Civil Rights in America
African Americans have been struggling for equality for many decades. It only seems that during the 1960's is when there were actual significant advances made. This was about the same time that civil rights came into the political scene. Throughout the South, Blacks were still in the majority, but had no political power what so ever. The Civil Rights Movement gave African Americans a voice and a chance to make a difference. The 1960's helped open up hope and expectations for Black Americans. One of the most prominent men of his time, Martin Luther King Jr. was known as "A national hero and a civil rights figure of growing importance" (Discovering 1). "Martin Luther King Jr. aroused whites and blacks to protest racial discrimination, poverty and war" (Compton's 244). On August 28, 1963 King made one of his most influential speeches ever at the March on Washington. His "I have a dream" speech had a major impact on all of America. His speech urged people to be judged by their character and not by the color of their skin (Civil Rights 148). King was a man who didn't believe in violence. The way he got his point across was not through violence, but through peaceful protest just as Gandhi had done. Martin Luther organized sit-ins, march
On April 2, 1963 the SCLC chose Birmingham as a city for one of their segregation protests (Discovering 2). Campuses revolted throughout the sixties against the Vietnam War and protested for civil rights, but then calmed down by the early seventies (Chalmers 68-69). King's "I Have a Dream" speech at the largest and most dramatic civil rights demonstration, the March on Washington, was the high point of the event. King was arrested in October of 1960 at a major Atlanta department store. King was then awarded the Nobel Peace Prize later on that year, December 10. He ended up spending most of his summer vacation in jail that summer. The twenty-fourth amendment was put into law January 23, 1964 and struck down the poll tax. There was a riot in the summer of 1964 called the Red Summer riot and the following year the Long, Hot Summer riot went on. King became the youngest man ever to win the Nobel peace prize in 1964. "Malcolm was known for his incisive analysis on the problems of American democracy and the limitations of the intergrationalist Civil Rights Movement" (Civil 116). Malcolm established a secular Black Nationalist party called the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). By 1960, this number had increased to 3. The only thing that this legislation failed to address was voting rights (Robinson 4). One of the most important events during the 1960's was the March on Washington. His plan was to extend black suffrage and pass the Civil Rights Act in memory of Kennedy (Chalmers 43).
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Acceptance Essays
