The African American Civil Rights Movement

In the summer of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. went to Birmingham due to a large amount of segregation happening there. Dr. King was invited to Birmingham because of his connection with the Southern Christian leadership conference. Because he was the president of the conference he felt the need to be in Birmingham to fix the segregation there. While Dr. King was in Birmingham he and fellow protesters were arrested. In his letter Dr. King’s letter he answers statements that white leaders said to him. In his letter, Dr. king’s rhetoric, tone, sentence structure, diction, and appeals were all presented well.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested on April 16, 1963 he wrote a letter to fellow clergymen about his present at Birmingham. Dr. King in the first two pages uses biblical reference to impact why he is compelled to protest of the mistreatment of African-American. As to King state that he has organizational ties, as he was asked to come to Birmingham and, was giving a nonviolent protest. Also he says “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” Dr. King is saying if injustice is done by anyone it can be done to everyone. King also express that peaceful demonstrations create attention rather than the attention to the Negro community. Dr King conveys that “There has been more unsolved bombings at Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any city in the nation” King expresses why it was a necessity for him to be there and conveys that leaders sought to negotiate with city officials but negotiations were never engaged. City officials can't even make good faith resolutions with the priests to ensure equality in the Negro community.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an African-American Baptist minister who became the most well-known civil rights activist and leader. King Jr. strongly believed in peaceful protest, choosing to use silent rebellion in favor of violence. During a trip to Birmingham, Alabama in 1963, for a Christian Leadership Conference, King was jailed during a peaceful protest for the treatment of blacks. While in jail, King wrote a letter to fellow clergymen. In his “Letter from Birmingham City Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. used several techniques to appeal to and effectively persuade the white clergymen he was writing to regarding segregation. King clearly displays the peacefulness of his protest, the unfairness of unjustified prejudice against blacks, and reveals examples of brutality against blacks.

In addition, Dr. King and his staffs were protesting against the racial segregation in Birmingham and then got arrested. When Dr. King was in jail, he wrote a letter to the Clergyman of Alabama addressing to his concerns towards racial injustice for African-Americans in Birmingham. Also, his letter talked about the reason he is in Birmingham? And introducing himself, which he's serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Then he explained to the Clergyman how the people that live in the United States are not considered as outsider agitators, including that how the African-Americans are not being treated equally by the American people, and have waited too long for their justice which never heard back.

When he was arrested and jailed in Birmingham, Alabama he then fell under criticism by white clergy for coming to Birmingham as an “outsider” to cause trouble and increase tension through public sit-ins and marches. I feel that Martin Luther King was able to both set aside that criticism by establishing his credibility to have not only been invited to come to Birmingham to help end the injustice to the Negro people via peaceful means, but he was able to identify moral, legal and ethical cause to promote his quest to put a stop to what he identified as “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States” (King, 2017, p, 3). I will provide a summary that will show what Martin Luther King believed were the cause of the injustice that he was striving to end to as well as his concern over the white community’s ability to make the Negro “wait for more than three hundred and forty years for our constitutional and God-given rights.”

August 28, 1963, a African American man by the name of Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech that impact many lives. Over 250,000 people were they’re and others saw it while it was being broadcast to the United States. Dr. King made this speech to end racism all across America and to ask everyone to be civil human beings. He also accomplished bringing both white people and black people together and live in equality.

Soon after being released from the Birmingham Jail, King joined other civil rights leaders in organizing the infamous “March on Washington.” More than 200,000 participated in the march on August 28, 1963. After the march, the assembly gathered in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial, and King gave his famous, “I have a dream”speech, which called for someday, the equality of all mankind. This historical day rose the tide of civil rights agitation to an all-time high, and the next year resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of

During the time of the 1950’s and 1960’s, a large segments of African-Americans, women, and men were not really considered full citizenship rights in the American Republic, civil rights movements, as well as the struggles of freedom. The movements were to obtain civil rights for black Americans. Such movements have not only secured citizenship rights for blacks but have also redefined prevailing conceptions of the nature of civil rights and the role of government in protecting these rights. As mentioned in the text book, “The most important achievements of African-American civil rights movements have been the Post Civil War constitutional amendments”. As mentioned in the Webster dictionary, (2015) “This amendment abolished slavery and established

The African American Civil right movement in the late 1950’s and throughout the 1960’s was a powerful fight for equal opportunities to the basic rights and privileges outlined by the US government. During this movement thousands of African American individuals and those who believed in the power of the movement, battled against the piercing white supremacy through various tactics including grass root movements. The grass root movements in the 60’s was characterized by organizations of individuals fighting for equality on the behalf of the African Americans, ultimately shaping American history. Such movements helped to raise awareness on a political level, of the injustice all African American’s endured. Grassroots activist during the 60’s were able to organize marches, rallies and protests in order to mobilize and strengthen the Civil Rights Movement. Grass rooting activism during the Civil Rights Movement in the 60’s shaped American History by aiding in the abolished laws restricting African American’s freedom to vote, the abolishment of segregation in school, and the passage of the Civil Rights act outlawing discrimination.

