The Civil Rights Movement Of The 1960's

In the history of the United States there have been many social changes. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s has been the most important for the equality of people. Since the end of slavery in 1863, there had been constant conflict between the races of the people who live in the United States. Rights have been violated just because of the of the person’s skin color. African Americans are denied access to housing and jobs and are refused service at restaurants and stores. But the voices of the oppressed rise up in the churches and in the streets demanding civil rights for all Americans.
The civil rights of African Americans were limited by the state laws and discrimination. Some civil rights were the right to vote, the right to public transportation,
Many Americans believed it should not be. African Americans went to court to end segregation, in 1954, the Supreme Court ordered the desegregation of public schools.
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks a young African American was arrested because she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger and move to the back of the bus. Her church organized protest. Robinson promptly sent out a call for all African Americans to boycott Montgomery buses. They boycotted the buses and protested until buses were desegregated. The bus incident led to the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The association called for a boycott of the city-owned bus company. The Montgomery bus Boycott proved to the world that the African American community could unite and organize a successful protest movement. Although there were threats to his family and life, King urged his followers, “Don’t ever let anyone pull you so low as to hate them.” He wanted people to fight back using peaceful actions. He believed in nonviolence protests .The boycott brought Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and their cause to the attention of the world. A Supreme Court decision took down the Montgomery ordinance under which
Students both black and white, joined their protest. The protests continued, rapidly spreading across the south, affecting restaurants, hotels, shops, libraries, beaches and most public facilities. During this time, Freedom riders, boycotters, and protesters continued their search for freedom and met with fierce white and establishment resistance. Bombings, riots, shootings and beatings were common as growing thousands of civil rights protesters marched throughout the South and in the North as well. In 1963 nearly a thousand African American children were arrested during a peaceful protest. Police had been televised using electric cattle prods, firehoses, and tear gas on peaceful protesters. President Kennedy had requested to end racial discrimination and said that the time had come for a historic march on Washington for jobs and Freedom. The march on Washington was a nonviolent demonstration in support of President Kennedy’s civil rights bill. Nearly around 250,000 blacks and whites made the journey to the Lincoln memorial were Martin Luther King Jr gave his famous “I have a Dream “speech in