Essays on Civil Rights Movements

Every period in the history of a country differs not only in a number and sequence of events happening, people playing critical roles in it, or culture which defines people’s attitudes and behaviors. They also differ in perception of things and events by people, hence the variety of meanings people associate with certain ideas. It is true that meaning of an idea changes with the flow of time depending on historical environment, on the complex of events which happen in the given period. Therefore, the idea of freedom has been changing through American history, and the goal of ...

Martin Luther King is the most active and famous human rights activists, or it can be said that he projected him as a leader of civil rights movements. He worked hard to end the racism from the world and thus he gave his life to stop racial discrimination in the United States. He lived from 1928 till 1968, and he served most of his life serving humanity. He started human rights work and then he ended up contributing for Civil Rights Movement. He delivered various speeches to encourage people to adopt methods of nonviolence. To pursue civil rights goals ...

The 1960s was a vital period for civil rights movements in the USA. For black people it was perfect time for promoting equality and non-discrimination. There were many civil rights groups and leaders that had different opinions about how to deal with injustice that had dominated in the USA for many centuries. Martin Luther King was one of the most prominent civil activists, but there were many other influential people, including Malcolm Little. Both activists were assassinated in the 1960s. One may get familiar with some of their ideas by reading their speeches “The Ballot or the Bullet” (1964) ...

‘Coming of Age in Mississippi’ is one of the most favorite memoirs of American history wherein author Anne Moody shares first-hand account of her life, civil rights movement and contemporary American society. Moody’s account is more realistic than other African writers because she belonged to a common African American family and suffered pain like other African Americans. This paper proposes a discussion on Moody’s autobiography, ‘Coming of Age in Mississippi’ and further analyses the relationship in race, social movement, and citizenship. Anne Moody was born as Essie Mae. She was the eldest among her eight siblings. When ...

The Importance of Keeping Affirmative Action in the U.S.: The Struggle for Rights by the Chicano People The Importance of Keeping Affirmative Action in the U.S.: The Struggle for Rights by the Chicano People In a country like the US where racial and ethnic inequalities are a major social problem, affirmative action has become an important aspect of alleviating such differences and inequalities. Affirmative action programs are those policy actions that are meant at correcting past injustices that have been perpetrated against a group of people and any inequalities that exist between them and the native people in a ...

Selma is an Ava Du Vernay film. I watched it on 4th June 5, 2016, and found it a compelling and commanding film about Martin Luther King and his role during the civil rights movements in the eve of 1965. He led Selma residents to march from Selma to Montgomery capital agitating for black suffrage rights. In the 60’s, nearly all Southern states deliberately proscribed African Americans against registering as voters, becoming jurists or working in the civil service. It was a de facto supremacist confederation works against minority groups. Martin Luther and other abolitionists opted to use ...

This paper describes the social movements that Blacks participated in during the period from 1900 to date. It tackles the ways in which the movements can be described as one long civil rights movement, and also how were they distinct movements. The paper further assesses their goals and the manner in which they have effected change in the United States. The paper also points out prominent civil rights activists that played an important role in spearheading the civil rights movements. Most of the black social movements from 1900 to date have basically been fighting against racism. The 20th Century ...

Introduction

For many years, the American racial problem has seen discrimination in various aspects which lead to underdevelopment among the black community. Racial segregation has seen discrimination of the African-Americans within the society which increasingly leads to harassments and mistreatments to the people. The issue needs to considered as important to the society due it magnitude and effects on the people and their lives. Racism has resulted to the rise of activists and nationalists looking to fight for the rights of the black people. Initially, the black community was not considered as a voter population in the United States thus ...

Segregation in the South during the 1960s And 1970s

Abstract Segregation in the south was mainly by race and resulted to distinctions with regards to income, education, residence, and employment. Segregation in the south brought forth the ancient and even recent societal and organizational segregation. Segregation took many forms including, gender segregation, residential segregation, employment segregation and even educational segregation among other types. Some actions which portrayed the highest degree of these segregation included Africans enslavement in huge plantations, involuntary blacks emigration, forced relocations to reserves, the internment of minorities including the Japanese Americans, setting up of immigrant enclaves and forced displacements among other actions which were inhumane. ...

