Natalie Johnson

CIVIL RIGHTS IMPACT ON AFRICAN AMERICANS

Since what seems to be from the beginning of time this nation has dealt with many
complicated issues. One in particular that hits close to home is racial inequality. Brown vs. Board
in 1954 to Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act in 1965, African Americans have
struggled and rejoiced throughout the civil rights movement. African Americans, along with
other civil rights activists, have fought hard for the rights of their fellow man to help integrate
schools and receive voting rights. Unfortunately, there have been some issues that have just not
changed such as, Americas ability to move pass racial and economic inequalities.
Brown vs. Board really shed light on how bad segregation was on African American
children. Social Scientists researched how segregation affected children. Racial attitudes appear
early in the life of children and affect the ideas and behavior of children in the first grades of
school. Such attitudes-which appear to be almost inevitable in children in our society-develop
gradually (Clark. 75). Separate but equal was not making African American children and
parents feel like American citizens. The Courts declaration that a classification based solely on
race violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reversed the 1896 Plessy v.
Ferguson ruling, which has established the separate-but-equal doctrine (Hine. 61). Brown vs.
Board was not about school funding, it was that separate but equal was unconstitutional
(Fleegler. Lecture 8). When Brown II in 1955 passed through the Supreme Court it ruled with all
deliberate speed, letting the South take their sweet time to integrate schools (Fleegler. Lecture
8). The Supreme Courts ruling was not enough to change the ways of the South. The Federal
government had to step in at Little Rock Central High. With the arrival of the 101
st
, the nation
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yet again witnessed a stunning spectacle on television: armed soldiers of one of the most honored
divisions in the United States Army escorting young black children where once there had been a
mob (Halberstam. 687). The media helped people all over the world see how unruly the South
really was.
From the Brown decision to the Voting Rights Act in 1965, there were continuous fights
for equality for blacks. SNCC and NAACP organized along with the MFDP to have sit-ins and
marches to gain public attention on African Americans right to vote. In Selma, AL. on March 7,
1965, SCLCs Hosea Williams and John Lewis led 600 people across the Edmund Pettus Bridge,
there the troopers commander told them to turn around and go back. The men started to push
them back and hitting some with clubs and setting off tear gas. Once again, this gains public
media attention. Prior to the March, Martin Luther King, Jr. purposefully got arrested to attract
media attention to Selma. In A Letter from a Selma, Alabama, Jail King states, By jailing
hundred of Negroes, the city of Selma, Alabama, has revealed the persisting ugliness of
segregation to the nation and the world. When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed many
decent Americans were lulled into complacency because they thought the day of difficult
struggle was over (King. 212). The bloody Sunday as they called it, sparks King to have a
second march that was not violent. King in the end led the second march out to the place
where the first column had been attacked, and then, when he faced with another wall of lawmen,
procession around and marched back into Selma (Garrow. 207).
Kings submission got a rise out of SNCC and caused tensions between many
organizations. The Tuesday turnaround, as the event came to be called, pushed the underlying
strategic and organizational tensions between SCLC and SNCC to a higher level than had ever
been reached before (Garrow. 207). Finally, they were able to march from Selma to
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Montgomery on March 21
st
where federalized National Guardsmen were there to protect them.
This was publicized even more than the first march. About four months later Lyndon B. Johnson
Voting Rights Act was ratified implementing the 15
th
amendment. Once again, the key to the
movement was to have as much media attention as possible.
Although there were many obstacles faced from 1954 to 1965, there were still more to
come. The Watts Riot, James Meredith March, the assassination of Malcolm X and King were
just a few of the most prominent struggles African Americans faced in the movement. The
Voting Rights Act of 1965 proved to be ineffective in the South. The day after James Meredith
was shot during his march, Mississippi held their primary elections. As a result of the voting
rights act, nearly 140,000 blacks were now registered, one-third of the eligible black electorate
and an increase of some 100,000 since 1964, a significant achievement in the face of the
continued harassment of applicants in many counties (Dittmer. 394). It was obvious that blacks
were being scared into staying at home instead of exercising their right to vote at the polls. James
Meredith March was to be picked up where he left off in the hopes to encourage blacks to vote
throughout Mississippi.
Stokely Carmichael replaced Malcolm X in the respect that he wanted Black Power
(Fleegler. Lecture 11). SNCC was moving away from their relationship with white liberals and
focusing less on integration and more on Black Nationalism. Carmichael and King were having a
difficult time seeing eye to eye. King wanted to take the SCLC out of the Meredith March but
decided against it, fearing it would cause more issues. In Canton, MS troopers attacked the
