The Civil Rights Movement was a significant time in U.S. history. For this week, pick one person that made a positive or negative impact during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Describe who they were and what role they played during the time period.
One person who made a positive impact on the Civil Rights Movement was Rosa Parks. Living in Alabama of 1955 as a seamstress, Rosa Parks traveled on the public bus. Due to racial segregation, Parks was told to sit in the back of the bus purely because she was an African American. Being a bold person, she stood up for her rights, and refused to move to give up her seat to a White passenger. She was arrested multiple times due to her stubbornness, but with the help of many supporters, including Martin Luther King Jr., she participated in a boycott of public transportation until fair treatment was put into place. Being one of the initiators of the Civil Rights Movement, she is known as the mother of the Civil Rights Movement.
James Farmer was the recent national director of the Congress of Racial Equality, an offshoot of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. The group was dedicated to pushing for racial equality through non-violent means, often using civil disobedience as a tactic. One such demonstration was the series of interracial Freedom Rides announced in the spring of 1961, which should show both white and black supporters of racial equality riding on public transportation together in order to provoke arrest, which would then challenge the national authorities to enforce their laws against certain segregation. Despite the violent endings faced by most of the Freedom Rides, Farmer continued to push for their goals and in the end, forced the Kennedy Administration's hand. While the protest met continuous brutality, it was considered a successful and eye-opening movement by the CORE.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a black pastor, activist, humanitarian, and arguably the leader of the Civil Right's Movement for the African-Americans. He played a significant role in coordinating the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which was a huge success and eventually led yo the passage of several racial equality acts. In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an organization formed to provide new leadership for the civil rights movement. He derived a lot of its operational techniques from the methods of Gandhi. His famous "I Have A Dream" speech inspired several thousands of African-Americans to join the movement. His "Letters From a Birmingham Jail", following his arrest in Birmingham, Alabama, made a world-wide impact, informing the world of the racial inequality in the United States and of the civil rights movement. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was about to lead a protest march.
Malcolm X was a prominent figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. As a follower of Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X advocated black empowerment. He believed that African American needed to create a distinct and separate nation within the United States. This contrasted with the mainstream Civil Rights goal of integration into American society as advocated by Martin Luther King Jr. and others. Malcolm X was also a prominent leader in the Nation of Islam (NOI), an organization that also stressed the differences between blacks and whites rather than their similarities. In 1964, however, Malcolm X became disenchanted with the Nation of Islam and committed hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca. This inspired him to change his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz and leave the movement. He then founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity that was much more conciliatory towards whites. In 1965 Malcolm X published his autobiography Autobiography of Malcolm X. On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated while speaking in Harlem. Malcolm X represented an important voice of dissent within the Civil Rights Movement. His opinions were often very different other Civil Rights leaders who believed in the assimilation of blacks into white American society. Malcolm X’s extremist rhetoric forced these leaders to acknowledge that not all African Americans agreed with this official end goal. After his assassination, Malcolm X was viewed as a martyr who died for voicing the problems faced by African Americans. Furthermore, his activism became the basis for the Black Power movement of later decades. Malcolm X had a resounding impact on the Civil Rights Movement that was significant and positive as it questioned the accepted end goal of the movement in a way that encouraged discussion.
Sources: Faragher, John M., Mari J. Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many: A History of the American People; AP Edition. Sixth ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001. Print. Garraty, John A. "Malcolm X." History.com. Ed. Eric Foner. A&E Television Networks, 1991. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.
Ella Baker was an African American civil rights and human rights activist whose career spanned over fifty years. As a young girl, she was inspired by her grandmother's tales of life as a slave, particularly one in which her grandmother was beaten for refusing to marry her owner's choice of husband. Throughout her career, she was involved in the NAACP, beginning as a secretary and rising to become director of branches, the highest-ranked woman in the organization at the time. In the 1960s, she became famous for her idea of 'participatory democracy', which extolled traditional democracy shifted to promote greater participation by the population and a lack of emphasis on a bureaucratic hierarchy best summarized by her quote "Strong people don't need strong leaders." Though her activist role remained primarily behind-the-scenes, her work with powerful organizations granted her a great deal of influence, as did her mentoring aspiring activists like Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks.