Introduction

The United States is depicted as the most democratic nation in the world. The aspect of democracy arises from the choices that people are presented with. The ability to determine one’s leaders, goods, services, regions and rights are some of the choice elements that the American population is presented with. Another aspect that can be associated with the United States is its diversity in regards to the ethnic groups and races; immigration has resulted in the creation of one of the most interracial communities in the world. Nearly all races are present in America as a result of ...

Social movements are the collective, unofficial and anti-institutional actions by ordinary citizens with the intent of changing the current status of their societies. Social movements have a great impact as compared to any legislation or political party. This is because according to various studies on social movements they are interwoven interactions with a strong cultural footing as compared to legislations and political parties. Reed uses the concept of culture in three different ways based on the readers. For example, students and general readers are presented social movements in the view of artistic and cultural expression. The aspect of social movements and culture ...

Introduction

The women’s movement or feminist movement is a series of campaigns whose aim is reforms on various issues like domestic violence, reproductive rights, equal pay, sexual harassment, sexual violence, and women’s suffrage, all of which fall under feminism label. The priorities of these movements vary among communities and nations and actually range from the opposition to FGM in one nation or to glass ceiling in the other. These movements began in western world in 19th century and have gone through the first wave feminism, second wave feminism, and third wave feminism.

During 1950s and 1960s, there was an ...

Introduction

The topic on civil rights movements is perhaps one of the most equivocal topics that have generated a contentious debate across various settings all over the globe. Worth noting is the fact that the Civil Rights Movement is a remarkable period in the history of the United States. It is during the period of the Civil Rights movement that American citizens of different “walks” of life came together to protest about a wider array of racial inequalities that were eminent across various settings in the United States. Many at times, men are often depicted to be the only ones who made significant ...

The term, ‘Chicano’ refers to Mexicans who were brought up in the United States of America. Chicano seems to be derived from the word, ‘Mexicano’ and it became famous during Chicano movement of 1960’s, especially among Mexicans as they wanted and preferred to have a new identity. This paper intends to discuss the Chicano history and several other related aspects of the subject matter. United States of America has witnessed a large number of public protests, youth movements, and political protests against various discriminations including racial, economical and social inequalities. The decade of 1960 was a decade of turbulence in ...

Introduction

In several instances, in the history of United States, African Americans have been referred to as African, Afro-American, Negros as well as blacks. The portion of the African American population which is of completely African ancestry is not known. This is mainly because, over the past 300 years, racial mixture has considerably taken place in the United States between persons of various descents such as Europeans and the Indians. It’s been, however, considered historically that any person with black African ancestry in the United States is African American. It is however, important to note that physical characteristics, as ...

A review of the Deacons for Defense: armed resistance and the civil rights movement. By Lance Hill (2004) The Deacons for Defense is a historical text authored by Lance Hill. Hill used this book to define the historical moments explicitly at the time when people of African origin were struggling to fight for their civil rights. He rightly calls the events that transpired during the time of the Deacons for Defense “the myth of nonviolence”. The book is based on an array of credible and impressive sources, which increases the chances of creating an accurate account of the historical ...

Civil rights movements have been in existence since time immemorial. They however became very popular in the twentieth century. They took the form of gender rights activism, political and cultural nationalism. Towards the end of the twentieth century, philosophies of these movements established themselves so strongly in the society that they became the cultures of the global community they took up a different form in an attempt to state clearly what they were intended for, freedom. In this day, the nature of the global community is an integration of values that are based on political and cultural nationalism all over ...

