Gone were the days when an African American would get into trouble for drinking water from a white water fountain. The better part of the 1040s characterized racial segregations that were not only strictly enforced by the laws as instituted by Jim Crow but also by the age-customs. At this time, the civil rights movement was still in infancy. The laws that governed voting as well as access to public facilities and jobs in an equitable manner were mere fallacies and decades away from attainment. The Africa Americans could not even make to eat or drink from the restaurants. Neither could they dare drink from the white fountain. This situation only meant that there were separate and different fountains for different people as dictated for by race and color. In addition to this segregation, there were put in place different buses that African Americans would dare not board individual designated buses. If a given train were big enough, they would be made in such a way that they had in a place separate couches. As far as this concerned, it occurs that there were virtually everything that was meant to be separate.
Civil Right Movements have fought for the freedom and equality of the whites and blacks in many parts of Europe. However, the actions are identified to be ill-equipped to deal with the rising multicultural and multiracial America. In particular, the population is increasingly receiving large numbers of new immigrants from Asia and Latin America, who are not black or white (Barnett, B. M. Gender, and Society 34). Therefore, the Civil Right Movements ought to re-evaluate the current framework used so that they may incorporate Asians and Black Americans. In this essay, will expound on Blacks’ Civil Rights Struggle and Impact on Native Americans, Latinos, and Women.
The phenomenon of anti-immigrant legislation and political scapegoating was seen as a motivation castigated for the change in demographic landscape, and this has led to in increased misunderstanding between the blacks and other races (Barnett, B. M. Gender, and Society 19). Therefore, prejudice discourages the formation of a multiracial political group coalition. The move secluded the Blacks from the rest of the races in the United States and could only be overcome by the creation of renewed Civil Right Movement that replaced the current with restrictive biracial vision. Much as the policies of segregation were mainly targeted towards African Americans worth. The blacks who lived in the northern cities plus the Latinos, Chinese Americans, Filipinos, Japanese Americans, Jewish Americans, as well as Native Americans, were subjected to racial discrimination of the time as well.
The U.S is known to experience a resurgence in hate crimes, xenophobia, and racism in the midst of increasing migratory and economic upheavals. The challenge has called for enactment of a new regulation that is specific to cases of prejudice (cook 48). Similarly, the situation has gotten increasingly challenging for civil rights leaders since the problems affect the poor, Native Americans, Latinos, and women. In the wake of economic and migratory adversaries, the white blame the blacks, Asians and non-Americans for the economic misery facing their country. The issue of appreciating other races has been a challenge for some time now since, in 1994, California voters passed Proposition 187 that required aliens to be reported to the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the California Attorney General. The proposition required the undocumented immigrants to get denied the right to get public education, social services, and health services from any government organization (Bodroghkozy 75). Furthermore, this has caused disunity between the immigrants who usually come to seek a better livelihood and the Native Americans who don’t want to share the available resources with the immigrants. This has created room for the Blacks’ civil society to fight and advocate for their freedoms and rights. The civil society agitates for a union of the people of the United States and equality to all races and genders.
The U.S Civil Rights Movement have been in existence for centuries and advocated against racism aimed at African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Arabs Americans, and Latinos. The fight has shaped the strengthening and development of civil rights laws that protect the minority from prejudice. The NAACP has been consistent in advocating for equal treatment and its legal arms, NAACP Legal Defense, and Education Fund, were formed to fight Jim Crows policies (James 89). The civil rights group shaped critical and historic victories against legal segregation and inspired the Civil Rights Movement. This has resulted in a peaceful relationship between the blacks, Native Americans, Latinos’ and women. By the time the Second World War began, some African Americans had found themselves mixed up with feelings of whether or not to support the efforts for the same when the freedom America was supposedly fighting for abroad was not granted to them. Some went as far as posing the question as to what importance the war held as the United States at the time, could not even grant its citizens their right as well as banishing laws on lynching and if the military uniform would not bring with it, the honor and glory of the soil for the services rendered.
The advocacy against racism led to the formation of Non-Black civil rights organizations that responded to cases of racial discrimination against other non-whites races (jones 20). The groups formed include Mexican American Political Association, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), National Council of La Raza, the Chinese American Citizens', Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Alliance, and National Lawyers Guild (Collins, 1991). However, the blacks have been on the forefront in fighting for equality despite Asians, Latinos, and other non-black groups coming up with civil rights organizations. This is as a result of deep-rooted prejudice extended towards the blacks by whites. The white used to treat the black race as inferior human beings due to their color. This gave the Blacks the urge to fight for their equality in the frontline. This has impacted a lot in the modern society because it has earned respect and equality from the Native Americans, Latinos, and the women.
