Martin Luther King was angered by the signs all over the streets that he lived near which said “Whites only”. He, along with Rosa parks led a boycott against Montgomery busses, which made African–Americans sit in the back and white people to sit in the front. This law was later abolished by the Supreme Court, since bus companies were losing a large amount of money. Martin Luther King also did lots of other things to stop racism. Louis Riel and his Métis followers felt threatened by Thomas Scott, an Irish Protestant who was against Métis and Roman Catholics being involved with the Government.
Then the rioters turned their murderous wrath against the black community (Bernstein 3). By the end of the riots on July 16-17 1863, at least 105 people were killed (Bernstein 259). This is one example of how American citizens acted toward the draft and their retaliation against it. When a national tragedy strikes, the number of citizens volunteering for military service seems to go up. This was the case after both Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11 (Rich and Gerson 1).
A young pastor – Martin Luther King Jr, organized the campaign. A string of African American arrests led to national publicity and Bus Boycotting beginning in other cities. In December 1956 the Supreme Court ruled that segregated buses were illegal. This achievement helped Martin Luther King become a national focus for African American action. In September 1957 9 African American students won the right to enrol at Little Rock Central High school.
I believe the Montgomery bus boycott was the most important event in the 1950s -1960s in changing the civil rights for African-Americans, because this event gained internationally attention. On the 1st of December 1955 a white man requested for Rosa Parks’ seat however she refused as it seemed unreasonable. Leading her to be arrested, this act was very important because it went against the Jim Crow which was created to force segregation in public school systems, kept many African-Americans from moving out of segregated neighbourhoods and often made it difficult for African-Americans to vote. Overall it was very unfair to the black community, as a result the black community in Alabama started a non-violent boycott of the buses, leaving buses only half full this had a major financial impact on bus companies as it was the black community who used buses the most and the event was lead by Martin Luther King. This event was important because it gained international attention which put pressure on the different structures of the American government to make changes, and finally in 1965 the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was illegal.
They are met by anger and deny. The city’s sheriff acts strange and he does not want any help from the FBI. He denies that there has been a murder, and claims that the boys are out of state by the time the FBI arrive. But the two FBI agents do not give up that easily. During the movie a lot of black peoples churches gets burned down, and several murders are committed, all signed by the KKKs burning cross.
In New York City, an average of seven Latin Americans were killed a year between 1986 to 1989 but, in 1990, that number increased greatly. In that year, twenty three Latin Americans were killed by police gunfire. When asked how he felt about racism being involved in police brutality, Yussuf Naimkly of the University of Regina Commented: “Excessive police force against blacks has always been tolerated, because as a formally enslaved minority African Americans are trapped in a cultural context specifically designed to inhibit their development and thus minimize their threat to white hegemony”. Another shocking incident of police brutality occurred in Reynoldsberg Ohio. A group of offices named themselves “S.N.A.T” squad.
Could steps have been taken to avoid the civil disturbances, the largest seen in the 20th century in Great Britain, that followed? Did the Scarman Report go far enough in highlighting the issues of the black community and address the perception of a racist police force? The riots that occurred in Brixton in 1981 can trace a link back to the riots that had erupted in Bristol in 1980 when the local police entered the Black and White café to apprehend a known criminal. This led to one hundred and thirty people being arrested and twenty-five people hospitalised after a night of violence not seen on the streets of Great Britain since the race riots in the 1950’s. Bristol was experiencing the same issues highlighted by the local populace of Brixton – heavy handed policing using sus law, a lack of adequate housing and job opportunities.
After the Rosa Parks incident, she and King organised the black boycott of Montgomery bus system in 1955. Once King realised he was achieving more rights for black people he led non-violent protests throughout America. Eight years after the boycott, King led a protest in Birmingham, Alabama. However the white people in Alabama didn’t approve of this and it turned into a violent protest, and King was arrested for his participation in the protest. Along with King, police arrested 1000 other protesters and many were beat with whips and clubs.
The buses were finally desegregated December 21, 1956. * Riots break out when James Meredith, a black student, enrolls in the University of Mississippi on October 1, 1962. President Kennedy is forced to send out 5,000 troops to stop the rioters. * African Americans have participated in every major United States War, after the second World War, President Harry S. Truman made an executive order to intregrate the United States Armed Forces in 1948. * In 1908 a bloody two day riot broke out in Springfield, Illinois, destroying the cities Black section.
Under William Anderson, a number of local black organisations were formed in an attempt to desegregate the city. By mid-December, 500 demonstrators had been jailed. Anderson invited King’s help to maintain the movement and secure national publicity for the non-violent protest. The tactics of non-violence however did not work because the Head of Police in Albany, Laurie Pritchett, had learned from previous protests and campaigns that no violence should be used against the protestors to ensure less media coverage and less sympathy for the black protestors. Pritchett went on to arrest protestors but he made sure that the jails were not filled by them.