Introduction

When it comes to the domain of humanities, John Wesley and Martin Luther King Jr. are considered to be among the most important figures that were known for making reforms in the religious sector. They were both pastors from different generations. John Wesley sailed from England to Georgia during the colonial period in the 18th century. John is well known for being among the people who formed the movement of Methodism. Martin Luther King was well known for fighting for the American civil rights movement in the eighteenth century through non-violent protests. The reason for choosing these two figures ...

Race is a social construct that was developed to classify people into huge and different groups through ethnic, anatomical, cultural, genetic, historical, linguistic, geographical, and social attachment. Initially, race referred to people using a common language to identify national affiliations, but with time observable physical traits were used to denote race. The idea of race means that humans are divisible into biologically distinct and exclusive groups in terms of physical and cultural features. The ideology of race is also associated with the beliefs of the superiority of the whites. These beliefs were concretized during the scientific revolution and American colonization that ...

- Graham Murdoch’s citizenship framework versus that of Anna McCarthy Though this question calls for a compare and contrast of Graham Murdoch’s citizenship framework versus that of Anna McCarthy’s the two articles complement each other nicely. Graham Murdoch’s modern ideal framework for understanding citizenship argues that as an American life evolved from the simple to the modern society of today. Anna McCarthy’s The Citizen Machine: Governing by Television in 1950’s America’ describes the understanding of citizenship as a medium to a growing society of free people. The two insights complement each other well citizenship is ...

“The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunitiesorganized activity in support of women’s right and activities.” This is most basic, modern definition of feminism as defined by Merriam and Webster. The idea of feminism has been transformed over the course of the past several decades, altered by political motives, cultural differences, class segregations, and other civil rights movements. The core of the definition remains constant however, that there exists discrimination which is gender based. This also implies that the basic ideals of feminism should be of significant importance to all democratic thinkers and that ...

Introduction

The Civil Rights movements were a sequence or succession of political movements for equality, and it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance that was aimed at attaining transformations. Worth noting was the fact that the campaigns were non-violent and civil disobedience pushing for minority’s rights, women rights, as well voting rights. Such rights and privileges were not entitled to the Black Americans according to the United States Constitution especially in the Southern States. The disobedience and protests that were opted for by the Black Americans were boycotts (Brooks, 2008). By illustration, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and rallies ...

Introduction

Anti-Semitism is referred to as hatred or prejudice against Jews. It is a form of racism practiced against the Jewish community as a result of various Jewish heritage backgrounds. Anti-Semitism is dated back in the 19th century through its manifestation by police, violent mob attacks, and military attacks on the Jewish community. There are various historic incidences that have delineated anti-Semitism across the globe. For instance, the Dreyfus affair in France and the Holocaust in Germany represent cases where millions of Jewish followers were concentrated in camps and killed. Anti-Semitism views and ideologies are still in existence in America beside other ...

One particular name that is hugely synonymous with the civil movements and whose name cannot fail to be mentioned whenever the civil rights movement is referenced is Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King was born on 5th January, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. Being the child of a church Minister, young Martin was naturally expected to follow in his father’s footsteps. He became a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church and this where his journey with the Civil Rights Movement started. King went to Boston for college studies. He later moved to Montgomery with his new wife, Coretta King who he ...

The differences between the information communicated by written history and cinematic history occur on the presentation of the events. The purpose of both written and film media is to communicate. Both written history and cinematic history may communicate the occurrence of historical events. However, the viewers understand both forms of media differently. Cinematic history is able to create a mental picture on the mind of the viewer. Although the cinematic history creates a good mental picture to the viewer, they have a tendency of containing altered information. On the other hand, written history presents information that is more precise to the reader. ...

“The Battle to Intergrade Ole Miss” was originally written by James Meredith. It is a very interesting book that talks about, among others, civil rights in Mississippi, and the federal law strength and the enforcement thereof. The tradition of the state was to segregate and not integrate. Racial divide in the 1960s, which compelled the author to write the book, was so visible that civil rights movements began to take shape. Civil Rights movements took time to set root in the south, more so in Mississippi. Therefore, there was need to bring the issue of racial divide to the fore ...

