Segregation and the Civil Rights Movement

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Segregation was deeply ingrained in society in the USA in the 1950-s to 60’s hence pushing the urge and need of African Americans to take action in seizing their civil rights. Slavery in the USA could be dated back to the 17th century even though triangular trade existed before then. Agrarian states, generally found in the south, depended on AFAM slavery to keep their cotton based economy afloat, hence causing a divide between the north and the south as they differed in views of slavery. During the Civil war (1861-1665) the Emancipation Proclamation act 1863 was introduced in attempt to bring back the seceded southern states to the union. However, after the war sectionalism still existed and states formed their own ‘Black Codes’ known as Jim Crow laws (both state and local)that mandated racial segregation in all Public facilities with the notion that everything was to be ‘separate but equal’. Plessey v Ferguson was a landmark US Supreme Court decision ruling that it was constitutional of state laws requiring racial segregation as long as the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ was present. Segregation was protested against in many aspects of daily life of AFAM in areas such as education, transportation and public facilities. Education in the south was indeed separate but it not equal. AFAM children had to walk miles to get to school; even then schools were of extremely poor standard than the white only schools. Brown v Board 1954 was a landmark case about an AFAM girl (Browns daughter) who travelled miles to get to school when there was a closer facility nearby. Nevertheless, this nearby school permitted whites only. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Brown after he had demanded the desegregation of schools. B v B generated the fourteenth amendment where Public state schools were required the admission of all children on equal terms. The case resulted in the
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