in North Dakota, and I see protesters and violence a lot. Protests are supposed to be about peacefully standing up for what you believe in. Yes, many protesters are peaceful, but the few that are not can ruin the nonviolent efforts. Also, some protests are not being done for the right reasons. There is paid protesting, and some protests around the United States are really just about whining. Some of these protests are not doing anything but spreading fear around the country. Protests are supposed to spread ideas and gain supporters for a cause. Modern-day protests are warping the …show more content…
The Civil Rights Movement worked to end segregation in the United States. During this time, city buses were segregated: Whites could sit in the front, but Blacks were not allowed to. In an effort to end this segregation, Blacks refused to ride the city buses. This way of protesting was met with violence, yet it managed to stay nonviolent. In the end, this nonviolence worked, and “segregation on city buses was ruled unconstitutional”(Social Protests). Another example of nonviolent protests are sit-ins. The article “Social Protests” stated, “In February 1960, four black college freshman started sit-ins.” They sat at a restaurant that refused to serve black people and refused to leave. The article also stated,“By April 1960, more than 50,000 students had joined sit-ins.” These protesters were met with violence, but they refused to stop. This paid off in the end because many restaurants started to serve them. These protesters did it right. They were beaten up and constantly opposed, but they did not resort to violence. They showed that they could be the bigger person, even in the worst of times. They peacefully stood up for what they believed in and did not give up. Of course, there were violent protests during the Civil Rights Movement. According to the article “Social Protests”, in the beginning there were not many, but after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., violence became more common. Eventually a whole …show more content…
While all Americans have the right to protest, that does not mean we can do whatever we want in protests. It is possible to make change while practicing nonviolence, but modern-day protests often fail to stay peaceful. People are getting injured, and many Americans are afraid of what is happening. You may think you do not have to worry if you live far away from protests that have happened, but protests have been popping up everywhere. It does not matter where protests have happened before; they can still come to the town you live in, and you never know if there will be violence. But maybe I am just a sixteen year old that is overly worried about everything, and maybe all of my ideas are rubbish. If I were you I probably would not believe me either. But nobody believed Einstein when he said that gravity could bend light, and it, in fact, can. Of course, I am nowhere near as smart as Albert Einstein, and this has nothing to do with gravity. But I do think it is time for all of us to take a good look at the world around us, and realize that although we want everything to be all sunshine and rainbows, it is usually not anywhere near
Protests have long been a way for people to display their difference in opinion and gain support. One of the many protests against the war that had a powerful effect on public opini...
A few years after this the civil rights movement with Martin Luther King, who used non-violent means such as sit-ins, boycotts, and speeches to obtain equal rights for African-Americans.
Success was a big part of the Civil Rights Movement. Starting with the year 1954, there were some major victories in favor of African Americans. In 1954, the landmark trial Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka Kansas ruled that segregation in public education was unfair. This unanimous Supreme Court decision overturned the prior Plessy vs. Ferguson case during which the “separate but equal” doctrine was created and abused. One year later, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. launched a bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama after Ms. Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat in the “colored section”. This boycott, which lasted more than a year, led to the desegregation of buses in 1956. Group efforts greatly contributed to the success of the movement. This is not only shown by the successful nature of the bus boycott, but it is shown through the success of Martin Luther King’s SCLC or Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The conference was notable for peacefully protesting, nonviolence, and civil disobedience. Thanks to the SCLC, sit-ins and boycotts became popular during this time, adding to the movement’s accomplishments. The effective nature of the sit-in was shown during 1960 when a group of four black college students sat down at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in hopes of being served. While they were not served the first time they commenced their sit-in, they were not forced to leave the establishment; their lack of response to the heckling...
This is the kind of 'civil disobedience' that is demolishing our society. protesting just to protest is turning America in the opposite direction then what King intended when he coined civil disobedience. We should be learning to accept that, in a country as big and bright as America, not everyone will be happy with every decision. Protesting is not going to alter that. No president will change his resolve because a few 'twenty year olds from Ohio' were not pleased with the outcome. Like King, if you plan to protest, make it a cause worthy to stand for. If we continue on this path, no one will take any our 'civil disobedience' seriously, even if the cause is one of
Anybody has the power to take a stand for their belief, but their belief may not be justified. As long as any movement has support, it may pose a threat for various reasons. If the movement is not led by a passionate and strong-willed leader, the movement could unfortunately result in spurts of violence. For example, The Black Lives Matter movement is not entirely organized and riots have occurred indirectly due to the spark the movement has created. “No society whether free or tyrannical can give its citizens the right to break the law. There can be no law to which obedience is optional, no command to which the state attaches an “if you please,” as stated by Morris Leibman holds a great amount of truth. Mass movements of unorganized civil disobedience creates splits and tension in such a diverse and free society. The movement must also be justified; in the situations of the Civil Rights Movement and the Non-Violent Resistance Movement, the reasons for civil disobedience were justified. This is not to discredit the goal for the Black Lives Matter Movement although without strong unification, a strong leader, and organization, the movement can become a threat through the likes of radicals. Radicals have recently associated themselves with the Black Lives Matters Movement, yet the movement doesn’t
Peaceful resistance to United States laws is a positive thing most of the time, but it can also very well have a negative impact. It is not right to condone or promote illegal activities, even if the people who commit the crime are willing to face the consequences. Protesting is a tremendous way for people to voice their opinion publicly in our free country. Although, disturbing the peace or taking violent actions can snowball from peaceful protesting. A lot of negative things have happened to people trying to people trying to voice their opinion.