The book explores the history, role, and contribution of Rosa Parks, a human activist on modern social and economic transformation and changes. Rosa Parks, a renowned African American activist was born on February 1913. Many professionals and researchers refer Rosa as the first lady of civil rights due to her contribution in fighting for human right and equality in America. In an effort to recognise the role and contribution of Rosa Parks in America, the country commemorates her birth and the days she was arrested for her intensive effort of fighting for human rights in America. The day is especially common ...

Abstract

Yuri Kochiyama is a civil right activist who was born in 1921 in San Pedro, in California. He lived and stayed in San Pedro where she was involved with several activities such as sport and article writing. Her father was arrested and put in prison as a war prisoner. The father died a day after leaving prison due to sickness. She was married by Bill Kochiyama who was a Nisei Soldier, and they had six children. Yuri was engaged in many civil right movements some fighting for the rights of Japanese as well as the rights for the black people in the United ...

Introduction

America has been a racially segregated society. Racism became a menace in this country right from the time of slave trade when Africans were ferried into the country to work as slaves in the large plantation farms. Later, the practice was advanced by the Europeans who became land owners in the United States of America (USA). Under racism, people were given different treatments depending on their color. While the whites were recognized and respected, the other migrant groups were regarded as second class citizens with absolutely no rights. Meaning, they could not freely move, access quality education and participate in the ...

The early 1960’s marked an imperative period in the history of the United States as the African Americans struggled for equal rights through the civil rights movements. Black Americans faced social, racial segregation and were also deprived constitutional rights of voting in the U.S. This struggle can be explained through various models and theories explaining the political and social structures such as the rules of the majority and minority. This paper seeks to explore different theories and models that can be used in explaining the civil rights movement and determine the most appropriate. The Madison democracy in ...

Part I

- Does federalism in America improve or weaken American democracy? What are the advantages and disadvantages of states having a strong rule in the American political system? Federalism is a system through which power is shared between two or more government within the same geographical area and the same people. That is, they have different levels of government .In America; there is a federal kind of democracy. Although the government at the national level in the United States is federal, the states are unitary governments. Federalism strengthens the democracy amongst the citizens in America. The division of power enables the people to ...

Native Americans from the Mid-Nineteenth Century to the Present

Native Americans from the Mid-Nineteenth Century to the Present The issues that Native Americans have faced since 1865 are largely related to a struggle for survival and relevance in a modern age. Although scholars present considerable differences in estimate of the number of Native Americans present in North America at the time of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in 1492, ranging anywhere from 100 million (Schapp, 2010, p. 367) to 900,000 (Hoxie, 1996, p. 500) people, scholars agree that there was a great decline in Native American population lasting until the 20th century. Factors influencing the decline of the Native population ...

The proposal will discuss the history of the Lincoln memorial that was constructed in 1914 after the death of Abraham Lincoln in 1867. The construction of the memorial began late after his death because there were no sufficient funds to begin construction immediately after his death. The building of started when President Taft the seventeenth president signed a bill that was passed by congress to allow the construction. Despite of the building being built in honor of Abraham, the memorial attracts tourists. Different movements hold their meetings at the park; for example, Martin Luther used the memorial to deliver the ...

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Introduction

Julius Caesar, perhaps the most prominent dictator of the Republic of Rome, is among the most important figures in history. The charisma emanating from populist approaches and emphasis on skilled rhetoric of Caesar made him a symbol of radical political changes in Ancient Rome. It is during the reign of Caesar as dictator when Rome expanded its boundaries, incorporating the British Isles and Gaul, now present-day France. Such has become possible through the superior military power of troops that served under Caesar, whose tactical nous has earned him both admirers and critics ( ...

