The Civil Rights Movement: Rosa Parks And Martin Luther King Jr.

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The civil rights movement was a popular historical movement that worked to allow African Americans to have equal rights and privileges as U.S. citizens. The movement can be defined as a struggle against racial segregation and discrimination that began in the 1950s. Although the origins of the civil rights movement go back to the 1800s, the movement peaked in the 1950s and 1960s. African American men and women, along with whites, organized and led the movement from local to national levels. Many actions of the civil rights movement were concentrated through legal means such as negotiations, appeals, and nonviolent protests. When we think of leaders or icons of the movement we usually think of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Even though Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. are important figures, their participation in the movement was minimal compared to other unknown or forgotten figures. Howell Raines’s, My Soul Is Rested, contains recollections of voices from followers of the civil rights movement. These voices include students, lawyers, news reporters, and civil right activists. Although the followers of the movement were lesser known, the impact they made shaped the society we live in today.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of the highlights of the civil rights movement. The Rosa Parks case challenged the Jim Crow Laws and segregation laws. Rosa Parks became an influential icon after the movement but her involvement was not intentional. With the help of E.D. Nixon, Rosa Parks is who she is today. E.D. Nixon was a Pullman porter and civil rights leader who worked with Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. to initiate the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He also held a leadership role in the National Association for the Advanceme...

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...till goes on today. The black community may have defeated segregation but they are still resented by many groups of people. The Ku Klux Klan still exist today and are allowed to have meetings even though there numbers have decreased. Middle-eastern people are grudged upon after the 9/11 incident and are victims of racism around the world. The problem with society is that racism will always exist and get passed down generations to generations. Causes are not quite known but it is a part of human nature.
The civil rights movement was a memorable event for the United States. It started with the Rosa Parks incident and ended by outlawing segregation. My Soul Is Rested contains a vast collection of voices from individuals who lived through the civil rights movement. Many of these individuals includes students, Ministers, lawyers and other professions. The book also

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