As known, in 2014 an African American named Michael Brown was shot and killed by Darren Wilson. Michael Brown reportedly was walking down the street he lived on and refused to get on the sidewalk when Darren Wilson asked him to. Over all of the stories and chaos, someone I witnessed demonstrate leadership was my Uncle that lived in Ferguson. When my Uncle first heard the news that another African American was shot in killed, he no longer could stand the fact that so many African Americans were being killed for pointless reasons that could have been solved differently. My Uncle committed to being a peaceful protester and a leader of a protest group for all innocent African Americans, including Michael Brown. He created plans for peaceful demonstrations and locations, he called well known leaders such as Al Sharpton to help him assist with many of the …show more content…
He made sure that angry protesters wrongdoings of burning down a gas station, looting local businesses that were often Black owned, and burning police cars was not a solution to getting justice for Michael Brown. However, his message did not work right away, but he did not give up. He began to notice that many angry protesters began to notice their decisions and decided to join him and other peaceful demonstrators. One thing my Uncle always told me was that anger is the root of all problems, in order to solve those problems peace needs to be involved. I joined his protesting group for one day; we stood in front of the QuikTrip that was burned down by angry protesters. I created a sign which read, Peace is the root to justice. My Uncle wanted justice for the how the system was setup to take down African Americans easily. He understood that in order for there to truly be a change in the justice system, African Americans would have to contribute to peaceful protest and think differently when they encounter situations like Mike
By doing this kind of protest he allowed many types of people to see what lengths he would go to get change. It would also show that his intent was towards helping people, but he needed to get their attention first. This protest was the best possible way to get the attention and help the people at the same
MLK once said "We have no alternative but to protest. For many years we have shown an amazing patience. We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the way we were being treated. But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice."(The Biography.com website). MLK knew that if we used force it would be a disaster and they would never get freedom. While MLK was at Birmingham Jail he wrote about nonviolence for all people to read. He said"Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community, which has constantly refused to negotiate, is forced to confront the issue."(The Biography.com website) So many thought MLK would come and be this guy who would see violence as a tool to use, but when he didn’t people were very supprised that nonviolence was his choice of action. MLK has a family too and it was not only but his family too. They probably wondered all the time if their father would be home that night. Many suffered from these movement acts and wondered if they would be able to kiss their kids goodnight, or see their wifes. Would you be able to not see your dad for weeks or maybe even months? This is why many had patience. They knew what they were fighting for all of them had a purpose. MKL knew one day there would be freedom everywhere. He also knew it wasn’t going to come easily. He never gave up though and he always believed in
He is famous for his renowned systematic study of technique which revolve around the philosophy of nonviolence. Today, he is recognized as on the the most famous leaders of the Civil rights movement. He successfully passed the voting act which helped nearly four million minority voters into the democratic process. This was a major milestone in history, as it was the first time African Americans were running for public office in the South and winning, since the Reconstruction era.
Black Americans needed a Martin Luther King, but above all America needed him. The significant qualities of this special man cannot be underestimated nor taken for granted. Within a span of 13 years from 1955 to his death in 1968 he was able to expound, expose, and extricate America from many wrongs. His tactics of protest involved non-violent passive resistance to racial injustice. It was the right prescription for our country, and it was right on time. Hope in America was waning on the part of many Black Americans, but Martin Luther King, Jr. provided a candle along with a light. He also provided this nation with a road map so that all people could locate and share together in the abundance of this great democracy.
In 1962, after a trip to India he gained a deeper understanding of what he could achieve by using the nonviolence approach. Upon his return to the United States of America, he focused his attention to Birmingham, Alabama the most segregated city in America, there he achieved two things, one was to demonstrate nonviolent marches, and protests can work to and also by using children, he could teach them that the nonviolent was the way forward. The protest in Birmingham, Alabama shock...
A tragic event is difficult to endure, but it can be one that helps a nation in the long run. The event can bring light to a bigger issue, or it can be the final straw before conflict arises. Emmett Till was a fourteen year-old boy, black boy that was brutally murdered by two white men in Mississippi in 1955. The murder of Emmett Till was a shocking event that made the country stronger because it brought both African-Americans and whites in the fight for equality.
