American Civil Rights Movement

American Civil Rights Movement, most commonly referred to as the Civil Rights Movement was a movement that took place in the southern part of the USA between 1954-1968, and it included strategies, groupings as well as social movements whose main goal was to end African-American segregation and discrimination. The movement also steered for legal recognition as well as federal protection of their citizenship rights like their American counterparts as provided by federal law and the Constitution. The movement also agitated to end the segregation in schools and other public facilities, have access to job opportunities, reversed the “separate but equal” rule and pushed for general equity among the Africans and Americans.

The Civil Rights Movement began in the year 1955, one year later after the rule provided in Brown v. Board of Education when an African American woman in Alabama, Rosa Parks, denied giving the seat o to a white man on the bus. Parks’ reaction to the Bus Act led to her arrest because the whites considered the blacks as people who possessed no legal rights. That aroused the feelings of the blacks, and they started to boycott the bus system and were against the blacks sitting at the back as they agitated for sit-ins. They chose a young minister by then, Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr., to lead the protests. Montgomery boycotts were very successful because they encouraged African Americans to protest for their rights. Martin Luther King, despite the various detentions he faced during the protests, nonetheless was able to express his concerns on radio and television.

In addition to the previous killings of the young black men who participated in the Freedom Rides of 1961, one that aroused anger was the murder of a 14-year-old, Emmett Till, in the year 1955. The young African American, Till, was alleged to have whistled to a white woman in Mississippi after visiting a family from the North and was shot dead and lynched.

The several pushes for inclusion and an end to discrimination and segregation were successful, and that was due to the enactment of the following federal legislation. The first enactment was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to replace the former biased act of 1875 which was in favor of the whites alone. The act of 1964 successfully ended discrimination based on race, gender, religion and national origin when it comes to employment. The act also put an end to the biases experienced during the scrutiny of the voter registration requirements, as well as put an end to the racial segregation witnessed in workplaces, schools, and public accommodations.

The movement also pushed for the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This act ensured that the minorities had equal rights and this was constitutionally oversight of both the processes of registration as well as the elections in areas that had low minority representation. This also saw some of the Civil Rights Leaders becoming political leaders. The Immigrations and National Services Act of 1965 ensured no racial border limits to immigration. Also, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 scraped off the discrimination that existed over the sale or renting of houses.

The Civil Rights Movement saw the rise of political activist movements like the Congressional Black Caucus of 1969, which enabled Africans to speak with one voice. Also, the movement fostered the “Third World Coalitions,” which constituted of Latinos, Blacks and Asian Americans. Also, the movement sparked the emergence of the Black Arts Movement, which promoted art, dance, and music among blacks.