"Remember, we are not fighting for the freedom of the Negro alone, but for the freedom of the human spirit a larger freedom that encompasses all mankind.” ~ Ella Baker
James Meredith was a very significant figure in the Civil Rights Movement. He was born in Mississippi and was of Choctaw and African American heritage. Due to segregation, he went to an all black school. He decided to exercise his rights and tried to force the Kennedy association into enforcing civil rights by applying to the University of Mississippi. However, he was then accepted into the University of Mississippi which was a segregated school that accepted only white students. When he was accepted, there was a huge protest/riot which resulted in two deaths. Because of this, Meredith represented a small step towards racial equality.
Medgar Evers was a very important person in the civil rights movement during the 50's and 60's. Medgar Evers was a very active leader for civil rights in Mississippi. Evers worked very hard to desegregate the university of Mississippi as well as other schools in Mississippi. He was the leader of the Regional council of Negro Leadership in his area. He also got involved nationally becoming a field secretary of the NAACP. Byron De La Beckwich murdered Evers and his death fueled the fire of hundreds of African Americans and sparked a larger more intense motivation to gain civil rights and avenge Medgar Evers death.
Emmett Till was very important to the start of the Civil Rights movement in the US. Till was a 14 year old black boy visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi in 1955. Till and his cousin went to a grocery store, where Till allegedly tried to flirt with Carolyn Bryant, a white woman. She got nervous or upset, and told people about it, including her husband who went with his half brother to find Till. They found him, brought him to a barn, then beat him to death, mangling his body, and threw him into the Tallahatchie River. Till’s body was found two days later, and at the funeral, him mother insisted on an open casket. Many people came, and others saw pictures and articles about the story in the press. This was the first major event that sparked what became the Civil rights Movement in the US.
One person that made an important impact on civil rights was Linda Brown. Linda Brown was a student in school in Topeka, Kansas. She wanted to be integrated into a white school, but she was denied. Her and her family took this to Supreme Court where the clause of "separate but equal" was overturned from Plessy v Fergeson as separate is not equal. This is what some people say is the start of gains in Civil Rights with the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.
John F. Kennedy made a positive impact during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. John F. Kennedy was President of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Kennedy verbally supported racial integration and civil rights, but civil rights was not a major priority until his last months as President, particularly in the summer of 1963 when George Wallace, governor of Alabama, attempted to block two African American students from enrolling at the University of Alabama. Kennedy sent in the National Guard, and later that same day also delivered a televised speech in which he outlined a general proposal for a Civil Rights Bill. He began the fight for the Civil Rights Act and publicly supported Martin Luther King, Jr.
Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor was the Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama during the civil rights movement. He is most notable for his fierce crackdowns on the civil rights protests occurring in the city in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The Freedom Rides, occurring in 1961, were a series of demonstrations in which black and white CORE members rode buses throughout the South in order to force the governments to enforce recent Supreme Court rulings against segregation. After leaving Anniston, Alabama, where one of the buses was destroyed by a firebomb, the “Freedom Rivers” arrived in Birmingham. On the loading platform, the group was attacked and beaten by a group of forty whites. Connor, having previous knowledge of the plan, did nothing to stop it, and when the police arrived at the scene, no attempt to stop the violence and no arrests were made. Later that year, Birmingham became the target of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for a demonstration campaign. King hoped that a victory in Birmingham, the most segregated big city in America at the time, would give momentum to the ailing civil rights movement after the defeat at Albany, Georgia. The SCLC proceeded with the protests by seeking to fill the local jails with protesters, boycott department stores, and in the process infuriate “Bull” Connor. Connor responded by brutally cracking down on protests. He allowed the use of fire hoses and attack dogs and arrested over 3,000 people, including 959 children. When a truce was finally reached that promised the removal of segregation in all public facilities, Connor was forced to vacate his office due to large dissatisfaction within the public.
Faragher, John M., Mari J. Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many: A History of the American People; AP Edition. Sixth ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001. Print.
