African-American Civil Rights Essay

By: Jackson Callis

Jackson Callis
Due: 4/2/15
7th/8th Grade Combined class
Social Studies/1st Period
The Civils Rights Movement in America was a long battle between the
blacks who were trying to get their freedom and a majority of the white population

that was trying to suppress it. Most blacks stayed peaceful, following many of the
ways used by Gandhi to gain Indias independence from Britain. They used tactics
such as boycotts, marches, sit-ins, and other peaceful tactics. Even though most
blacks protested peacefully and didnt try to anger people, they were responded to
with violence and often deep-seeded hatred. Through their methods, and through
perseverance, they fought for the rights they deserved.
Segregation was the main issue during the African American civil rights
movement. It is often considered the only issue the African American civil rights
movement tried to fix, but there were many others, along with several problems
within it.
Segregation, although not the only issue during the AACR, was the biggest.
The water fountains, stores, restaurants, terminals, and countless other such things
were separated. There were some for blacks and some for whites. Often the black
areas were in poor condition, while those for whites were in much better health.
Blacks had to deal with mostly substandard or broken public utilities. In a divided
but still connected environment, such as a segregated lunch counter, blacks could
be served less often, while more attention was given to the whites. Segregation and
discrimination made blacks second-class citizens.
Even as segregation was going on, there were a number of problems still
existing. Though segregation was gone, the feelings and opinions that many whites
carried werent gone, some were just inflamed. The white supremacists still existed.
Blacks had hard times getting jobs, not because they werent qualified, but because
the white employers wouldnt hire blacks. Also the literacy test was still in effect,
which hurt blacks because many were illiterate. The biggest, however, was the
integration of schools, although it could be considered part of segregation,
integration of schools was important to establish the feeling that the races were
equal in children and to have the races be equal in education, because the white
schools supplied much better education. Besides these three things was the still
widespread public refusal to do business with, or serve blacks.
To attack segregation and the other problems that blacks faced due to
inequality the African American Civil Rights Movement began. It started around
1955. The idea was simple, raise the fact that inequality was unfair through
peaceful methods, and obtain the rights that black Americans deserve. Of course it
wasnt just going to be that easy, there would be pushback, coming in numerous
forms. And those forms did present themselves, vividly.
It was violent, there is no doubt about that. There were some groups, such as
the Ku Klux Klan, that promoted the lynching of blacks. These groups violently tried
to keep the development of the black community back, and to keep only whites,
specifically southern democrats, in office. The KKK also burned blacks, and took part
in or carried out hundreds, possibly thousands of racially-centered crimes. Many of
the peaceful protests carried out by the blacks were responded to with force, by the
white public, and by the police. Policemen beat up and arrested protesters, while
segregationists met the protestors and attacked them. Among the violent acts done
unto the blacks, physical violence was only one type. Verbal attacks were also very

common during the physical violence, and in situations such as the integration of
schools, where blacks were among whites, this was at its peak. Dont be fooled into
thinking that all the violence was committed by whites, there were some leaders in
the movement that promoted using violence if necessary. One of these such people
was Malcolm X, he blew up cars and had said that it might not be possible to merge
into the white population, so the blacks should create their own nation to live in,
free from oppression.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a much less radical approach to gaining freedom,
doing it peacefully. After going to Morehouse College where he was taught by
Benjamin Mays about the peaceful struggles and civil disobedience (purposefully
breaking unjust laws in protest) of Gandhi, MLK Jr. deployed some of these tactics in
his fight for equality. He marched, protested, sat-in, boycotted, gave speeches,
freedom-rode, etcetera. Once again, peace wasnt only practiced by the blacks,
there were whites who joined in the fight for black civil rights as well (And a few
segregationists were peaceful, but not many). MLK and many others showed that
you dont need violence to end anything unjust.
Atlanta is considered one of the major hubs for the African-American Civil
Rights Movement. There were many events that took place in Georgia during this
period. The Sibley Commission was an event/act of sorts that took place on March
1st, 1960, and declared that the state would cut any schools funding if it refused to
integrate. On January 2nd, 1961 the Albany movement began when members from
the NAACP and the SNCC sat in the whites only section of a bus and were
arrested, prompting many others to protest in the same way. On January 1 st, 1966
the Summerhill Race Riot began, it was started when many news articles were
posted about blacks committing crimes, some whites wanted to even the score,
and so it began. During January 1971 all Georgia schools were integrated.
Benjamin Elijah Mays was born in August 1st 1894 in Ninety-Six, South
Carolina. At an early age he was subjected to the world of racial injustice when his
father, a former slave, was threatened by a white mob. He was also early on very
involved in church activities, becoming a Baptist minister. His jobs became
gradually more intertwined with education and less so with religion until he became
president of Morehouse College in Atlanta. Besides being president of Morehouse
College for ten years he was a respected figure that lent his wisdom to many, most
importantly Martin Luther King Jr. He had talked with Gandhi at length, and used his
teachings to pass on to others. He was one of the first supporters of the, and even
one of the starters of the African American Civil Rights Movement, speaking out
against segregation before almost anyone else.
Although it was a long, difficult road, all the protesting, marching, and
standing up for the lack of equality between the races paid off. Segregation was
banned in the United States in 1964 by the Civil Rights Act (of 1964). And so,
integration of the schools and the rest of America began, although not without
bumps, many states, counties, and businesses inside those states and counties
refused to let black customers into their businesses. One specific situation of this
happening was the case of the Little Rock Nine. Nine black teenager were admitted

