Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement, which occured from around 1955 to about 1968, was a great reform movement that aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African-Americans and restoring sufferage.

Many people and organizations who were active during the Civil Rights Movement preferred to called this period the Southern Freedom Movement because the whole struggle was much deeper than just rights; it was also about freedom, respect, dignity, and equality.

The post-Reconstruction era had some horrible characteristics first among them being racial segregation. By law all public facilities were divided into white and colored areas. Secondly, disenfranchisment, which was where whit democrats passed laws that basically banned blacks from any form of voting rights was another problem. Another horrible characteristic was exploitation, which increased the economic oppression of blacks and employment discrimination. Lastly, this era brought about violence from police, individuals, and organizations towards blacks. Many organizations were founded to protect blacks during this time. It wasn’t until May 17, 1954 when Brown vs. Board of education overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson which maintained “separate but equal” doctrine. They declared it unconstitutional to have colored children be forced to attend different public schools. Rights for blacks improved greatly all over the nation other than the South. There was a great migration of over seven million blacks from the South in what was known as the Great Migration. Brown’s victory only infuriated southerners who refused to desegregate. There was a massive resistance in the South. Blacks responded with non-violent civil disobedience.

After the Brown case, the Civil Rights Movement shifted to an idea of direct action. This consisted of boycotts, sit-ins, freedom rides, and civil right’s marches. Many grass-roots churches volunteered to help with these actions. The Montgomery Improvement Association who led the Montgomery Bus Boycott kept the boycott going for over a year until the federal court required Montgomery to desegregate its buses. The Montgomery Improvement Association was led by a young, black baptist minister named Martin Luther King jr. This inspired many other boycotts. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to make room for a white person. Parks was arrested, tried, and convicted. This is what initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

On September 4, 1957, the govenor of Arkansas called the National Guard to prevent nine African-American students who had sued for the right to enter an integrated school. They had been chosen to attend the school because of their excellent grades. Only one of the nine students showed up for school on the first day because they did not recieve a call about the extent of the danger. So when she arrived, she was greeted by hundreds of white protesters outside the school. She had to be escorted home by police. Every following day all nine students had to carpool to school with military personnel in jeeps. Out of the nine students, only one graduated.