marchers with tear gas. President Johnson told them that they would be protected; clearly this
was not the case. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, I dont know what I am going to do. The
Government has got to give me some victories if Im gonna keep people nonviolent. I know Im
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gonna stay nonviolent no matter what happens. But a lot of people are getting hurt and bitter, and
they cant see it that way no more (Dittmer. 401). It was evident that Dr. King, along with many
other civil rights leaders were growing tired of the constant suppression.
Embracing racial integration was not what most white Southerners wanted to do.
despite passage of two civil rights laws, white supremacy remained the central fact of life in
the Deep South (Dittmer. 402). No one would expect African Americans to undergo this much
torment for so many years and not react. Eventually non-violence and patience was going to
dwindle down and black supremacy would become more realistic. King worked hard to make
sure that there were non-violent movements. King wanted to work in Chicago where the ghetto
communities were falling apart. Economically, African Americans did not have an advantage,
specifically in communities called the SLUM. Many issues were addressed; the City of
Chicago and Richard Daley were willing to work with King at getting these issues resolved.
Chicagos SLUM neighborhoods and other ghettos in Newark and Detroit faced the same
problems. Riots broke out and President Lyndon appointed the Kerner Commission to
investigate these riots to figure out why and how it happened and what to do to prevent these
issues in the future. Clearly something needed to be done.
Poverty was an issue and King had organized the Poor Peoples Campaign to march on
Washington to bring attention to blacks rights on housing and economic inequalities. Instead of
continuing on with campaign he was asked to come to Memphis to help with the Sanitation
Strike. The first strike ended up being unsuccessful and violent. King wanted a chance to show
the world that he could have a non-violent march. Sadly, before the second attempt to a
successful strike; James Earl Grey murdered King at the Lorraine Motel (Fleegler. Lecture 11).
After King was killed, the Federal Housing Bill was passed stating that no one could
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discriminate based on race, religion, sex, or national origin on the sale, rental, and financing of
housing. There was hope that maybe things could be changed one problem at a time.
Unfortunately, King never got to see the numerous changes that were made all the way up to
present.
The world was becoming more acutely aware of the injustices committed in the Southern
states and the North was taking another good look at them selves as well. Jim Crow was gone
and the voting rights reduced the fear that blacks had when going to the polls. The movement
has enabled the black middle class to make significant gains. ...corporations were employing
blacks in positions previously reserved for whites; opportunities became available in local, state,
and federal government agencies and the nations leading graduate and professional school
recruited young blacks (Dittmer. 426).
Changes were made for African Americans and the movement progressed towards a more
openhearted America. The country needed to come together to realize that changes cannot be
made abroad if they were not happening in our country. Kennedy, Johnson, King, Malcolm X,
and many other civil rights activists make up a piece of this never-ending puzzle that we are still
piecing together today. The elections this year has proved that. Our nation is segregated and the
demographics are changing. We have more minorities who want a change and we have the rest
of the world wanting to keep it the same. Does that sound familiar? There is a gap in this nation;
politically, economically, and culturally. Seceding from the Union is not the answer; brother
fighting brother does not need to rise again. What kind of example are we leading if we begin
another Civil War? This nation will continue to go around in circles if compromises cannot be
made. Changes are difficult to conform to but with due time and the right agenda we can come
together. Only time will tell, and we need more people like Martin Luther King, Jr. and other
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leading civil rights activists of this time to guide those who still have racial segregation and
separatism in their heart. African Americans, along with other civil rights activists, have fought
hard for the rights of their fellow man to help integrate schools and receive voting rights.
Unfortunately, there have been some things that have just not changed such as Americas ability
to move pass racial and economic inequalities.


















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WORKS CITED

Clark, Kenneth B. How Children Learn About Race. Eyes on the Prize. New York: Penguin
Books, 1991. 74-81.
Dittmer, John. Local People. Champaign, IL.: University of Illinois Press, 1995.
Fleegler, Professor. Lecture 8. October 16, 2012.
Fleegler, Professor. Lecture 11. November 6, 2012.
Garrow, David J. Bridge to Freedom. Eyes on the Prize. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.
204-208.
Halberstam, David. The Fifties. New York: Villard Books, 1993.
Hine, Darlene Clark. Fighting Back. Eyes on the Prize. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.
61-64.
King Jr., Martin Luther. A Letter from a Selma, Alabama, Jail. Eyes on the Prize. New York:
Penguin Books, 1991. 211-212.