To achieve its goals the NAACP generally challenged segregation through court cases and put pressure on the president/politicians. It was a significant organisation especially after the war when its membership increased dramatically. The NAACP brought success for the civil rights movement during 1945-1961 when the NAACP decided to use the courts/legal system as their strategy to achieve success. They were able to do this because the 14th and 15th amendment stated that black people shouldn’t be discriminated or denied certain rights due to their race. They provided funds or lawyers such as Thurgood Marshall who was a leading black civil rights lawyer.
There were many other civil right groups such as SNCC, who helped organise The Sit-ins of 1960; NAACP, who also aided The Montgomery Bus Boycott; and The Black Panthers, a more Militant group whose main cause was to empower Black people. It is my opinion that whilst Martin Luther King played a significant part in the black civil rights campaign, the other Civil Rights groups should not be ignored for the part they played. Martin Luther King was a key figurehead in the advancement of black Americans. He was known around the World for taking part in several Civil Rights campaigns. He was a highly intelligent man, coming from a higher-class background.
How far do you agree that the black power achieved little for black Americans Some of the thing that the black power movement wanted to achieve was self sufficiency to reinforce black culture and to have independence from white people, they did this through a variety of different ways and allot of their campaigns involved violent protests however they saw it as self defence. However whether they were successful in their actions is debatable. One way in which they achieved their aims was with the creation of the Black Panthers. Their main aims were to organise the working class black community improve the conditions in the northern ghettos and implement a 10 point program they had made. They had many different methods of doing this such as patrol the pigs, liberation schools and president elections.
Specifically for African Americans, the equality and desegregation under this act of education, the workplace, and voter’s registration has been tremendously empowering. One of the great things about America that many other countries do not have is free education. Under Plessy v. Ferguson, segregation of schools was legalized under the conditions that it was separate but equal. During that time, the schools were definitely separated, but unquestionably unequal. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 overturned Plessy V. Ferguson which not only led to African Americans having better schools, but also allowed them to learn with their Caucasian peers.
Furthermore, key individuals like Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks helped to draw attention to the cause and support the success of the Civil Rights campaign. The NAACP supported a series of Supreme Court cases which eventually resulted in the end of ‘de jure’ desegregation. The NAACP supported African-Americans who were being discriminated against; an example of a successful case for the NAACP is the Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. The Civil Rights group sponsored Thurgood Marshall to act on behalf of Oliver Brown, which resulted in the breakdown of the Plessy v. Ferguson reasoning of ‘separate but equal’. Furthermore, the NAACP supported the case against Milam and Bryant in 1955 for the lynching of 14-year old Emmett Till, the NAACP helped by protecting his uncle Moses Wright.
Malcolm X demonstrated the anger and the struggle, of the African Americans in the 1960s. During his lifetime he influenced many African Americans to stand up for their rights against the injustices set by the American government. Malcolm was criticized for his extremist views and actions while on the other hand he has been praised for his efforts in raising the status for African Americans. The views of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X often collided because of their different methods of fighting for equality. Most of Malcolm X’s views collided with the views of Martin Luther King Jr. King’s philosophy was “turn the other cheek,” meaning violence will not elevate you and bring you closer to your goals.
Between 1954 and 1968 in the country of America change was being heavily sought after in the area of black civil rights. Discrimination towards blacks was cemented into the law system, with the general public view from whites, especially in the south, agreeing with these. However the advancement of black Americans was the accomplishment of a progressive struggle which achieved much change for this suffering community. One man who was seen as an important figure for the ways in which change was created and the vastness of the support for campaigns which followed this main goal was Martin Luther King. I believe that the contribution of Martin Luther King was huge for the Civil Rights Campaign, however many important campaigners were overshadowed by King who possibly got too much credit when it was due elsewhere.
Gina Gallagher 9th Grade Ms. Lu H. Frank Carey In the 50’s and 60’s in The United States, African Americans began fighting for the rights they deserved. This fight for rights became known as the Civil Rights Movement. An important leader for African Americans at this time was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. greatly impacted civil rights in the United States. His powerful words led to decreased racial segregation, rights for all African Americans and helped create the culturally diverse society we have today. Martin Luther King Jr. used powerful words, instead of violence in order to obtain rights for African Americans.
King emphasized that the only way to achieve this was through improved civil rights and equality. He also stated that the existing laws and social conditioning were to blame for the discrimination. The location and timing of the speech had a tremendous affect in King’s favor…in an era when racial discrimination and public bigotry towards African Americans in the United States was intensifying; using the Lincoln Memorial as the location was pivotal because Lincoln was the President at the time of the Civil War and had played a leading role in the freeing of slaves; and Washington, DC because it’s the residence of the President and the Congress, which was a direct way of
Coretta Scott King had a major influence over Martin Luther King, and had a huge say in the decisions made by the Civil Rights Movement in moving towards democracy. As well as Betty Shabazz who also established a distinguished career in American activism, who to a great extent played just as much of a pivotal role in achieving change and equality for black people during the Civil Rights struggle of the 1960s as she played a major role in organizing the breakfast program for African Americans living in the ghettos in the South and providing decent housing and