Jackie Robinson made a positive impact on the Civil Rights Movement. In a completely American, white-male sport, he became the first African American to participate in major league baseball. It was in 1947 that Robinson became a national symbol. With extreme dedication and immense talent, he proved that the colored people could play the white game; after he retired, he chose to pursue civil rights for all people to have an equal opportunity to succeed.
Thurgood Marshall made an immensely positive impact on the Civil Rights Movement. Marshall was a lawyer who realized the best way to bring about change was through the legal system. Marshall presented more than 30 cases on Civil Rights, and won 29 of them. He is especially well known for Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, where the Supreme Court overturned the separate but equal doctrine established by Plessy vs Ferguson. Marshal went on to become the first African American Supreme Court Justice in American history.
President Lyndon B John also made a significant impact on the Civil Rights Movement in an attempt to unify the Democratic Party and prove himself as a national leader. Early in Johnson's presidency, many groups, such as the NAACP and the AFL-CIO, made an urgent proposition for a civil rights bill. The House was able to successfully pass the bill in February of 1964. Debate spurred more in the Senate, where a southern filibuster was firm in their objective to weaken and block the bill from being passed. Johnson, however, persistent in his goals, would not tolerate and allow the southern sector from succeeding. On July 2, 1964, Johnson signed what was known as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This particular act was acknowledged as the most significant Civil Rights legislation since the era of Reconstruction. It essentially prohibited segregation of race or color among public facilities and employment by enforcing federal assist in the matter of Civil Rights. Johnson was most recognized instituting such a law.
Branch Rickey was a man who made a positive impact during the Civil Rights Movement. Though some say that the murder of Emmett Till was the beginning of the movement, Rickey wasn't too far off from providing the same jump to the movement. In the spring of 1947, years even before the Till incident, Rickey made a huge step for African American rights when he signed Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Owner at the time, Rickey, took a massive leap of faith to introduce the first black baseball player into the major leagues. As an all white league, the MLB was taken by shock when Robinson was signed by the Dodgers. Though hated by many, Rickey ignored the critics and was able to break down racial barriers in professional baseball by paving the way for blacks to participate with whites. The chance for blacks to compete with whites was a large step in achieving Civil Rights, making Rickey a large influence in the movement, as Jackie would forever be a legend.
George C. Wallace made a very negative impact during the Civil Rights Movement. He was a Democrat who was very pro-segregation and expressed his hatred of African Americans freely and very publicly. Wallace was governor of Alabama in 1962, 1970, 1974, and 1982. He also ran for President during the 60's and 70's as a Democratic candidate and in 1968 he ran for the American Independent Party. During his time as governor, he was ordered by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 to mobilize the Alabama National Guard to protect the Selma marchers. Being pro-segregation, he refused pretending that he was financially unable to do this.
Bayard Rustin had a positive pro-impact on the civil rights movement. With the aide of Philip Randolph they planned a march on Washington in 1963. This was a significant march because it involved all major civil rights organizations and, major labor movements and liberal organizations. The march led to the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther kind Jr. gave his " I have a dream" speech. Initially Kennedy opposed the march but later gave in and even helped garner more marchers.
Harper lee was a very important person during the civil rights movement. Not only her as a person but her Pulitzer prize winning book To Kill a Mockingbird. She wrote an inspirational story about racism in the South right before the civil rights movement and the impact it had on the Finch family. It expressed the injustice and hatred towards black people and really showed the unseen side of racism. It was very different from the cities to the rural country. Her words brought light on the subject and showed people that it is important to make a change.
Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) Susan B. Anthony was born blind and deaf. But she still found a way to communicate and share her message of equality and love to everyone she came into contact with. She had a strong impact on the Civil Rights movement as an inspiration to women and the disadvantaged everywhere.
An influential person during the civil rights movement was Bob Gibson. Though less recognized, Bob was known for the same thing as Jackie Robinson, being black and playing baseball. I think it was so influential because baseball is supposed to "America"s Pasttime," and when whites started seeing blacks like Bob Gibson, who were all star althletes, they began to respect blacks more.
