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The civil rights movement in the USA
How important were the sit ins in improving the lives of black americans
The civil rights movement in the usa
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On February 1st, 1960, in Greensboro, North Carolina, four African-American college students sat down at a whites-only lunch counter. They asked for coffee, and were refused service. Still, the students waited patiently to be served. They were threatened, and intimidated, but they did not leave. This sparked a wave of sit-ins all through the South. Sometimes the students were beaten, and many times they were arrested. Once the students at the lunch counters were arrested, a new group took their place. The SNCC was created in response to this, which stands for the student nonviolent coordinating committee, and they organized sit-ins and other protests all over the country. I think that the students were very brave to remain at the lunch counter
even though they were threatened, beaten, jeered at, and often arrested. I would not have been able to do that, and it amazes me to see the number of people doing this.
On a tedious Thursday afternoon, the body of an extrusive racketeer named Fannin was found at Ernie’s Lunchroom by police officers. A testimony of the only witness, the proprietor and the only employee, Ernie has said “The murderer had leaned against the wall while firing at point-blank range”. There is also one imprint of the supposed homicidal murderer on one of the walls and the cash register had just been rung up at $8.75. The police believe that person C is the murderer from the hand position of the utensils/hand positions, the relation among persons B, D, and E, and the identification of the Y and X footprints. The victim of this heinous crime is also controversial and the media are portraying Fannin as a criminal due to his reputation of racketeering. Maybe Fannin did deserve what came to him but still the public ought to know the real culprit without no prejudices from the media.
Such students differ from the minority groups of Native Americans or African Americans in that they were not so much fighting because they were being discriminated against, but more because they wanted to change what was at that time “the norm.” The civil rights movement was created around this time, and many individuals were beginning to find a voice. African Americans and Native Americans were protesting in order to gain equality and their rights, as opposed to fighting for political reasons. Yet, some of the students at this time were beginning to change their views and believed that it was time for racial equality to exist. Primarily, students formed organizations and clubs, protesting peacefully on their campus and within the college towns to get their beliefs across to others. However, as it became apparent that peaceful protests did not have a big enough impact, as a result of the Vietnam war, the most extreme activists argued that only violent protests would lead to real social change. The Weathermen, a revolutionary group which formed in 1969, proposed an armed struggle to overthrow the U.S. government. This group of radicalists were responsible for a number of bombings during the late 1960s and 1970s. Though the majority of students in America during the sixties and seventies did not face the same racial
Board of Education case. Unlike the SCLC, SNCC was founded by African American college students whose original motives were non-violent Sit-ins and Freedom rides on interstate buses to determine whether or not southern states would enforce laws versus segregation in public transport. As SNCC became more politically active, its members faced violence increasingly. The SNCC responded by migrating from non-violence means to a philosophy with greater militancy after the mid-1960s, as a facet of late 20th-century black nationalism, a proponent of the burgeoning “black power” movement. The shift became personified when Stokely Carmichael replaced John Lewis. In December 1961, in a join effort, the SNCC and SCLC amongst other organizations launched a major campaign in Albany, Georgia, sparked by the civil rights bill which was then pending in congress. This was the high point of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee’s efforts and became popularly known as “Freedom Summer.” The objective of the campaign was to register disenfranchised African American to vote in hopes that they could have the bill passed. The effort especially drew massive attention, even national, when three of the SNCC’s workers, Andrew Goodman of New York, James E. Chaney of Mississippi, and Michael H. Schwerner, were killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan. The crusade brought visibility to the civil rights struggle which laid the groundwork for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of
A decade following the Journey of Reconciliation, the civil rights movement expanded enormously. Once a 1956 Supreme Court decision rendered the Montgomery’s segregated bus system illegal, CORE, now associated with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), decided it was time to force the Southern states to uphold the federal law the Journey of Reconciliation had attempted to highlight.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, was created on the campus of Shaw University in Raleigh in April 1960. SNCC was created after a group of black college students from North Carolina A&T University refused to leave a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina where they had been denied service. This sparked a wave of other sit-ins in college towns across the South. SNCC coordinated these sit-ins across the nation, supported their leaders, and publicized their activities. SNCC sought to affirm the philosophical or religious ideal of nonviolence as the foundation of their purpose. In the violently changing political climate of the 60’s, SNCC struggled to define its purpose as it fought white oppression. Out of SNCC came some of today's black leaders, such as former Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry, Congressman John Lewis and NAACP chairman Julian Bond. Together with hundreds of other students, they left a lasting impact on American history.