According to the First Amendment of the United States, Americans have the freedom to protest. If one were to look at America today, he or she can easily find examples of civil disobedience. Currently there are many protests and riots about President Donald Trump's inauguration. These
The Civil Rights Movement began in order to bring equal rights and equal voting rights to black citizens of the US. This was accomplished through persistent demonstrations, one of these being the Selma-Montgomery March. This march, lead by Martin Luther King Jr., targeted at the disenfranchisement of negroes in Alabama due to the literacy tests. Tension from the governor and state troopers of Alabama led the state, and the whole nation, to be caught in the violent chaos caused by protests and riots by marchers. However, this did not prevent the March from Selma to Montgomery to accomplish its goals abolishing the literacy tests and allowing black citizens the right to vote.
The media would like to portray the current immigration protests as peaceful. However, the people that are protesting the immigration order are often disrupting businesses and destroying property. It is also important to understand if the protests are truly warranted or just another political maneuver by party opposition. For example, protests over Donald Trump were discovered to be paid for by Hillary Clinton and her supporters2. As more of these tactics are revealed, it weakens the protests that are genuine with the American public.
Was the Civil Rights Movement violent? While many parts were, the Woolworth’s sit-in was one example of a peaceful protest. Just by sitting in a lunch counter day after day, four brilliant men managed to change America’s view on segregation and positively impact the world.
From Black Lives Matter protests to Pro-Gun protests- if you have an opinion there is a group willing to voice it with you. Civil disobedience is uncomfortable. It calls you to make a choice, to take a side or at least consider one seriously. While uncomfortable and awkward for the passerby, the right to peacefully protest is an important one that keeps free society from becoming stagnant. It forces not only the every day citizen to have an opinion, but also those in power to look closely at the decisions and impact of such
What Is protest? For decade, people have used the 2nd amendment to express their opinions on a variety of issues. During the Vietnam War, people protested their views on the war, whether they liked that the U.S. was interfering in Vietnam, or whether it was a mistake sending troops to there, and in modern times, people protest for issues such as the March For Our Lives movement, which started after a school shooting in South Florida in early 2018. People participate in different forms of protest so they can express their views in a peaceful and logical way, so they can prove or support a point, to reform a bill or law, to connect with other people, to protect their ideas, and to end prejudice.
The African American Civil Rights Movement was a series of protests in the United States South from approximately 1955 through 1968. The overall goal of the Civil Rights Movement was to achieve racial equality before the law. Protest tactics were, overall, acts of civil disobedience. Rarely were they ever intended to be violent. From sit-ins to boycotts to marches, the activists involved in the Civil Rights Movement were vigilant and dedicated to the cause without being aggressive. While African-American men seemed to be the leaders in this epic movement, African-American women played a huge role behind the scenes and in the protests.
Peaceful protest is meant to be a positive thing for a free society. By peacefully protesting, one is attempting to make a statement and bring attention to the matter in a way that is not harmful to society.
Politics today have made many people hate the idea of the government and have also made us understand how corrupt our nation has become. Those that underwent the process of campaigning for pro-life, women's rights, immigrants, disability, respect, and many other causes all believed that protesting was the best way to get the point across that people do have a say and the government shouldn't be able to walk all over our ideas or views. President Trump was just inducted and already has a ban on immigration and is trying to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Is this really what we want our nation to be known for? Most people's answers to this would be no because we are going backward as a nation not forwards. This is why there are so many uprisings and protests going on right now, this is also why celebrities, politicians, and journalists have begun to speak out for their personal beliefs. Everyone has a right to their own opinion which is due in part to the great people that have come before us speaking out for what they believed in. Civil disobedience could be a considered a bad thing since it can lead to deaths, fights, wars, and even returning back to the ways of past generations. But, with these few examples and the many more that are out there, we can begin to understand that disobeying the government, in the right ways, can lead to new discoveries as well as ways to continue making America a trusted