One person who made a positive impact on the Civil Rights Movement was Rosa Parks. Living in Alabama of 1955 as a seamstress, Rosa Parks traveled on the public bus. Due to racial segregation, Parks was told to sit in the back of the bus purely because she was an African American. Being a bold person, she stood up for her rights, and refused to move to give up her seat to a White passenger. She was arrested multiple times due to her stubbornness, but with the help of many supporters, including Martin Luther King Jr., she participated in a boycott of public transportation until fair treatment was put into place. Being one of the initiators of the Civil Rights Movement, she is known as the mother of the Civil Rights Movement.
ReplyDeleteJames Farmer was the recent national director of the Congress of Racial Equality, an offshoot of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. The group was dedicated to pushing for racial equality through non-violent means, often using civil disobedience as a tactic. One such demonstration was the series of interracial Freedom Rides announced in the spring of 1961, which should show both white and black supporters of racial equality riding on public transportation together in order to provoke arrest, which would then challenge the national authorities to enforce their laws against certain segregation. Despite the violent endings faced by most of the Freedom Rides, Farmer continued to push for their goals and in the end, forced the Kennedy Administration's hand. While the protest met continuous brutality, it was considered a successful and eye-opening movement by the CORE.
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King, Jr. was a black pastor, activist, humanitarian, and arguably the leader of the Civil Right's Movement for the African-Americans. He played a significant role in coordinating the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which was a huge success and eventually led yo the passage of several racial equality acts. In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an organization formed to provide new leadership for the civil rights movement. He derived a lot of its operational techniques from the methods of Gandhi. His famous "I Have A Dream" speech inspired several thousands of African-Americans to join the movement. His "Letters From a Birmingham Jail", following his arrest in Birmingham, Alabama, made a world-wide impact, informing the world of the racial inequality in the United States and of the civil rights movement. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was about to lead a protest march.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm X was a prominent figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. As a follower of Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X advocated black empowerment. He believed that African American needed to create a distinct and separate nation within the United States. This contrasted with the mainstream Civil Rights goal of integration into American society as advocated by Martin Luther King Jr. and others. Malcolm X was also a prominent leader in the Nation of Islam (NOI), an organization that also stressed the differences between blacks and whites rather than their similarities. In 1964, however, Malcolm X became disenchanted with the Nation of Islam and committed hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca. This inspired him to change his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz and leave the movement. He then founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity that was much more conciliatory towards whites. In 1965 Malcolm X published his autobiography Autobiography of Malcolm X. On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated while speaking in Harlem.
ReplyDeleteMalcolm X represented an important voice of dissent within the Civil Rights Movement. His opinions were often very different other Civil Rights leaders who believed in the assimilation of blacks into white American society. Malcolm X’s extremist rhetoric forced these leaders to acknowledge that not all African Americans agreed with this official end goal. After his assassination, Malcolm X was viewed as a martyr who died for voicing the problems faced by African Americans. Furthermore, his activism became the basis for the Black Power movement of later decades. Malcolm X had a resounding impact on the Civil Rights Movement that was significant and positive as it questioned the accepted end goal of the movement in a way that encouraged discussion.
Sources:
DeleteFaragher, John M., Mari J. Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many: A History of the American People; AP Edition. Sixth ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001. Print.
Garraty, John A. "Malcolm X." History.com. Ed. Eric Foner. A&E Television Networks, 1991. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.
Ella Baker was an African American civil rights and human rights activist whose career spanned over fifty years. As a young girl, she was inspired by her grandmother's tales of life as a slave, particularly one in which her grandmother was beaten for refusing to marry her owner's choice of husband. Throughout her career, she was involved in the NAACP, beginning as a secretary and rising to become director of branches, the highest-ranked woman in the organization at the time. In the 1960s, she became famous for her idea of 'participatory democracy', which extolled traditional democracy shifted to promote greater participation by the population and a lack of emphasis on a bureaucratic hierarchy best summarized by her quote "Strong people don't need strong leaders." Though her activist role remained primarily behind-the-scenes, her work with powerful organizations granted her a great deal of influence, as did her mentoring aspiring activists like Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks.
ReplyDelete"Remember, we are not fighting for the freedom of the Negro alone, but for the freedom of the human spirit a larger freedom that encompasses all mankind.”