In 1865, congress passed the thirteenth amendment, which was ratified on December 6, 1865. The thirteenth amendment abolished slavery in the United States permanently. It was thought by many African Americans that there would finally be peace, and that they too would be treated as fairly as the whites. This was sadly not the case. African Americans were brutally segregated and entrusted to hard times and conditions. Whites began to insist on racial segregation, which had been practiced before, and gave the feeling of superiority to the whites over African Americans. Many whites resisted the social changes, leading to revolting movements such as the Ku Klux Klan, whose members attacked African americans to maintain white dominance. This sparked the civil rights movement. Also called “freedom struggles”, these movements took place to obtain equal rights for African Americans. The sit in’s had a major impact on the psychological impact on African Americans. Not only was it the first African American sitting in, but other students started to follow the path of the Greensboro four and started to participate in sit ins as well. The sit in’s allowed for the civil rights for African Americans to be finally broadcasted live throughout the world. Even though the protesters heckled and beaten, they still sat and never moved, showing the resiliency of the protesters, and was a great role model for other African American protesters who decided it was time to fight against discrimination and fight for rights.
It began on February 1, 1960, in Greensboro, North Carolina when four black students seated themselves at the whites only lunch counter and refused to leave until they were served. After the first sit-in, it began happening all over the country and by the end of the year, 70,000 blacks staged sit-ins. Throughout this, over 3,600 people were arrested. This movement was successful, but it demonstrated non-violent protests. After this movement began, several organizations developed. Such programs include; The NAACP, SNCC, SCLC, CORE, and the Black Panthers. The NAACP stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, while the SNCC stands for the Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee. The SCLC stands for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference who started a segregation protest traveling to Birmingham, Alabama who had the reputation of one of the most segregated cities in the United States. On May 2, 1963, over six hundred protesters were arrested, and the majority was teenage high schoolers. The next day, the police chief, Bull Conor, ordered his police officers to shoot the protestors with high-powered water hoses ordered their dogs to attack them. By the end of the march, only twenty people reached the City Hall. After the Birmingham demonstrations, the blacks gained support from the people from the North because they witnessed how violent the South was towards the black protestors. The CORE is for the Congress of Racial Equality and started the first series of Freedom Riders in May of 1961. They traveled on two interstate buses starting in Washington D.C. and traveling to New Orleans. The people who disagreed with this movement threw stones and burnt these traveling buses in order to show their dislikeness of the blacks. All of these programs promoted rights for African Americans. The Black Panthers was organized by the SNCC and became popular in the late 60's. It was founded in Oakland, California after they protested the bill that outlawed carrying loaded weapons in public.
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 peaceful 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 and ill-treatment they received inspired blacks throughout the deep South to imitate their actions....
From America's birth with the signing of the Declaration of Independence there have been few movements that have affected as many people as the Civil Rights movement. In a world where blacks were always seen as inferior, any other notion or conception of blacks was highly untolerated. Since Abraham Lincoln had freed the slaves in 1886, there had been no discernable change in the state of racial affairs in America. Not until Brown v. Board of Education ruled that schools should be integrated was anything done for help the plights of blacks. Even after Brown, the South met the changes with fierce and violent resistance. When CORE started their freedom rides, the activists were brutally beaten time and again by Southern whites opposed to change in their way of life. For many whites these were welcome changes that finally address the issue of racism and civil rights for all, but for the large population in the South the government telling them what to do did not sit well at all. These feelings of unrest caused many reactions from whites and blacks alike, but for whites in America these changes would rest deeply for years to come.
