Civil Rights in America in the 1960s
Introduction
After successful boycotts against segregation in Montgomery buses in Alabama, civil rights movement transformed into a spirited political movement. The boycotts showed that African Americans can unite and participate in disciplined and organized political action. The occurrence marked the unveiling of Martin Luther King Junior as a charismatic leader and an inspiration to many black Americans. Luther embraced high moral standards of non-violence when resisting discriminatory rule of the day. He led the blacks to bridge the gap between all races in America. Luther and other African American activists forced white Americans to deal with the harsh Jin Crow laws, thereby shaping the political reality of the adoption of Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of the 1965 to allow all Americans to exercise their voting rights. The landmark lives in the spirit of Americas whose pride is build on equality and sense of nationhood. The essay seeks to evaluate how civil rights were presented and how it has affected people and societies in the twenty-first century.
Civil Rights as a Non-Violent Tool
Martin Luther viewed the expression of the black American’s civil rights in a non-violent way as the most successful tool to use in achieving freedom to the blacks (Ultan & Serdar, 2014). Luther became an advocate to non-violence in enhancing social and political change. Non-violence ensured that no blood was spilt in the quest for freedom. Several approaches were used to rebel against oppressive policies. For instance, student sit-ins in 1960, the freedom rides of 1961, Birmingham demonstrations of 1963, and the Selma march of 1965 (Ultan & Serdar, 2014). All were aimed at refusing to be subjected to lack of dignity and worth for human life based on their diversity. Boycotts and marches ensured that black Americans dismantle racial segregation institutions through advocating for integration and empowerment of the black communities. Non-violence approaches also aimed at restoring the power of black Americans through social, economic, and political development. As such, the oppression became the “American problem” and a human rights’ problem that needed to be addressed by all stakeholders in society.
King focused on preaching on love for humanity. He explained love as an understanding and creative redemption of the goodwill for equality towards all people (Ultan & Serdar, 2014). His thought was informed by the oppressive nature of the American government that established discriminatory policies which led to poverty and militarism. Non-violence was seen as a way of defining a new world order that would enhance equality as well as freedom to the oppressed. The result was positive since the media viewed Martin as a proponent of non-violent boycotts and marches. However, Malcolm, a famous activist, viewed Martin as soft and opted for violence. His preaching viewed everything the whites did as evil and unworthy (Ultan & Serdar, 2014). However, his influence had little impact because most black Americans opted to use the non-violence techniques.
Civil Rights as an Inclusion for All Americans
The fight for voting rights by civil rights activists ensured that all American citizens were allowed to vote without restrictions provided by the Jim Crow and other laws that highlighted unfavorable conditions to keep African Americans from exercising their voting rights. All activities that took place in the 1960s aimed at seeking inclusion in the government and society (Owen, 2000). The main symbol of love, inclusion, and equality was Martin Luther King, who until his assassination viewed the Americans from all races as equal human beings. His spirit was felt when Civil Rights Act was passed to allow the blacks to vote. The same spirit is felt to date as the Black people continue for inclusion and non-violence activities towards them. However, the Civil Rights Movement failed to fight for the inclusion of gender. The challenge is seen from the movement itself where women were not recognized and their significance was not critical. Often, Martin Luther was pictures with male activists even if women played a critical role in sustaining the movement. For instance, Septima Clark was an African American woman activist who was instrumental in establishment of Freedom Schools and advocated for participatory democracy and critical thinking studies. She was also instrumental in educating communities on their voting rights and mobilizing them to participate in boycotts (Owen, 2000).
Civil Rights as a Tool for Social De-construction
Black Americans aimed at adoption of new societal structures through desegregation of schools and society. Schools began integrating to avoid instances of lack of federal funding as provided in the Civil Right Act. For instance, in the 1960s, a commission was formed to conduct an investigation on African American education, a system that had a long standing system of segregation. The commission recommended changes to improving the structural conditions of the schools and for the government to employ experienced teachers equivalent to those in the whites schools (National Park Services, 2008). The movement became more active after the enactment of the act because employment and economic segregation rose, affecting women and the minority greatly. For instance, Mexican workers experienced economic injustice, leading to the formation of Chicano Movement to fight for human dignity as well as identity. Affirmative action continued to spread among the black middle class, making them rise through corporate ownership and management positions. Additionally, black Americans gained a marginal economic position.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission gave room for the adoption of economic empowerment for women (National Park Services, 2008). As a result, the National Organization for Women was established and enabled women to participate in civil rights war and to raise awareness on equality in society through inclusion of women. The government began experiencing changes such as a workforce reflecting nationhood through absorbing the minority. Although it took twenty years to implement the provisions of Voting Rights of 1965, impacts of the achievement was felt in society where black representatives were elected widely in the local government to lead the black Americans (National Park Services, 2008). The local governments were dominated by black Africans, leading to political influence. Advocacy organizations began coming up to continue societal change through elimination of oppressive policies such as poll taxes.
