The Struggle for Racial Desegregation

During World War II, around one million black men served in the army. They were in different units to the white men. Riots and fights occurred when black men from northern America had to face the discrimination in the south during training. This lessoned peoples opinion of them, in a prejudice way. They were never allowed to join the Marines or the Air Corps, but this changed for the first time during the war due to the military needs. After the war, blacks began to challenge their status as second-class citizens. After their country fighting Nazi Germany, who killed six million Jews, and a fascist Italy, the people of America began to question the racism and

The first successful court case for desegregation, known as Roberto Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District, occurred in the 1930s of southwest California in San Diego County. The testimony won in favor of civil rights for the Mexican community of Lemon Grove. The 1900s was a time of social prejudice concerning the Mexican community within the state; many of which have been settled for generations. This basis for animosity served to spark refute within minorities. The Lemon Grove Incident set future success against segregation and hope for civil rights to all Americans.

The term, the “New Negro”, was well-known during the Harlem Renaissance in the early twentieth century. Many African Americans migrated to the North in an effort to escape the strict Jim Crow Laws of the South. African Americans looked to industrialization work in the North as a new beginning for a better life. One key leader in the “New Negro” movement was Jamaican native, Marcus Garvey, who aimed to spread black nationalism. Garvey supported the idea of black pride, economic stability, and also separation for blacks. This movement called for the separation of blacks in society in an effort to promote the ideas in a progressive and political way. The “New Negro” wanted to disconnect themselves from common stereotypes and embrace their black heritage. African Americans simply wanted to have a voice in American society.

Dr. King argues that immediate action needs to be taken in the case of Black Civil Rights because Blacks have been told to wait and have waited for too long. His argument is highly persuasive because of his sophisticated use of parallelism, especially in paragraph 3, which is used to appeal to the sense of longing that blacks feel. “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights...Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, ‘Wait.’ But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policeman curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln pushed the Thirteenth Amendment through Congress, effectively freeing any remaining slaves throughout the country. The Fourteenth Amendment also passed in 1865, granted citizenship to all former slaves who were naturalized or born in the United States. (pbs.com) These changes were drastic and immediate but that did not mean that African- Americans were accepted into communities overnight. African-Americans faced a new set of challenges when segregation became the new normal of their daily lives. Despite the changes to the Constitution that should have made them equal in the eyes of the law, African-Americans were regarded by many as second-class citizens and they were treated as such. They faced new daily life challenges, legislation that kept them separate from whites in the eyes of the law, and threats of violence from

The term "melting pot" for America came about during the early 1900s in reference to America's acceptance of all immigrants and races during the time period. America has, since the coining of the term, proven that it was an artificial label with little resemblance to the truth. Throughout history a great deal of white Americans practiced seclusion, segregation, and alienation of rights for non Anglo-Saxon peoples. Perhaps none have suffered more than the African Americans at the hand of Anglo-Saxon Americans. In his "South Carolina Schools and Colleges Desegregation" manuscript William E. Rone details the hard fought court cases against educational segregation in South Carolina during the 50s and 60s as well as events which related to those cases. The cases depict a story of intolerance, disregard for the law with respect to desegregation, and outright harm to non-white Americans. Knowing America's past and present one could say that America is more akin to an un-tossed salad than a melting pot. All the pieces coexisting together, yet perpetually divided by racial and cultural barriers as well as anger and fear of the unfamiliar.

In the Constitution, it clearly states that all citizens of America have the freedom of speech and peaceful protest. In my opinion, the African Americans were the only ones going by the Constitution because they were the ones who were peacefully protesting and speaking out for desegregation. Whites spoke out against African Americans, but often not peacefully. Many black people were even harassed by white people while they were peacefully fighting for desegregation. So, why didn’t African Americans have the right to peacefully speak out? Why were the African Americans the ones to be arrested? Why did whites treat them differently even though they were equals?

Making connections is a critical component for historians to help them understand the events that have taken place. In this essay, I’m going to compare the similarities between three groups and how they relate to a certain history theme. Each term within each group relates to a particular theme, however, eventually each term will connect to one theme overall.