Lunch time is a time to take a break from the day and recharge for the rest of the day. In elementary schools it is also a time to meet up with your friends and socialize. Lunch time is not only time to eat. It is important for the mental, social, and emotional health of the children as well. Children need them chance to unwind and destress, which is promoted by socializing with friends. “Lunch should be an enjoyable part of the school day for students, offering a break from classroom work and a place to relax, socialize, and become nourished.”("The Cafeteria: Creating a Positive Mealtime Experience", 2013) Lunch time should be done in a setting where
In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of the Brown v. the Board of Education. This was a very historical moment because their ruling eliminated, the "separate but equal " doctrine. Their ruling called for school integration, although most school were very slow in complying if they complied at all. The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Color People, viewed this ruling as a success. The schools lack of the obedience toward this ruling, made it necessary for black activism to make the federal government implement the ruling, and possibly help close the racial gap that existed in places other than public schools. During one of the boycotts for equality, a leader emerged that would never be forgotten. Dr. Martin Luther King, who was leader of the Montgomery bus boycott, quickly became the spokesperson for racial equality. He believed that the civil rights movement would have more success if the black people would use non violent tactics. Some say he was adopting the style of Ghandi. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, SCLC, was formed by King and other activist in 1957. They were a group of black ministers and activist who agreed to try and possibly help others see the effects of a non violent movement. Also following the strategies set by the SCLC, a group known as the SNCC or the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, began a string of sit-in and campaigns as the black population continued it's fight for equality. It was the undying efforts of the two groups that paved the way for the march on Washington. This march which drew a crowd of at least 200,000, was the place that Dr. King, gave his famous "dream speech." Both the SNCC, and the SCLC were victims of lots of threats and attempted attacks, yet they continued to pursue freedom in a non violent fashion. However near the late 60's they had another problem on their hands. There was a group of activist known as the Black Panthers who were not so eager to adopt the non-violent rule. The believed that the civil rights movement pushed by Dr. King and is non-violent campaign, which was meant to give blacks the right to vote and eliminate segregation, was not solving problems faced in poor black communities. This Black Panther group, stabled the term "black power", which was used a sort of uplifting for the black self esteem.
It was led by Martin Luther King Jr. The blacks took stand by not riding the buses to work or school. Then the boycott lasted about 13 months and after the segregation laws were changed. Also, the Brown v. Board of Education was a cause of the Greensboro Sit-In.
The first sit-in was on February 1, 1960. It was planned by four students from North Carolina A&T University, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr, Franklin McCain, and David Richmond. The four friends had often talked about making a change, but grew tired of idle talk and decided to act. They went to Woolworth’s department store, to buy school supplies and were served without a problem. After they finished their shopping, they all sat down at the lunch counter. The counter they chose to sit at was a “whites only” food counter, and they were refused service. There was a separate counter for black people outside the store, but it was much lower quality and only sold hotdogs. The main store area allowed both black and white to shop, but their eating
The course texts provided an alternative interpretation of major events, which occurred during the Civil Rights Movement. The issues afflicting African-Americans in the South during the movement was no small matter. Organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) employed various tactics to help remedy the problem. By the end of the 1960s, Black people gained substantial civil rights. Yet, the era narrative of nonviolence working to reach that goal is not only misleading but also inaccurate.
The determination, blood, and sweat of the students who participated in the sit-ins paid off at the end, because of how well the group was organized and structured. The sit-ins spread across the South quickly, because the activist, although they were college students, worked “through local movement centers, planned, coordinated, and sustained them” (Polletta). The college students were able to keep their organization well coordinated and this helped the movement prosper, because there was a method of doing things that worked. If the SNCC was not as organized and structured, the movement may have not been so impactful, because an organization cannot spread and gain attention if it has poor communication and coordination skills. There needed to be a strong backing in order to join such a group, because it was a risk to join at the time. The organized and structure of the SNCC and the sit-in movement allowed them to have backing from leading political figures. “John F. Kennedy gave his breakthrough civil rights address in June 1963, in which he declared civil rights as a moral issue,” he said that it is a right for facilities to serve and open to the public. He compared this to education and voting (Schmidt). The organization was successful enough to catch the eye of a presidential candidate, this could not be done if the organizational structure was unorganized and unstructured. This shows