The Civil Rights Movement is the cornerstone of fighting for the rights of immigrants in the United States. The fight has given non-white immigrants a platform to present their grievances to the United States (Verney 40). However, no system is sufficient in what it does, and it has failed at times in fighting for immigrants. One clear scenario is the incarceration of 110,000 Japanese Americans in 1942 under Executive Order 9066 despite some of them being U.S citizens (Mueller 19). Similarly, Mexican immigrant farmworkers are neglected by the Civil rights Movement hence calling for a restructuring of the movements. Through the Emergency Farm Labor Program, many Mexicans were welcomed to work in American farms but were later deported with the help of the FBI, Army, Navy and the Border Patrol department. This happened with minimal challenges from Civil Right Movements in the United States (Crawford 19).
The Civil Rights Movement has fought several legal battles against civil violence on the non-black, non-white population. The success largely enjoyed by non-black, non-white immigrants is as a result of the numerous political and legal battles that the Civil Rights Movement has engaged in with various bodies within the U.S. The 14th Amendment on the equal protection clause has largely protected immigrants from discriminatory government practices and legislation (Lawson 12). The amendment targeted the discriminatory policies aimed at Chinese immigrants within California and allowed them to access benefits that were only available to the natives. The defense industry was known to stage war and provide critical measures and ground for the struggle of victory for the civil rights back home. While the time for the war reckoned, many people, many people, the majority of whom were African Americans held their hopes high and expected that they would gain enormous benefits from the war just like any other person who was involved in the war regarding military production.
The modern Civil Rights Movement can protect the non-Black and non-white Americans better that it previously did. Unfortunately, the modern movement lacks strategic vision and direction to address the emerging issues and challenges faced by the immigrants (Hopkins 29). This can be attributed to the weakened leadership heading the movements compared to leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thurgood Marshall. The earlier visionaries fought with passion and had outlined grievances that were pressing on the black, non-Black and none- White Americans. Similarly, the difference in opinion on some political agendas of each constituent group of the movement led to division and disharmony among the civil groups making it hard to articulate a comprehensive vision.
Regardless of the weaknesses, the Civil Rights Movement should tackle critical modern day issues such as immigration which could ruin the reputation and authority of the carefully built civil rights coalition (Rodriguez 45). This is essential with the disaster of increased immigrants into the U.S looming. Economic factors have influenced large populations of immigrants from Latin America and Asia to relocate to the U.S in search of employment. Therefore, the Civil Rights Movement ought to increase its significance by standing for the rights of the immigrants, illegal or legal. Activism, as demonstrated by women, were meant to create a difference as voting rights at the time, we a reserve of the property owners and who were mainly males. It is noteworthy that the expansion of the franchise to entail universal suffrage among the white men mainly served to honor and safeguard the interests of the few and lock out women from such entitlements.
However, the Black Power Movement did not hinder the civil rights movement all the time, a success of the Black Power Movement was the impact it had on Black Culture. The Black Power Movement influenced many people to take action, and one person was Miles Davis, who had formed an all-black band. This move was seen as great achievement is the past successes were anything to go by. The movement was a large first step which they made it more accessible for others to follow through and embrace this culture, concerning music, Black female models were also now being used in album covers which they had never been done so before. This was also a successful change because it challenged the stereotypical image and allowed equal opportunities for other people. Perhaps, the most significant achievement of the Black Power Movement in Culture was the inclusion of a black character in Star Trek at a leading role, this same series also featured an interracial kiss which created considerable political tension however it also led the way for others to follow and change these discriminative laws and norms.
Another success of the black power was the publicity that it brought to the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement era saw the emergence of a few influential black celebrities, who were all from black families and backgrounds (Steven 90). A key example and one of the most famous was Muhammad Ali, who was a world-class heavyweight boxer. The nation of Islam, from the black power movement, successfully converted Muhammad Ali into a follower of the Nation of Islam religion. The conversions and the ever rising religious tension brought the media attention to black power encouraging more African Americans to take a stand, most significantly the young black American males who were brought up in the ghettos, since they believed the peaceful civil rights movement did not represent their views and experiences, thus, they were more appealed to the black power since their influential members had a similar upbringing to them. Another way that it brought publicity to the movement was through its controversial ideologies (Weiss 67). There are various examples for this such as Elijah Muhammad’s scandals, riots of 1965-68, separatist ideologies and notorious political statements such as calling the March of Washington, the “Farce on Washington” (Nance 34). Despite being seen in a negative light by some, it cannot be denied that the self-defensive and militant teachings and ideologies of the black power movement did a lot to increase the media attention towards the Civil Rights Movement.
