More handpicked essays just for you.
Social movements and their effects in society
Social movements and their effects in society
Social movements and their effects in society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The movement and movements after the legislative ruling that gave Black Americans the ability to vote played a huge role in the development of the Black American identity. After the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed the perception of Black Americans shifted. They were now more of citizen than they had ever been, they were granted one of the most powerful American liberties, voting locally and nationally. As far as the grand narrative of the civil rights movement is concerned all the work for African Americans as citizens was completed. It was at this moment that I believe that the black identity began to have more freedom in their perception of America. It is amazing to believe that less than 60 years ago African-Americans were given the right to vote. Voting I an …show more content…
Many activists began educating their communities about voting and its importance. The right to vote is what made a dedicated activist do the unthinkable for a community that was not his. This activist was a man named Stokely Carmichael who had just became the national chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Stokely Carmichael was an activist that was born and Trinidad and migrated to New York in 1952, he was freedom rider, Selma participant, popularized the term “Black Power.” Carmichael was an activist that believed that in order to mobilize, precise organization was key. He sparked the efforts charged a wave of minority voting to travel through the south. Stokely Carmichael wanted to get Blacks voting in the south so, he began his mission in Lowndes County, Alabama. Lowndes County was nicknamed “Bloody Lowndes” for the violent acts that were committed towards Blacks, which was ironic because the over 60 percent of the population were black. In 1965, Lowndes County, Alabama was 80 percent black but not a single black citizen was registered to vote. There were no black officials of any sort, not even a sheriff. I believe that Carmichael saw an event as an
...actions on the part of Black activists empowered a generation to struggle for their most basic civil rights.
African Americans had an active participation during the Reconstruction era and worked hard to achieve rights that they deserved. African Americans acquired different roles, both as individuals and in groups to achieve their goals. One very important role of the African Americans was participation in voting during elections. After the 15Th amendment was passed in 1870 voting was not restricted by race. With this newfound voting power African Americans could control the future of their country. Thanks to this, other rights could now be gained through democratic election. Another role was the African American leaders that represented
Johnson stated, “For years and years they had been tried and tried and tried and they had failed and failed and failed. And the time for failure is gone” (Johnson). The statistics showed a large increase of African Americans in each state in the South in 1966. By 1970, over a million African Americans had registered to vote (Quoted in “Victory for Voters”). The Voting Rights Act not only allowed African Americans to vote, but it also opened up many new opportunities for them.
Following the Civil War, America underwent many changes during the Reconstruction era to reach where it needed to be or where it should’ve been. The purpose of reconstruction was to rebuild the South after the Union’s victory in the war that freed all the slaves the South had and needed. During this period, there were ratifications of amendments, social and economic factors that affected African Africans, and the end of reconstruction.
In 1964, Malcolm X gave a speech entitled “The Ballot or the Bullet” which described how African Americans should fight for civil rights in America. Malcolm X emphasizes the importance of voting as a solution to ending discrimination against African Americans. He addresses both the poor voting decisions and also the denial of legitimate voting rights to African Americans. Because elections have been so narrowly decided in recent elections, the Black vote is the deciding factor in elections. Whites have also prevented African Americans from participating in the electoral process.
