COM10
Julia Warner-Corcoran
The Civil Rights Movement was a social revolution that had been an important part of the United States for decades, but it wasn’t until the 1960’s that the movement actually began to actively affect the daily lives of Americans. Previously, the Civil Rights advocates had been attempting to simply integrate themselves into the whole of America as a result of the discriminatory mindset of many whites and the unfair treatment of blacks, but this goal shifted dramatically during the sixties as the movement pushed forward. These early integration attempts included non-violent methods such as sit-ins, demonstrations in Birmingham, and the March on Washington, yet even though the protesters were persistent and used non-violent methods to accomplish this early goal, much of America still refused to listen. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act outlawed segregation in public accommodations, which was monumental to the Civil Rights Movement because it shattered the Jim Crow system. The year after, the Voting Rights Act was passed which prohibited racial discrimination while voting. However, even with the ability to fairly vote and with discrimination outlawed by the Civil Rights Act, blacks still found themselves in a lesser position than most whites in society and began to strive for higher goals than just integration. Once they had more or less achieved desegregation, many blacks wanted to advance their goal beyond desegregation and into black power. Because of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the goals and strategies of the Civil Rights Movement shifted from non-violent civil disobedience to more militant methods in favor of self-defense and black power even though there was a scarcity of white support.
Before the Civil Rights act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, much of the Civil Rights Movement focused on achieving desegregation and equality. For example, the SNCC (The Student Nonviolent Coordinating
The Civil Rights Movement was a social revolution that had been an important part of the United States for decades, but it wasn’t until the 1960’s that the movement actually began to actively affect the daily lives of Americans. Previously, the Civil Rights advocates had been attempting to simply integrate themselves into the whole of America as a result of the discriminatory mindset of many whites and the unfair treatment of blacks, but this goal shifted dramatically during the sixties as the movement pushed forward. These early integration attempts included non-violent methods such as sit-ins, demonstrations in Birmingham, and the March on Washington, yet even though the protesters were persistent and used non-violent methods to accomplish this early goal, much of America still refused to listen. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act outlawed segregation in public accommodations, which was monumental to the Civil Rights Movement because it shattered the Jim Crow system. The year after, the Voting Rights Act was passed which prohibited racial discrimination while voting. However, even with the ability to fairly vote and with discrimination outlawed by the Civil Rights Act, blacks still found themselves in a lesser position than most whites in society and began to strive for higher goals than just integration. Once they had more or less achieved desegregation, many blacks wanted to advance their goal beyond desegregation and into black power. Because of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the goals and strategies of the Civil Rights Movement shifted from non-violent civil disobedience to more militant methods in favor of self-defense and black power even though there was a scarcity of white support.
Before the Civil Rights act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, much of the Civil Rights Movement focused on achieving desegregation and equality. For example, the SNCC (The Student Nonviolent Coordinating