Friday, March 9, 2018
The Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Movement began in 1954, and went all the way until 1968. During this time, civil rights activists were trying to gain freedom for African Americans. Civil rights are "the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality." The problem in America at this time was that African Americans were not getting their civil rights. For example, lunch counters, especially in the South, were segregated. The segregation was so bad that black people weren't even allowed to go inside the lunch counters to order food. As a result of this, many civil rights activists organized sit-ins, or days when black people would go inside lunch counters and sit down at the counter. They would not leave until they were allowed to order food. Once the police figured out that this was happening, they came to the restaurants and told the protesters to leave. When they refused to do so, the police beat them. The protesters were nonviolent, so they took the beatings instead of fighting back. In the end, this forced the lunch counters to integrate, and soon after, blacks and whites were able to eat together.
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I agree that the Civil Rights movement was to gain freedom for the African Americans because they were struggling with segregation in the South. With any little thing like going into a diner to order food, even if they did nothing they would get beat up. But there were also Civil Rights Movements for Asian Americans, Hispanics, Gays, and Lesibians.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a good job with this post! However, I do believe that the fight for civil rights extended past 1968, as gay marriage was not legalized until 2015, and there is still a significant fight for religious tolerance. However, I find it really sad and disappointing that even the lunch tables were segregated. People's prejudices were so great that they were willing to deny someone food because of their pigment.
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