to Little Rock Central High School, but the governor of Arkansas at the time, Orval
Faubus, ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent them from entering the
school. Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and reversed
their purpose, to escort them into the building (and later away from it) instead of
keeping them out. Even though they were admitted and the president made sure
they went to school, it was still, as the youngest of the Little Rock Nine, Carlotta
Walls, said later, a painful experience. It began shakily, but the ways that were
used to ease the nation into an equal society became reality, as we see today.
This is all true, but nothing ever became perfectly equal. There is still some
discrimination between the races, and not only between blacks and whites, but
discrimination against women, and some ethnicities. It is said that a black
man/woman has a higher chance of being convicted of a crime than a white
man/woman. Also many of the problems that were seen back in the 1960s have
evolved into newer, more acute things, such as supremacism. It stills exists in some
places, but for the most part white supremacism has become a sort of racial bias
that doesnt necessarily make people think of blacks as lesser, but as different in
terms of how they do most anything. One of the most recent issues was the
Ferguson shooting, a case in which an unarmed black man charged an officer and
was shot. Many of these such issues in the past, and some of the racial bias that still
exists in some places as I mentioned has given a white man bad sort of feel to
many situations. So when anything is done to a black by a white it is racist and
sparks a movement, but often this doesnt happen the other way around, such as
the even more recent shooting in New York, in which two white police officers were
killed, which didnt gain half as much traction in the news or the minds of the public,
and was a case of homicide, instead of the Ferguson case which was forensically
proven to be self-defense. The point is, the races are in all intents and purposes
equal, but there are a lot of stereotypes and events that prevent total mental
equality (the eradication of such stereotypes and believing others are different) and
physical equality (others being allowed to do the same things and having equal
rights in all environments) between the races. [I am not trying to convey a negative
message that says there is a lot of discrimination and inequality in our society, but
rather that it still exists, hence we have not moved from the time of segregation
into a perfect world, as some are brought up to believe]
It took determination, will, perseverance, and grit, but the African American
population eventually the rights that it deserved. Today everyone shares in the Civil
Rights of America, blacks, whites, women, and other ethnicities alike. Even though,
as I said earlier, we dont live in a perfect world, but all the anti-segregationists and
protesters of the injustices of the 1960s helped make our world a little more
perfect.

Works Cited
1. Ijelite. "Civil Rights Movement in Georgia." Timetoast. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar.
2015. <www.timetoast.com/timelines/civil-rights-movement-in-georgia--2>.
2. Tuck, Stephen. "Civil Rights Movement." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 17
February 2015. Web. 31 March 2015.
3. Parsons, Jon. "Tactics of Civil Disobedience." The Independent. N.p., 20 Jan.
2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <theindependent.ca/.../dr-martin-luther-kingstrategies-and-tactics...>.
4. Kuryla, Peter A. "Benjamin Mays (ca. 1894-1984)." New Georgia Encyclopedia.
15 January 2015. Web. 31 March 2015.
5. Kirk, John A. "Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)." New Georgia Encyclopedia.
03 February 2015. Web. 31 March 2015.