Fleming uses Robinson’s story to deconstruct claims by male Black Power advocates that women in the movement were just doing a “man’s job”. Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson’s position as executive secretary in the Atlanta branch of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was a mirror image of the backbone that women played in the Black Power message. Robinson shows this through her assertiveness, her ability to challenge male authority and selflessness in action. Women were involved in many aspects of the Civil Rights movement. Certain activists groups included the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Abstract In this article an African American Reformer of Womanist Consciousness, 1908-1940, it highlights the work of Elizabeth Ross Haynes as a politician, an African American social welfare reformer and “race woman.” Elizabeth Haynes worked with Through the Young Women’s Christian Association, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women in Industry Service, and other organizations’. Haynes has done a lot of work that focuses on services for women and African Americans during the 1900’s and beyond, she was very interested in women’s labor issues and she dedicated much of her time in her professional career by researching, writing, and speaking on these particular subjects. Haynes was skilled at manipulating a complex social and professional maze, she leaves a legacy that deserves our acknowledgment and respect. In this article it discusses the implications for the social work practice based on Haynes activist community involvement, her commitment to African American social work on behalf of her race, and her woman consciousness. Keywords: Elizabeth Ross Haynes; History; African Americans; Women; Social Welfare; Labor An African American Reformer of Womanist Consciousness 1908-1940 Like most African American women of her time Haynes considered herself as a role model, she kept herself involved in researching, writing, and speaking about the issues of women’s labor, women’s roles in the political arena and the use of women’s talents and skills.
She was a philanthropist and political activist. Madam Walker devoted most of her later years to social and political issues. Walker was involved with and made contributions to the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Conference on Lynching, the Indianapolis YMCA, and the National Negro Business League. Walker also sponsored scholarships for women attending the Tuskegee Institute (Felder 307). During World War I, Madam Walker recruited many black soldiers to the military.
Greenshaw (2010) suggested that the arrest initiated the Montgomery bus boycott as Parks stated, "I think we ought to call a boycott." Immediately, Parks became the mother of the Civil Rights Movement. "I was just one of many who fought for freedom," she said in her book Quiet Strength (Greenhaw, 2010). Shortly after the boycott started, it was determined that Parks would be the lead plaintiff in the federal case against the Montgomery City bus company. At the time of Parks’ arrest, she was 42-years-old, and well known and well liked throughout the black community.
Politically liberal, the Durrs became her friends. They encouraged and eventually helped sponsor Parks in the summer of 1955 to attend the Highlander Folk School, an education center for activism in workers' rights and racial equality in Monteagle, Tennessee. Around the start of the 20th century, the former Confederate states had passed new constitutions and electoral laws that effectively disfranchised black voters and, in Alabama, many poor white voters as well. Under the white-established Jim Crow laws, passed after Democrats regained control of southern legislatures, racial segregation was imposed in public facilities and retail stores in the South, including public transportation. Bus and train companies enforced seating policies with separate sections for blacks and whites.
However some men and women did stand up against this treatment and fought for their civil rights and for this they are preserved in history for their bravery. One of these people was Rosa Parks who many historians believed sparked the modern civil rights movement in America in December 1955. She unintentionally became an inspiration to thousands of African American citizens with her simple act of defiance on a bus one a cold, wet night on December 1st 1955. In this essay I am going to explore the life of Rosa Parks and how it led up to that night in December when she finally said enough was enough. Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama in February 1913.
Rosa Parks Civil right activist, Rosa Parks, refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger, spurring the Montgomery boycott and other efforts to end segregation. Rosa Parks deserves the recognition for her actions. Every big change that happened was because of this fearless woman, who single handedly changed history forever. Rosa Parks’ childhood brought her early experience with racial discrimination and activism for racial equality. Her life was challenging from the beginning.
Her husband was very involved in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Mrs. Parks soon also joined the cause. Rosa Parks can be considered a transcendentalist because she was willing to use civil disobedience; she pushed for women’s rights, and worked to help end racism and segregation. Rosa Parks would be considered a transcendentalist because she was willing and eager to use civil disobedience. Rosa was willing to use civil
(www.americanhistory.about.com) Thousands of Americans from all walks of life and races put their lives on the line to take a stand against racial inequalities. This diverse and courageous group consisted of not only African and Hispanic Americans it included a cross section of religious leaders and university students. The tactics used by the movement included mostly non-violent civil protests, court proceedings and organized marches. (www. school.familyeducation.com) The civil rights movement’s impact on our society and our culture is tremendous.
Many court cases pushed to expose discrimination and racism, along with attempts to change unfair laws or prior court rulings. Two key Jewish supporters of the movement’s legal efforts were Shad and Justine Wise Polier. Shad Polier, a prominent American Jewish lawyer, fought in many civil rights cases, most notably the Scottsboro Trial, and worked alongside many members of the NAACP. Similarly, Polier’s wife, Justine Wise Polier (daughter of Reform rabbi Stephen S. Wise), was a major supporter of the civil rights movement, and “firmly believed in the Congress's principles—that ‘... law could and must be used to fight discrimination…’ " (Antler 281). Polier committed himself to working on the defense team for many civil rights cases, including Brown vs. Board of Education, which ended segregation in the public school system according to the Constitution (“Guide to the Shad Polier Papers”).