Civil Rights

America, “the home of the brave and the land of the free.” The statement “land of the free” hasn’t always been the case for African-Americans. But fortunately, America is “the home of the brave” and through trials and tribulations they were able to achieve equality. Dating back to 1619 the first African-Americans were sold into slavery at Jamestown. Being a slave meant you were a human being owned by another and as slaves they were deprived of most of their rights as an American and were treated as a peace of property. Many more African-Americans were brought to America to supply the demand of force labor needed in the south to produce agriculture. Slavery of the African-Americans wasn’t abolished until the end of the Civil War which ended on April 26, 1865. The battles for equal rights weren’t over yet do to Jim Crow Laws established between 1877 and the1950s. The Jim Crow Laws were any laws between 1877 and the 1950s that enforced racial segregation in the U.S., which included segregation of public facilities, education, and voting. But, African-Americans stood up against racial segregation during the 1950s in a movement towards equality called the Civil Rights Movement. Their efforts for equality paid off when in 1964 the Civil Rights Act was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The Act forbids the discrimination in public accommodations. One year later the Voting Rights Act was passed giving all African-Americans the right to vote. Throughout the history of the struggles and battles the African-Americans faced they would not have been victorious if they weren’t guided by great leaders.

There were many leaders who rose to the battle of equality but two of the most dominant figures were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. They were born in a time were inequality of their race was met daily. But they rose above the hate to become leaders of the African-Americans in the fight to end segregation. Both men aimed for the same goal and yet they used opposite approaches in gaining their goal of justice and freedom for their race.

Martin Luther King Jr. was raised in a family were he learned the importance of peace and religion. He believed African-Americans would have to obtain their rights without the use of violence. In contrast, Malcolm X was brought up in a society where hate and violence towards African-Americans would destroy his family. Malcolm’s approach towards ending segregation was that violence was the only way. They were both powerful man who had different views on how to end segregation and obtain equal rights. With the power of their speeches and demonstrations they were able unite African-Americans to gain the rights they deserved as Americans. They were able to focus their race’s attention to a single goal that they had been fighting for since they first arrived in America, equal rights and the end of segregation.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. His parents were Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. His father was the pastor the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He grew up in a structured family and felt the effects of racism daily but never had to face the violence of racism growing up. He began his education in the segregated schools of Atlanta where he excelled as a student. At the age of fifteen he graduated from high school and attended his freshmen year at Morehouse College in Atlanta. During college Martin began his journey to see that someday African-Americans will achieve equality. He began to publish and write articles to support his vision of someday achieving equality. He eventually graduated from Morehouse college and furthered his education at Boston University and Crozer Theological Seminary.

In 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus. After she was arrested there was much publicity which caught Martin’s attention. He was angered by the inequality of the Montgomery bus system. He soon took action and organized mass meetings at his local Baptist Church and became president of the Montgomery Improvement Act.

King’s popularity grew and became a target of racial violence. While giving a speech his home was bombed and fortunately his wife and daughter was not killed. Later, he was stabbed in the chest with a letter opener by Izola Ware Curry for not taking a more violent stance in his fight for equality. King survived the stabbing and then traveled to India to meet with Ghandi’s followers. On his trip he found that peace and non-violence was the only way to achieve his goal of inequality.

King’s popularity continued to grow and was appointed chairman and president of many organizations such as the Southern Negro Leaders Conference on Transportation and the Montgomery Improvement Association. King had led many non-violent civil rights marches and protests. In 1963 King was able to unite a march of over two hundred thousand demonstrators for The March on Washington. The march ended at the Lincoln Memorial where he gave his most powerful speech, “I Have a Dream.” The entire nation listened as he spoke of the cruelty and inequality his people had been facing. The U.S. learned of the injustice the white man had place upon the black race.

In 1964 King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and donated all of the $54,000 to the civil rights movement. King now focused his attention on the Vietnam War for he believed non-violence should be practiced all over the world. His popularity soon decreased because of his stance on the Vietnam War and he was not able to influence non-violence in Vietnam. Even though King failed at ending violence in Vietnam he was able to the better the lives of his people. With every speech and march King was able to spark hope in the souls of every African-American. He was able to start the fight for his people of reaching equality.

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