Oftentimes people feel more comfortable bearing their personal feelings to friends rather than to relatives because people may choose friends but not family. According to Hays, friendship is a qualitative relationship and defined as a “ voluntary interdependence between two persons that is intended to facilitate socio-emotional goals of the participants, and may involve varying types and degrees of companionship, intimacy, affection and mutual assistance” ( Hays, p. 395). Demir and Özdemir also state that, “ A friend is someone who you enjoy doing things together with, count on to support you when you need it, provide support when he/she needs it, talk about ...

As we have all witnessed in the world today, there is hardly equality in the world since circumstances of every citizen seems to be different from the other. It is in the search of equalizing opportunities that the government eventually introduced social justice. Social justice deals with equal distribition of ecenomic resorces and opportunities. The term has been defined differently by various schorlars depending on the situation on which it is used;be it economic, political or even in the religious sphere. The term refers to justice in all aspects of the society. Justice refers to anything that is ...

Civil Rights and civil liberties date back to the year 1791 in the United States of America (Bean, 2009). It was during this year that the first amendment to the bill of rights was made. Fifty seven years down the line, a movement was in place representing the civil liberties. This was the civil rights movement. The civil right and liberties have undergone various changes over the years following the many constitutional amendments as well as the dynamics of the federal mandate. Differentiating between civil rights and the civil liberties has been an uphill task to the elite as well ...

Defining Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism can be defined as a belief of ideology that upholds the superiority on one’s own culture or viewing it as superior to any other culture. Racism and ethnocentrism in America or any other modern Western society was never simply based on individual prejudices, attitudes and emotions, but was always structural and institutional, especially toward blacks in housing, jobs, education and the criminal justice system (LeVine & Campbell 1971). Blacks in the U.S. face severe economic and social discrimination, which dates back to the era of slavery and segregation. In the past, Jews, Asians and other immigrants who were considered ‘ ...

Since the early colonial period, Black Americans or those with African or Black descent were persecuted by the whites. The United States, for example, had sold Black Americans or those with half African descent as slaves and restricted them in such extent that they were refused food, shelter and the right to fight for their rights as regular citizens of the United States. Although there were movements that fought for the abolishment of slavery and the establishment of equal rights, many still held the sentiment against the Black Americans or the African-Americans throughout the region in the early 1970s. ...

Introduction

The media is perhaps the most important tool in society. Today, media represents the social fabric of any society. In the past, the media has taken a pivotal role in expressing matters affecting the people. In civil rights movement, media coverage has performed three major functions. It has sensitised the society about the ills facing its people, then the media took to win the hearts of people towards changing this terrible state of the society. Finally, the media has ensured that society has changed to accept a humane kind of society. This paper investigates how the media has impacted civil rights ...

The issues of gender, race and violence have dominated the American history.

Introduction

The history of America has been marred by several instances of injustices to different vulnerable groups. There have been issues of gender whereby women are discriminated against. Cases of racism have also been witnessed in American history whereby non Americans are discriminated against. Violence has also been marred the American history whereby blood is shed in an attempt to bring oppression to a halt. (Barbara, 1990) Most of these issues were at their peak between the periods of 1865-1945 as outlined below.

Gender

In the early 18th century all the way to the early century, women were discriminated against. They ...

Introduction

"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegurt was first published in 1959 and its major theme was equality. The story begins with a portrayal of equality whereby every person is purported to be equal. The author is trying to warn the society of the kind of equality which people are seeking that may in some cases be fatal to humankind. The author presented a scary view of the future society where everybody was equal. “The year was 2081 and everybody was final equal. They were not only equal before God and the Law but were equal in every way.” (Vonnegut 1961:7). This is a ...

The Women of the Brewster place by Gloria Naylor

Gloria Neylor was born in January 25, 1950 .She was raised in New York although her family was originally from Mississippi. This influence can be seen in the Women of the Brewster place which portrays the lifestyles of African Americans from both the Northern and Southern part of America (Greene 6). Naylor’s focus of writing was on fictional books although she has been known to be passionate about Classic English literature. The women of the Brewster place shows the emergence of two cultures which was brought about by the migration of the African Americans from the South during ...