~ Ella Baker
James Meredith was a very significant figure in the Civil Rights Movement. He was born in Mississippi and was of Choctaw and African American heritage. Due to segregation, he went to an all black school. He decided to exercise his rights and tried to force the Kennedy association into enforcing civil rights by applying to the University of Mississippi. However, he was then accepted into the University of Mississippi which was a segregated school that accepted only white students. When he was accepted, there was a huge protest/riot which resulted in two deaths. Because of this, Meredith represented a small step towards racial equality.
ReplyDeleteMedgar Evers was a very important person in the civil rights movement during the 50's and 60's. Medgar Evers was a very active leader for civil rights in Mississippi. Evers worked very hard to desegregate the university of Mississippi as well as other schools in Mississippi. He was the leader of the Regional council of Negro Leadership in his area. He also got involved nationally becoming a field secretary of the NAACP. Byron De La Beckwich murdered Evers and his death fueled the fire of hundreds of African Americans and sparked a larger more intense motivation to gain civil rights and avenge Medgar Evers death.
ReplyDeleteEmmett Till was very important to the start of the Civil Rights movement in the US. Till was a 14 year old black boy visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi in 1955. Till and his cousin went to a grocery store, where Till allegedly tried to flirt with Carolyn Bryant, a white woman. She got nervous or upset, and told people about it, including her husband who went with his half brother to find Till. They found him, brought him to a barn, then beat him to death, mangling his body, and threw him into the Tallahatchie River. Till’s body was found two days later, and at the funeral, him mother insisted on an open casket. Many people came, and others saw pictures and articles about the story in the press. This was the first major event that sparked what became the Civil rights Movement in the US.
ReplyDeleteOne person that made an important impact on civil rights was Linda Brown. Linda Brown was a student in school in Topeka, Kansas. She wanted to be integrated into a white school, but she was denied. Her and her family took this to Supreme Court where the clause of "separate but equal" was overturned from Plessy v Fergeson as separate is not equal. This is what some people say is the start of gains in Civil Rights with the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.
ReplyDeleteJohn F. Kennedy made a positive impact during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. John F. Kennedy was President of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Kennedy verbally supported racial integration and civil rights, but civil rights was not a major priority until his last months as President, particularly in the summer of 1963 when George Wallace, governor of Alabama, attempted to block two African American students from enrolling at the University of Alabama. Kennedy sent in the National Guard, and later that same day also delivered a televised speech in which he outlined a general proposal for a Civil Rights Bill. He began the fight for the Civil Rights Act and publicly supported Martin Luther King, Jr.
ReplyDeleteTheophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor was the Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama during the civil rights movement. He is most notable for his fierce crackdowns on the civil rights protests occurring in the city in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
ReplyDeleteThe Freedom Rides, occurring in 1961, were a series of demonstrations in which black and white CORE members rode buses throughout the South in order to force the governments to enforce recent Supreme Court rulings against segregation. After leaving Anniston, Alabama, where one of the buses was destroyed by a firebomb, the “Freedom Rivers” arrived in Birmingham. On the loading platform, the group was attacked and beaten by a group of forty whites. Connor, having previous knowledge of the plan, did nothing to stop it, and when the police arrived at the scene, no attempt to stop the violence and no arrests were made.
Later that year, Birmingham became the target of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for a demonstration campaign. King hoped that a victory in Birmingham, the most segregated big city in America at the time, would give momentum to the ailing civil rights movement after the defeat at Albany, Georgia. The SCLC proceeded with the protests by seeking to fill the local jails with protesters, boycott department stores, and in the process infuriate “Bull” Connor. Connor responded by brutally cracking down on protests. He allowed the use of fire hoses and attack dogs and arrested over 3,000 people, including 959 children. When a truce was finally reached that promised the removal of segregation in all public facilities, Connor was forced to vacate his office due to large dissatisfaction within the public.
Works Cited
ReplyDelete"Bull Connor." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Faragher, John M., Mari J. Buhle, Daniel Czitrom, and Susan H. Armitage. Out of Many: A History of the American People; AP Edition. Sixth ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001. Print.
