Civil Rights Movement was a struggle spearheaded by African Americans in the 1950s to the late 1960s in order to achieve equal civil rights to those of whites (James, n.d). The two major events that spurred the movement forward were the arrest of Rosa Parks in December 1, 1955 and the Million Man March of October 16, 1955 (James, n.d). Parks was a respected in the community because of her dignified figure. Her arrest made African Americans realize that they were tired of segregation, and they began a boycott of the city buses. The Million Man March was organized by great African American leaders. Masses of men attended, and the gathering marked a renewed commitment and self-empowerment on the African Americans, and this greatly supported the movement.
Events within Civil Rights Movement accelerated the freedom movement. Firstly, the Montgomery bus boycott was the turning point of the movement. The boycott gained media attention and marked the end of reliance on litigation. The other event was the August 28, 1963 March on Washington. Whites also attended the march that was supporting desegregation and voting rights. The Freedom Summer campaign brought white and black students together. The campaign taught people how to organize voter registration. The movement got support from many civil rights groups.
The nonviolent direct action manner of the Civil Rights Movement is what sparked other groups to push for equality. Civil Rights movement was nonviolent in nature, and this made it to release/form another group, SNCC (Student non-violent coordinating committee). The group comprising of white and black student had a great role in the struggle for civil rights. The members of SNCC were in charge of voters’ registration and educated the people of the South. The group members did all that at their personal risk. SNCC played a great role as it enforced the nonviolent actions of Civil Rights Movement.
Reference
James, T. P. (n.d). The Civil Rights Movement: Major Events and Legacies. Retrieved on
movement/essays/civil-rights-movement-major-events-and-legacies.htm.