From the beginning of time , race has seem to be a topic of discussion. There has always been reoccurrences in history about race problems and skin tone issues. Many thought the Civil Rights era would bring a end to race issues in America but that was just a pseudo. By reading , Dreams from my Father , one can get the sense of the struggle for identity and finding a place of belonging. The United States can not escape the historical legacy that it has built over the years when dealing with race. Obama’s famous quote in the book proclaims , “My identity might begin with the fact of my race, but it didn’t, couldn’t, end there (Obama 111). This famous quote signifies Obama need to know more about him; he is proclaiming that although race and ethnicity is just a slight image of who you are , there are many externalities that influence ones identity and how they are formed as a person. Race is something that might always be apart of your identity , but just knowing your race isn’t critically thinking deep enough . One must search deep into their roots in order to understand their true indeitiy and where they belong in this tangled world. During this book, Obama searched sin Kenya for faith, hope , and inspiration through his African ancestry.

Nixon himself came out adamantly against school busing as an infringement on the rights of people to live in their communities undisturbed.

The education system in the United States has gone through many changes spanning all the way from the 1800’s to today. The integration of other races and cultures into our schools have played in integral part in the historical development of the U.S. educational system. It has also allowed more access to all students to experience education. The desegregation of schools also started the conversation about allowing Blacks to have equal access to the same water fountains, public transportation, restrooms, and public spaces, as Whites. It is important to note the differences between desegregation and integration. The distinction between these two terms are crucial because in the constitution law the Supreme Court has never enforced integration, but does prohibit segregation. Desegregation is defined as “provisions articulated in law or practice that eliminate the isolation of members of a particular group into separate functional units” (ASHE Higher Education Report p.12). Integration is the incorporation of individuals and groups as equals into society. Desegregation had to take place before integration could even begin to become a proposal.

Throughout American history, the fight for racial equality amongst society has had it’s ups and downs especially during the Civil Rights Movement. John Lewis, a civil rights leader, delivered “Speech at the March on Washington” in occurred during the 1960s America where racial discrimination was at it’s highest. This mostly caught the attention of the younger generation of the 1960s and the black community, which had a more vigilant tone. Lewis’ purpose for this speech is to inform the American citizens that African Americans want reform to protect themselves from harm. Lewis’ main claims he wanted his speech to symbolize is that all races should have the right to hold equal laws and freedom like any other white citizen had.

Though the conclusion of the American Civil War in 1965 marked the end of slavery in the United States, African-Americans would not see anything resembling true freedom from the segregation and isolation imposed by slavery until very recently, and only after decades of difficult struggle. Some of the most important achievements occurred during the 1960s, when a generation of African-American leaders and activists, including Martin Luther King Jr., Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and the Freedom Riders, fought against some of the last vestiges of explicit, institutionalized segregation, discrimination, and isolation in order to attain equality and civil rights. Only by examining the treatment of African-Americans throughout America's history can one begin to understand how the the ending of slavery, the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and the contemporary issues facing the African-American community are inextricably linked. In turn this allows one to see how rather than existing as a single, identifiable turning point in the history of civil rights, African American's struggle for equality and an end to isolation must be considered as an ongoing project.

According to Democratic Peace Theory, nations that are democracies do not engage with each other in direct conflict. The trade relations, democratic norms and values deter any kind of direct violence between nation states. Conflict is redirected from the battlefield to political spheres where participatory polities allow citizens to have a voice, as well as economic markets, to provide gainful employment and trade between individuals and societies. However, efforts at post-conflict reconstruction too often exchange cessation of direct violence for economic violence - through income inequality, exploitation and oppression. Governments need to carefully plan out economic policies to avoid a “second conflict”. This paper will examine South Africa as a case study to look at the transition from racial segregation and discrimination to economic isolation and marginalization. Actors that shape and influence this transitory phase include the World Bank, the IMF, local politicians, foreign investors and of course, the people.

“So it is right for us to celebrate today Dr. King’s dream and his vision of unity. And yet it is also important on this day to remind ourselves that such progress did not come easily; that Dr. King’s faith was hard-won; that it sprung out of a harsh reality and some bitter disappointments,”- President Obama. This quote that president Obama stated has shown how far we have came, and the progress has happened, but it did not come easily. America has become a more just and tolerant society since the implementation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because segregation has lessened to almost little to none, women have way more rights, and everyone has the right to vote now as long as they are over 18. Some people may disagree, and say that segregation hasn’t changed much, and there is still a lot of racism but many things have changed because if there was still segregation African Americans, and White would not be aloud to go to school together, and many other reasons why segregation has lessened and everyone has gained more rights.