There were no charges made against officer Wilson even with the suspects that claimed Michael Brown didn't do anything wrong . Police brutality has made black people take a stand and they formed the Black Lives Matter Movement.The Black Lives Matter movement started in 2012 after George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch coordinator for the gated community, shot and killed Trayvon Martin. Following Martin’s death protests, rallies, and marches were held all across the nation. The Black Lives Matter movement includes all the ways in which black lives are less powerful at the hands of the state, it is a call for action against brutality by police and vigilantes, people who take the law into their own hands by trying to catch or punish someone in their own way. Politicians are also trying to straighten gun laws to prevent homicides like Bernie Sanders. Sanders wants stricter background checks so guns won’t be in the wrong hands. He also wants to ban assault weapons to citizens that were made to kill people. I personally think this can help improve our nation because it will give people with a criminal history less chances of owning guns but it also gives a right to people without a criminal background to be able to own guns for their own
The family of Michael Brown wanted justice for their son in which they felt was an unjust shooting. His mother was quoted expressing mistrust towards the police, "You 're not God. You don 't decide when you 're going to take somebody from here.” (McLaughlin, E. C. (2014, August 15) The family was obviously hurt by the shooting and wanted justice and support. The community began protesting the shooting and Officer Darren Wilson. Chaos broke out in Ferguson and a State of Emergency was issued. The community felt that the shooting was unjust and did not trust police officers. The community response to the shooting often attracted attention and made many political statements. Darren Wilson’s family were interested in maintaining his innocence. They hoped that the investigation would prove to the world that Wilson acted out of self-defense and did not violate Brown’s rights. The Criminal Justice system’s interests all hoped to create reforms and eliminate racism in police departments. On the local level many had to maintain safety in the community and assure proper police procedures. The state had to step into issue curfews and State of Emergencies to keep the state safe despite protests and riots as well as make sure Darren Wilson did not violate any laws of the state of Missouri. The state also hoped to create reforms to better race relations. On the federal level was the investigation which hoped to find out if the
Today there are many controversial subjects discussed throughout the media. One of the most discussed is race and the Black Lives Matter movement. Recently, I came across an article titled “The Truth of ‘Black Lives Matter’”, written by The Editorial Board. The article was published on September 3, 2015, to the New York Times. In the article, The Editorial Board writes about what they believe African Americans are facing as challenges in society today, including the all-too-common police killings of unarmed African-Americans across the country. The Editorial Board is right that some African Americans have been treated unfairly, but all ethnicities have been. Life is a precious thing that comprises all ethnicities. This brings us to ask; why
He wanted people to stand for themselves to end this discrimination and segregation that was being carried on from generations to generations. His main goal was to achieve racial equality. And for these goals he believed that work was need to be done from the grass root level. From the years 1955 he became involved in starting and pursuing some major campaigns that evoked the theme of civil rights. The first series of protests contained the boycott of the buses for over more than a year. During these times he received support from famous activists like Rosa Parks and Claudette
...le. He worked through the struggles and difficulties to make sure that his goals were accomplished. The actions he took allowed African Americans to gather hope and lead a change in our world.
When John Howard Griffin released the book Black Like Me he knowingly or accidentally shined a massive flood light upon the racist element of the United States. He showed the country and the world that racism was alive and well and running rampant across the Southern States. Upon its release a fire storm hit. Hell, even before the book came out Griffin was the subject of verbal attacks and threats. It certainly hit a nerve with a lot of Americans.
Jesse Jackson Jr. is a former Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's second district. Jackson held the position for over seventeen years. Jackson comes from a family just like Ford that has strong ties to the black establishment. Jackson is the son of Jesse Jackson Sr, a civil rights activist, former candidate for the Democratic presidential, and a shadow U.S. Senator for the District of Columbia. By Jackson being the son of a former activist he might have a low crossover appeal like his father. For instance, they might see him as being just like his father putting his ties to the black community before other ethnics and races, which can be a problem. His strong connection may come off as a threat, which is understandable. I feel like who will want someone in power if you
Civil rights are acts of the "government that are intended to protect disadvantaged classes of persons or minority groups from arbitrary, unreasonable, or discriminatory treatment." (pg.643) These rights are given to every individual that lives within the United States and it ensures that their individual rights, such as the freedoms of speech, press, religion, movement, assembly and privacy are kept valid. Civil rights also protect citizens from discrimination against religion, gender, ethnicity, race, color, age, sex, disability or political party affiliation. However, even if these were the desires of our country 's forefathers, they have not served true for many minorities in America. "The lofty words of the Declaration of Independence
A large problem in America has always been racial issues and still continues to be prevalent in our society today. The United States likes to boast its reputation as a “melting-pot” as many cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds are mixed together, yet the country still continues to isolate individuals based on race. In the constitution, it says that everyone is supposed to have equal rights and liberties, yet after over 200 years, many minorities still struggle to obtain the same respect and equality that their white counterparts have always have. Laws should be created to enforce equality and justice for racial groups.