Until the 19th century, no abortion laws existed in the United States of America. By the 1880s, most states had banned abortion except in cases where it was necessary to save the mother’s life. The cause of this shift in attitude can largely be attributed to the American Medical Association, founded in 1847. The organization wanted to stop unlicensed abortions by forcing the people giving them out of business. Religious leaders supported the American Medical Association’s move and worked with them to lead campaigns that would make abortions illegal. It was only in the 1960’s that these strict laws were reconsidered. The civil rights movement seeking equal treatment for black Americans led to women’s rights organizations seeing

The Civil Rights movement is one of the most important acts to change the way not only African Americans were able to live their lives but all races and colors. It would slowly break down the social, economic, political, and racial barriers that were created by the The Age of Discovery and Transatlantic Slave trade. I believe without the Civil Rights acts our country would result to be no better than what it was when the Emancipation Proclamation just took effect. In the 1950s and long before, Southern folk, who were white had created a system that would interpret them as a superior race over blacks. The system would defend whites rights and privileges from being taken away from them while establishing terrible inhumane suffering for African Americans. In the South blacks were controlled in all aspects economic, political, and personal, this was called a “tripartite system of domination” - (Aldon D. Morris) (6) Though it isn’t as prevalent racism and discrimination towards other races that aren’t white is still found in America and can be in schools, the workplace, even when you are in the general public but you no longer see discriminating signs saying “Whites” or “Blacks” or Colored” along the front of bathroom, restaurants, and shopping malls doors. Nor do you see people being declined the right to buy a home based on their color or access to school and an equal education being declined because one didn’t meet racial requirements. The acts of violence towards

On September 4th, 1957 “the Arkansas National Guard ultimately prevented any of the Little Rock Nine from entering Central High.” Although the decision in the Brown case should have ended segregation in public schools, the Little Rock Nine were not granted admission to their high school. In his letter, Dr. King suggests that with segregation minorities are property and thus can be treated any which way the dominants would like. He points out that “white people” believe it is ok to break the laws when it suits them. The refusal to accept the integration of the blacks into the Central High School, which was predominantly white, both sparked and fueled media attention. This media attention began to create a steady team of supporters. The equality movement was gaining traction. On May 11, 1963 a motel and church, both run by members of Dr. King's movement (including dr. King's brother) were bombed, probably by the Ku Klux Klan. “Many were already frustrated with the strategy of nonviolence espoused by Martin Luther King and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference.” The black population was growing tired of the passiveness. All the hatred and oppression that black people were so patiently accepting in order to gain equality was pushed over the edge and they needed to respond. The riots were fiercely met by the Birmingham Police Department and were witnessed on the nightly news which sparked a controversial response from the United States Military. This chain of events, along with the recently released letter from Dr. King was the pivotal stepping stone that forced President Kennedy into the legislation known as the Civil Rights Act of

The beginning of the Civil Rights Movement started from an attempt to gain equality within the public school system for people of color. The education an African American child received was underfunded and lacked basic resources. In his article, “Segregation, Northern Style”, Fred Powledge writes, “In practical terms, it means older, more run-down, and more crowded schools buildings, less experienced teachers, more tattered textbooks…” (10). The standards for segregated schools were not equal, as was legally required by the 1876 Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson. In the Supreme Court ruling, schools could be “separate”, but had to be “equal” in

The Civil Rights Movement last from around 1955 to 1968. The movement’s goals were to end racial discrimination in the areas such as public transportation, work force, voting and the education. The government took action as non-violent protests and civil misbehavior caused many problems during this time. These actions showed the inequalities and the injustice the black people were encountering. The Civil Rights Movement lead by Martin Luther King was successful in finding the legal segregation of the black people in the Southern part of United States. Martin Luther King was able to rise to national prominence as the head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which protest against the prejudice the African American’s had dealt with through non-violent strategies, which includes the March of Washington in 1963 to achieve civil rights. In 1964 he was then awarded the Noble Peace Prize. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was put in place as Martin Luther King was able to ban inequality in employment and public areas on race,

The American Civil Rights Movement is personified through several prominent personalities. These figures exhibited strong character throughout their careers in activism that revolutionized the ideals and opportunities of the 20th century, standing as precedents for courage and perseverance in the face of widespread systemic oppression. However, not all of these figures received the acknowledgment and acceptance that their legacy deserved. One such figure was Bayard Rustin, a lifelong Civil Rights activist in the African American and LGBTQ communities whose experiences exemplified the hardships faced by American minorities. His career was defined by perpetual conflict and confrontation as both sides of the Civil Rights Movement attempted to demonize and discredit him. Despite this obstacle, Bayard Rustin’s controversial decision-making and sheer tenacity made him an influential force in the ongoing fight for equality in the United States of America.