Jackie Robinson made a positive impact on the Civil Rights Movement. In a completely American, white-male sport, he became the first African American to participate in major league baseball. It was in 1947 that Robinson became a national symbol. With extreme dedication and immense talent, he proved that the colored people could play the white game; after he retired, he chose to pursue civil rights for all people to have an equal opportunity to succeed.
ReplyDeleteThurgood Marshall made an immensely positive impact on the Civil Rights Movement. Marshall was a lawyer who realized the best way to bring about change was through the legal system. Marshall presented more than 30 cases on Civil Rights, and won 29 of them. He is especially well known for Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, where the Supreme Court overturned the separate but equal doctrine established by Plessy vs Ferguson. Marshal went on to become the first African American Supreme Court Justice in American history.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePresident Lyndon B John also made a significant impact on the Civil Rights Movement in an attempt to unify the Democratic Party and prove himself as a national leader. Early in Johnson's presidency, many groups, such as the NAACP and the AFL-CIO, made an urgent proposition for a civil rights bill. The House was able to successfully pass the bill in February of 1964. Debate spurred more in the Senate, where a southern filibuster was firm in their objective to weaken and block the bill from being passed. Johnson, however, persistent in his goals, would not tolerate and allow the southern sector from succeeding. On July 2, 1964, Johnson signed what was known as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This particular act was acknowledged as the most significant Civil Rights legislation since the era of Reconstruction. It essentially prohibited segregation of race or color among public facilities and employment by enforcing federal assist in the matter of Civil Rights. Johnson was most recognized instituting such a law.
ReplyDeleteBranch Rickey was a man who made a positive impact during the Civil Rights Movement. Though some say that the murder of Emmett Till was the beginning of the movement, Rickey wasn't too far off from providing the same jump to the movement. In the spring of 1947, years even before the Till incident, Rickey made a huge step for African American rights when he signed Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Owner at the time, Rickey, took a massive leap of faith to introduce the first black baseball player into the major leagues. As an all white league, the MLB was taken by shock when Robinson was signed by the Dodgers. Though hated by many, Rickey ignored the critics and was able to break down racial barriers in professional baseball by paving the way for blacks to participate with whites. The chance for blacks to compete with whites was a large step in achieving Civil Rights, making Rickey a large influence in the movement, as Jackie would forever be a legend.
ReplyDeleteGeorge C. Wallace made a very negative impact during the Civil Rights Movement. He was a Democrat who was very pro-segregation and expressed his hatred of African Americans freely and very publicly. Wallace was governor of Alabama in 1962, 1970, 1974, and 1982. He also ran for President during the 60's and 70's as a Democratic candidate and in 1968 he ran for the American Independent Party. During his time as governor, he was ordered by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 to mobilize the Alabama National Guard to protect the Selma marchers. Being pro-segregation, he refused pretending that he was financially unable to do this.
ReplyDeleteBayard Rustin had a positive pro-impact on the civil rights movement. With the aide of Philip Randolph they planned a march on Washington in 1963. This was a significant march because it involved all major civil rights organizations and, major labor movements and liberal organizations. The march led to the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther kind Jr. gave his " I have a dream" speech. Initially Kennedy opposed the march but later gave in and even helped garner more marchers.
ReplyDeleteHarper lee was a very important person during the civil rights movement. Not only her as a person but her Pulitzer prize winning book To Kill a Mockingbird. She wrote an inspirational story about racism in the South right before the civil rights movement and the impact it had on the Finch family. It expressed the injustice and hatred towards black people and really showed the unseen side of racism. It was very different from the cities to the rural country. Her words brought light on the subject and showed people that it is important to make a change.
ReplyDeleteSusan B. Anthony (1820–1906) Susan B. Anthony was born blind and deaf. But she still found a way to communicate and share her message of equality and love to everyone she came into contact with. She had a strong impact on the Civil Rights movement as an inspiration to women and the disadvantaged everywhere.
ReplyDeleteAn influential person during the civil rights movement was Bob Gibson. Though less recognized, Bob was known for the same thing as Jackie Robinson, being black and playing baseball. I think it was so influential because baseball is supposed to "America"s Pasttime," and when whites started seeing blacks like Bob Gibson, who were all star althletes, they began to respect blacks more.
ReplyDelete