The Hispanic Americans were a minority of the population in the 1960s making around 6% of USA population and similarly to the black Americans; they also had been neglected and denied of their fundamental rights. The civil rights movement was a movement of all minority ethnicities living in America taking a stand for their rights, and the Hispanics also came under this. The black power influenced a fragment of the Hispanic community and encouraged them to form the “Brown power” which also protested for attention (Mueller 21). The Brown power arranged camp in’s which resulted in the forest being set on fire. These militant activities by the Hispanic Americans also hindered the success of the Civil Rights Movement, since this aggressive attitude portrayed the entire movement as an attempt to overthrow the regulations.
Another factor that also hindered the success of the movement was Malcolm X. Malcolm X could be seen as a factor of success for the movement or an element of failure. X made it clear from the start that he, like many other black power supporters, were not calling for desegregation or communitarianism. Instead, they wanted to be segregated however wanted the equal facilities as the white Americans. Malcolm X’s views were subjective and had a negative reflection of the Civil Rights Movement. He was very open and friendly about his views on media and he had many interviews with white hosts in which he openly discussed that he was not interested in harmony but wanted separatism. Opponents of the CRM used this to highlight that if the civil rights movement is successful, the American concept and lifestyle so far would have been drastically changed. This separatist unconstitutional ideology along with such expressions as “chickens coming home to roost” on the assassination of JFK and the “any means necessary” saying he had in the early stages of the movement meant that every action of X was very debatable.
The African American women known to be active in the Civil Right Activism Era were on several occasions overlooked, all in the name of race and gender (Carothers 43). Not only was racism considered a big issue, but also sexism. No one regarded women highly at the time; they barely took men serious either, all these being done because of the color of their skin. The women on many occasions shied off from roles for the men of their society. Many of the women in the public eye were often seen by their side, to give support, but they always took on their errands including some leadership roles. Not quite some these women opted for stepping up and speaking, and not that many of them assumed leadership roles that would have them dealing with the public.
In 1962, an African-American woman by the name of Fannie Lou Hamer learned that African Americans had finally gotten their democratic right to exercise voting. “The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee members asked for volunteers to go to the courthouse to register to vote; Fannie Lou Hamer was the first to raise her hand (SNCC) (Carothers, 1990).”When Fannie Lou Hamer and others arrived at the courthouse they were beaten by the police then they were put in jail (Carson 11).
The black power movement did hinder the success of the civil rights movement to a large extent however it was successful on many occasions. The black power portrayed the civil rights movement as an in a very destructive way, showing that it would lead to a fragmented America if black Americans were to gain equal rights and the division of the civil rights movement implied that it wasn’t sound enough to be taken seriously. One of the biggest ways that black power hindered the civil rights movement was its aggressive militant teachings juxtaposed with Martin Luther King’s peaceful, non-violent choice of protest, Black power simply highlighted the negative side of the movement too much. The success was also hindered by The Black powers unclear intentions of what it wants to achieve with different organizations wanting different things, such as the black panthers wanting separatism and the Nation of Islam referring several times that they wanted black Americans to be returned to their originating countries. Overall the black power mostly hindered the success of the civil rights movement as it gave opponents of the civil rights movement something to showcase in their defense.
In conclusion, the American Civil Rights movement that encompassed social movements in America had one main goal which was to bring to an end, the racial segregation and prejudice against the African Americans as well as enforcing the constitutional democratic rights of voting. The Civil Rights Movement was known to be initiated by some leaders from the African American families including one Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks among other greats. These people put their lives on the line, risking everything they had in the name of fighting for the minority so that they would attain freedom and equality among other fundamental human privileges. It was later to occur that these movements attained their minimal threshold of securing federal protection and recognition as having the rights of being the citizen with all their entitlements.
Works Cited
Barnett, B. M. Gender and Society, (June, 1993) Invisible Southern Black Women Leaders in the Civil Rights Movement: The Triple Constraints of Gender, Race, and Class., pp. 162-182. Extracted Monday, April 23, 2007 from http://www.jstor.org
Carothers, S. C. (1990). Catching sense: Learning from our mothers to be Black and female. In F. Ginsburg & A. L. Tsing (eds.), Uncertain terms: Negotiating gender in American culture. Boston: Beacon.