As if that was enough, the blacks had to reclaim their pride, control over institutions, and enhance their self-determination for total integration. The non-violence approach seemed not to be working. As a result, they adopted a more militant and aggressive technique. Africans united with the Asians and Filipino to have a united front to drive social change. For instance, in 1968, Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese students from San Francisco University came together to advocate for the adoption of ethnic studies as a way of embracing diversity. Homophile groups became vocal in fighting against police brutality and educating public about homosexuality (Alsenas, 2008). Since homosexuals were discriminated against in employment opportunities, a famous riot happened in 1969 when the police raided Stonewall Inn. Gay Liberation Movement came into play to fight for sexual integration in society. Feminists were spirited and formed lesbian movements. The struggle drifted to the right to use public places without discrimination, legal protection, and demand for homosexual education (Alsenas, 2008).
Another major landmark that changed society was the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The Act banned the prevalent racial discrimination in the housing sector in America. Modern suburbs that emerged in the 1920s were eliminated and every American was entitled to own property anywhere in the country. However, challenges were experienced when private developers failed to comply with the act fearing that it would lower the value of property, thereby leading to low quality of life (National Park Services, 2008). However, fear drifted away over time, giving room for equal housing and integration of all races across the nation.
Self-Determination
After the termination era, Indians lost their lands, religious freedom, and their traditional approaches in economic production (Johnson, 2007). As a result, the federal government promised alternative services as compensation to their loss. However, Indians continued experiencing social injustices. Their civil rights movements were spirited in the 1960s to fight for their self-determination, recovery of their lands, and restoration of fishing rights. They adopted the slogan “Red Power” to describe and acknowledge that their movement was inspired and spirited by the “Black Power” of the African Americans (Johnson, 2007). Their activities involved targeting the government through protests to demand for legislation to reverse the situation. Indians wanted recognition of the treaty rights that were adopted in the past to restore their tribal sovereignty. The Indians faced rejections through the establishment of the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 that limited the tribal sovereignty of the Indians. Additionally, the act provided that the federal government would be involved in the internal affairs of the Indian tribes. To respond to the oppressive legislation, Indians founded the American Indian Movement to carry out demonstrations and trigger occupation of high-profile locations without authorization.
Effects of Civil Rights Movement to the People and Society in the 21st Century
In conclusion, the American society is experiencing social injustices and the oppression of the black people leading to protest spirited by non-violence approaches adopted by Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. The twenty-first century is marked by wide racial inequalities and mass incarceration of the black communities (Gurminder, 2015). As a result, the country is experiencing civil unrests triggered by innocent deaths of young men of color fro police brutality and the racially oppressive justice system that fail to punish the police who commit these murders. Economic injustice such as huge salary gaps, lack of equal employment and education opportunities and unequal distribution of resources have led to bitterness among African Americans, yet, they contributed equally to the establishment of the nationhood from the colonialists.
Mass protests have been experienced in the recent past as people fight against the failure of the justice system to indict the police exercising the killings against the blacks. Their slogan is “Black Lives Matter” to spirit the society to stand against murder based on racial lines by the law enforcers who are supposed to be protecting all citizens (Gurminder, 2015).
References
Alsenas, L. (2008). Gay America: Struggle for Equality. New York: Amulet Books.
Gurminder, K. (2015). Civil Rights for the Twenty-First Century: Lessons from U.S. History. Discover Society. retrieved from https://discoversociety.org/2015/01/03/civil-rights-for-the-twenty-first-century-lessons-from-u-s-history/
Johnson, T. (2007). Red Power: The Native American Civil Rights Movement. New York: Chelsea House.
National Park Services. (2008). The Civil Rights Framework Study. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/subjects/tellingallamericansstories/upload/CivilRights_Framework.pdf
Owen, J. (2000). Interpreting the Civil Rights Movement: Place, Memory, and Conflict. The Professional Geographer. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277523981
Ultan, M & Serdar, M. (2014). Civil Rights Movement Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312895969