The major events of the U.S. civil rights movement from 1948 to 1970 caused a profound change in the American society and culture by challenging the White superiority myth. The success of desegregation in particular professional areas demonstrated that Blacks could also perform traditionally white activities, and even perform them better. Furthermore, the desegregation of the first schools challenged the myth of the intellectual superiority of Whites. African American students could demonstrate that they could keep up with Whites, and they could soon flourish in the public arena, to the extent that they were allowed to do so. Finally, the non-violent protests that Black civil rights activists engaged in demonstrated that they were not barbaric or violent by nature, but on the contrary, their moral values were no less powerful than those of Whites. With each new success which allowed African Americans access into areas that had been restricted to Whites, Blacks demonstrated that preserving their outsider status was simply a racist and unfair historical practice. The difficult struggle for racial integration during the Civil Rights era transformed the American society and culture by challenging the idea that Blacks were biologically inferior and could not equal Whites in the society, and slowly paving the way towards racial equality.
In the first period of the Civil Right Movement, from the 1948 to 1953, desegregation in certain professional fields demonstrated that African-Americans could be as competent as Whites. Thus, Truman’s decision to desegregate the army was a major first achievement for African-Americans because they could be perceived in a positive light by the society, as being as brave and patriotic as Whites. Furthermore, desegregating the army was a first sign that the government was ready to challenge the segregation laws and more importantly, to promote racial integration at the level of the society. Racial segregation is based upon the idea that African-Americans are not ‘good enough’ to occupy the same places in the society as whites, and that segregation could not ‘work (S, 478) and having federal support challenged these assumptions. This opened a dialogue at the level of the society.
Furthermore and perhaps more significant for the purpose of this paper, the integration of the first African American sportsmen in traditionally White sports improved African Americans’ image in the society to a great extent. Thus, in 1947, Jackie Robinson, a World War II veteran, was permitted to enter a major league baseball team. Baseball had been perceived as a Whites’ sport and consequently, the awards and popularity he gained as a result of his great skills allowed other African-Americans to have access to the major league (S, 478-479). Baseball was a visible aspect of White America’s cultural life, and coming to witness and to admire the performance of African –American baseball players was for many Whites, a first step in acknowledging that African-Americans could equal, and even outclass Whites. Because sports has major importance in the cultural life of America, this first success was perhaps more important that it might seem, because it forced Whites to look at African –Americans and Whites as equal members of a team.
Even more importantly, the desegregation of education helped African Americans to challenge Whites in academic performance, and demonstrated that they do not have lower intelligence. However, destroying the myth of white superiority has been a long and slow process. This idea, while not acceptable anymore, continues to be a subtle aspect of the American consciousness. The first step in this direction was the decision in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) which decided that school segregation was unconstitutional (S, 479). School segregation had been a late -19th century decision which affected the possibilities of African –American students to be professionally successful in the future, since separate facilities for Whites and Blacks were unequal and did not allow African-American children the same quality of education as Whites. Despite angry mobs which tried to stop African-American students from attending White colleges and universities, Black students were not intimidated and took this opportunity to shape a better future for themselves and their families.
The violence that emerged as a result of the decision to desegregate public institutions and areas also attracted international criticism, because this situation contradicted the American principles regarding freedom and democracy. In fact, “the communist presses also picked up the Till case and other civil rights abuses in order to make a statement about the hypocrisy of the United States’ claims to be fighting for freedom in the Cold War” (S, 480). The fact that other countries, and in particular, the communists, accused America of being backward in their treatment of their most numerous racial minority represented an important problem for Americans, because it affected their image. At the same time, increasing international criticism forced Americans to rethink their own ideas concerning African Americans, and to rethink their public policy towards integration and increased civil rights and freedoms.
Finally the persistent non-violent civil rights struggle of the African-American activists throughout the 1960s forced America to change its old conceptions regarding the lack of civilization and the barbarism of the African race, and caused many Whites to look with sympathy at the efforts made by African Americans. This is particularly true because the violence acts committed by the Ku Klux Klan and other White supremacy groups shifted public opinion in favor of African Americans in many cases , particularly in cases when children or women became victims of violence. Due to the moral superiority of their struggle, and to the fact that African-Americans did not retaliate even in the face of direct attacks, the stereotypes that had affected African Americans began to be challenged. If anything, the White supremacy group came to be perceived as morally inferior to Blacks. For example, in 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) organized desegregated bus rides in the South in order to challenge the segregation rules. The bloody outcome of the Freedom Rides and the media prominence that the violence caused had practical positive consequences for the African-American community, leading directly to the desegregation of interstate public transportation. Perhaps the most important promoter of non-violent civil rights protest was Martin Luther King, Jr., whose example led people to adopt a highly moral attitude in their struggle against racism, and honorably represented the African American community. In Birmingham, the most segregated city of the South, the brutal Eugene ‘Bull’ Connor offered a negative and deeply contrasting image by attacking women and children.
Following increasing violence, and constant betrayals by government officials, African-American activists became increasingly disappointed, and willing to listen to more extreme voices, such as that of Malcolm X. However, after 1964, efforts to gain political rights manifested in marches and protests which disrupted American life, and forced policy makers to take the growing voice of African Americans into consideration. These efforts led to the adoption of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (S, 492). This is an important moment because from now on, African Americans had a political voice, and therefore, could impact the future of the country. As a direct result of this law, the number of registered voters in the South increased to more than double (S, 492). As Schultz showed, “the challenge to the idea that there was a hierarchy of races, a challenge that began in earnest during the Second World War, had come to predominate American thinking in the 1960s” (S, 494). This shows that the myth of White supremacy stopped being prominent in the American society as a direct result of the changes which took place in the American consciousness throughout the short 2 decades in which the Civil Rights movement grew and matured.
The idea that Whites were biologically superior to Blacks which dominated the American discourse historically was challenged by the changes which took place in the society during the Civil Rights movement. African Americans demonstrated that they could be as competent professionally, and as skilled as Whites, and that they could successfully learn in White Universities. Their contested intelligence was proved by their ability to graduate from colleges and universities throughout the country. Furthermore, the moral struggled that characterized the Civil Rights movement throughout the years challenged the myth of African-Americans as being uncivilized and brutal. On the contrary, the violent actions of White supremacy groups and racist authorities which even attacked women and children shifted public sympathy towards the African Americans’ cause , both nationally and internationally. These changes led to the eventual perception of maintaining a hierarchy of races in the society, as unjust and unjustified.
Works Cited
Schultz, Kevin. Hist4, vol 2. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. 2016. Web.