Carson, C. (1981). Ins struggle: SNCC and the Black awakening of the 1960’s. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Collins, P. H. (1991). Black feminist though: Knowledge consciousness and the politics of empowerment. New York: Routledge.
Crawford, V. (1990). Beyond the human self: Grassroots activists in the Mississippi civil rights movement. In V. L. Crawford, J. A. Rouse, & B. Woods (Eds.), Women in the civil rights movement: Trailblazers and torchbearers, 1941-1965. New York: Carlson
Hearing the Missing Voice. Nance (May, 1996), T. A. Journal of Black Studies, vol. 26, no. 5, Special Issue: The Voices of African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement. pp. 543-559. Extracted Monday, April 23, 2007 from http://www.jstor.org
Mueller, C. (1990). Ella Baker and the origins of “participatory democracy.” In V. L. Crawford, J. A. Rouse, & B. Woods (Eds.), Women in the civil rights movement: Trailblazers and torchbearers, 1941-1965. New York: Carlson.
Payne, C. (1990). Men led, but women organized: Movement participation of women in the Mississippi Delta. In V. L. Crawford, J. A. Rouse, & B. Woods (Eds.), Women in the civil rights movement: Trailblazers and torchbearers, 1941-1965. New York: Carlson.
White, J. (1990). Black leadership in America from Booker T. Washington to Jesse Jackson (2nd Ed.). New York: Longman.
Lawson, Steven F. Running for freedom: Civil rights and black politics in America since 1941. John Wiley & Sons, 2014.
Waters, Mary C., Philip Kasinitz, and Asad L. Asad. "Immigrants and African Americans." Annual Review of Sociology 40 (2014): 369-390.
Banks, James A. "For Freedom’s Sake." Transforming curriculum for a culturally diverse society (2013): 75.
Marable, Manning. How capitalism underdeveloped black America: Problems in race, political economy, and society. Haymarket Books, 2015.
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History: Seagull Fourth Edition. WW Norton & Company, 2013.
Rodriguez, Michael, et al. "Using Civil Rights Tools to Address Health Disparities." The City Project Policy Report (2014).
Mora, G. Cristina. "Cross-Field Effects and Ethnic Classification, the Institutionalization of Hispanic Panethnicity, 1965 to 1990." American Sociological Review 79.2 (2014): 183-210.
Omi, Michael, and Howard Winant. Racial formation in the United States. Routledge, 2014.
Browne-Marshall, Gloria J. Race, Law and American Society. Routledge, 2013.
Romero, Mary, Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, and Vilma Ortiz. Challenging fronteras: Structuring Latina and Latino lives in the US. Routledge, 2014.
Lawson, Steven F. Civil Rights Crossroads: Nation, Community, and the Black Freedom Struggle. University Press of Kentucky, 2015.
John, Steven F. Running for freedom: Civil rights and black politics in America since 1941. John Wiley & Sons, 2014.
Jackson, Thomas F. From civil rights to human rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the struggle for economic justice. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013.
Cook, Robert. Sweet land of liberty: the African-American struggle for civil rights in the twentieth century. Routledge, 2013.
Button, James W. Blacks and social change: Impact of the civil rights movement in southern communities. Princeton University Press, 2014.
Weiss, Nancy Joan. Whitney M. Young, Jr., and the struggle for civil rights. Princeton University Press, 2014.
Smith, Andrea. "Heteropatriarchy and the three pillars of white supremacy: Rethinking women of color organizing." Transformations: Feminist Pathways to Global Change (2015): 264.
Ling, Peter J., and Sharon Monteith, eds. Gender in the Civil Rights Movement. Routledge, 2014.
Watson, Denton L. Lion in the lobby: Clarence Mitchell, Jr.'s struggle for the passage of civil rights laws. University Press of America, 2014.
Sanger, Kerran L. When the Spirit Says Sing: The Role of Freedom Songs in the Civil Rights Movement. Routledge, 2015.
Cobb Jr, Charles E. This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible. Basic Books, 2014.
Banks, James A. "For Freedom’s Sake." Transforming curriculum for a culturally diverse society (2013): 75.
Bodroghkozy, Aniko. Equal time: Television and the civil rights movement. University of Illinois Press, 2013.
Verney, Kevern. Black civil rights in America. Routledge, 2012.
Hopkins, Dwight N. Introducing black theology of liberation. Orbis Books, 2014.
Jones, William P. The March on Washington: Jobs, freedom, and the forgotten history of civil rights. WW Norton & Company, 2013.
