Tuesday, December 26, 2017

A Few Of The African American Civil Rights Movement Facts

By Catherine Graham


The fight for civil rights lasted about two decades in the 1950s and 1960s. The movement led to the abolition of the slave trade, but it was not able to completely get rid of racism. Black people were still picked on because of their color. By the middle of the 20th century, there was still a lot of violence and prejudice among them. The article discusses African American civil rights movement facts that were not widely known.

In the 1940s black people were not included in highly paying jobs and most of the farmers and domestic workers. This was before world war two. They were not allowed to join the military, and it was then thousands of black people threatened to march to Washington DC and demand equal employment rights. In 1941, the then president opened military jobs among others regardless of race.

There was the Montgomery bus system which meant that there were seats reserved for black people in the back and the white people would sit in the front. In 1955, Rosa parks broke this law. She sat in the front. A white man then entered the bus and did not have somewhere to sit. The driver ordered Rosa and other black people to move to the back, but she stayed put and got arrested.

In 1954, the movement was really heard, and the supreme court declared segregation illegal in public schools. Black students began to be invited to schools such as brown. In 1957 nine black students known as little rock, nine arrived at the central high school where they were met by a guard and a screaming mob. They went and came back two weeks later, and they were allowed inside.

There was also the law that stated that black people could not share food joints with white people. In 1960, four students went to wool worths lunch counter but were refused service. They, in turn, remained adamant. The next day, other black people did the same and refused to leave without service. They eventually wore out the white people and the four students were the first to be served in wool worths lunch counter.

In 1963, the biggest demonstrations of all took place led by Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King, and Bayard Rustin. There was a turnout of about 200,000 people both black and white, and they matched through Washington DC to show solidarity on each other. The highlight was when Martin gave his speech that was an inspiration and whose famous line, I have a dream has been used till now.

600 people went on to march in protest of the killing of a black civil rights activist by a white police officer.As they neared Pettus bridge, they were blocked by the Alabama state police. They insisted on going on, and they were violently and tore gassed. They were then rushed to the hospital for treatment. This was all caught on live television hence the name bloody Sunday.

By 1957, all Americans had the right to vote. This was however made difficult for the people in the southern states. They were required literacy that was confusing and at times and at others impossible, so they always failed.




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