Civil Rights Movement
Joel Benavente
Period 4
05/17/13
Civil Rights Movement
The primary theme of the Civil Rights Movement was that African Americans, in particular, and minorities, in general were human beings. The African Americans felt no different, no better, or worse than the whites in America. As human beings, African Americans were called on to dire in times of war, called on to pay taxes, and called on to do various other services. The argument was that skin color was not a disability, that it made a person neither better nor worse than someone with a lighter or darker pigment. The Merriam- Webster defines civil rights as “The rights of a personal liberty guaranteed to the United States by the thirteenth and fourteenth Amendments to the constitution and by acts of congress.” (Merriam- Webster). The Civil Rights Movement itself initially started in 1955 in the United States aim at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights in the Southern States. The main objectives of the Civil Rights Movements were to obtain equal rights and peaceful liberties for blacks, and other races as well that benefited. A majority of whites believed that their race was superior to all races and any other race was deemed inferior. The whites were brutal to blacks and other minorities both physically and mentally. The movement established a significant change in America. Even though times seemed to progress, the hardships that many black activists went through must still be acknowledged as well.
The most dynamic time of the Civil Rights Movement occurred in the 1950’s through 1960’s. One horrible case that the whites participated in was the Emmett Till. This was a very horrible act. In the document Black Boys from Chicago, it states that Till was murdered for just speaking to a local girl in the south. “While he was leaving out the store, after buying some candy, he told her, “Bye, baby.” By just saying this, Till was
Period 4
05/17/13
Civil Rights Movement
The primary theme of the Civil Rights Movement was that African Americans, in particular, and minorities, in general were human beings. The African Americans felt no different, no better, or worse than the whites in America. As human beings, African Americans were called on to dire in times of war, called on to pay taxes, and called on to do various other services. The argument was that skin color was not a disability, that it made a person neither better nor worse than someone with a lighter or darker pigment. The Merriam- Webster defines civil rights as “The rights of a personal liberty guaranteed to the United States by the thirteenth and fourteenth Amendments to the constitution and by acts of congress.” (Merriam- Webster). The Civil Rights Movement itself initially started in 1955 in the United States aim at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights in the Southern States. The main objectives of the Civil Rights Movements were to obtain equal rights and peaceful liberties for blacks, and other races as well that benefited. A majority of whites believed that their race was superior to all races and any other race was deemed inferior. The whites were brutal to blacks and other minorities both physically and mentally. The movement established a significant change in America. Even though times seemed to progress, the hardships that many black activists went through must still be acknowledged as well.
The most dynamic time of the Civil Rights Movement occurred in the 1950’s through 1960’s. One horrible case that the whites participated in was the Emmett Till. This was a very horrible act. In the document Black Boys from Chicago, it states that Till was murdered for just speaking to a local girl in the south. “While he was leaving out the store, after buying some candy, he told her, “Bye, baby.” By just saying this, Till was