African-Americans may sometimes wonder at the contradictory facts about their history presented in many standard history texts. These texts state that blacks were given the right to vote in 1870, yet the same texts will acknowledge that this right did not really exist for African-Americans until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
One of the basic rights African Americans struggled to obtain was the right to vote. In 1870, the 15th Amendment was ratified. The amendment stated that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” (U.S. Constitution). As this was thought as a victory, it was soon to be seen that it was anything but. White men in the nation saw this as a threat and improvised new ways to prevent African Americans to vote such as the installment of poll taxes, literacy test, and the “grandfather clause”. In Litwin’s book, Fighting for the Right to Vote, Litwin explains how Mississippi Delta activist, Fannie Lou Hamer assisted other African Americans in registering to vote and helping them gain a voice in the movement. Voting was not the only place where African Americans fell short of capabilities. Due to Jim Crow laws, African Americans could not do such basic things as ride first-class passenger on a primarily white train or a bus. A lady known as Rosa Parks in the neighboring state of Alabama found herself facing charges when she refused to give up her seat on the bus during the time of the movement. The Jim Crow laws were created to prevent African Americans from making any advancements that could potentially threaten white
The United States changed as a nation because of the Civil Rights Movement. Especially, the United States notched up as a more perfect union. The Civil Rights Movement secured voting rights for African-Americans and called for the ending racial segregation, discrimination and segregation. After years of struggle and upheaval, it resulted in the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, under the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. The purpose of the act was to protect African-Americans’ voting rights and overcome legal barriers that prevented them from exercising their rights to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a historic triumph as it helped the nation acknowledge the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which granted equal voting rights to all but which goal remained unfulfilled for the next several decades. Therefore, The Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned
...onal rights and freedoms that Americans are entitled to. On the positive side, this proved that blacks were capable of fighting for their rights and that their race did not prove anything about them. They struggled to do away with the “separate but equal” policy. After segregation ended, the blacks diminished any negative stereotypes that they were associated with. Despite the fact that Jim Crow has long been laid to rest, beliefs and stigmas of this era are still visible among the social and financial aspects of America. Democracy in the United States will always be a work in progress, because sometimes it does not live up to what it was set out to be. Some of the most discriminated against people helped secure the rights and freedoms we have today by serving our country. African Americans have assisted people today to achieve the American Dream (Contradictions).
Before the Civil Rights Movement, which took place from 1955-1968, African-Americans had a difficult time establishing an identity and their rights. However, for many African-Americans, the Civil Rights Movement developed a purpose for one’s life and progressed African-Americans’ status and rights in society. Although some people may argue that the Civil Rights Movement was not productive and only caused conflict and havoc, due to the majority of African-Americans still employed in low-level jobs and many towns affected by the Civil Rights Movement being torn apart and degraded, those effects were only temporary and tangible to others. The Movement had a much more profound effect of giving one a purpose or “spark” in life, which later led to African-Americans demanding more rights and equal status in society.
Moving forward, African Americans and did not have citizenship rights. African Americans were still not able to vote, attend restaurants with White Americans, go to the same schools as White Americans, or even serve on a jury. The civil rights movement is a movement that established citizen rights for African Americans. In the early to mid-1960s, African Americans slowly gained those rights with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights of 1965. These acts changed the world tremendously and provided more opportunities to minorities and women (6 Bumiller, Kristin 1992.
In 1965 congress had passed Civil Rights law for all citizens to be able to vote. Before, African American and white women did not have the same equal rights to vote as white men did. The white males allowed a small number of free African Americans to go register and vote. For a African American to vote they were required to be a free citizen and not a runaway slave. In 1867 congress made it possible for African Americans to vote. The new constitutions guarantee black suffrage and congress tried to protect the African Americans right to vote by putting the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment. When congress passed the Civil Rights law African American still suffered from voting because congress made it unaffordable for poor people to vote. A
In preparation of this they stayed in Ohio for a week and learned how to register to vote and about the dangers of segregation in Mississippi they also learned how to walk in a formation and they learned how to protect themselves in an nonviolent way. As John Kennedy said “those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing rights as well as reality”. Black men had won the voting right in 1870, because of the Fifteenth Amendment, the Constitution granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race,color, or previous condition of servitude." for the next 100 years many were unable to exercise that right. White locals and officials from the state kept blacks from voting through methods, like poll taxes and literacy tests. Through cruder methods of fear and intimidation, which included beating. Blacks not being able to vote was only one of many problems African Americans encountered in the racist society they are in, the Civil Rights officials who decided to 0 in on voter registration. It was understood its crucial significance as well the white supremacists did.
It wasn’t easy being an African American, back then they had to fight in order to achieve where they are today, from slavery and discrimination, there was a very slim chance of hope for freedom or even citizenship. This longing for hope began to shift around the 1950’s. During the Civil Rights Movement, where discrimination still took place, it was the time when African Americans started to defend their rights and honor to become freemen like every other citizen of the United States. African Americans were beginning to gain recognition after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, which declared all people born natural in the United States and included the slaves that were previously declared free. However, this didn’t prevent the people from disputing against the constitutional law, especially the people in the South who continued to retaliate against African Americans and the idea of integration in white schools....
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.