1. Steve Nance, Jr.
HIS 204
Instructor: Ronnie Peacock
Final Paper
Sept. 11, 2012

2. In the late 1890’s for about 65 years the southeastern part of the United States was ran by
the Jim Crow south. Which in basically states after slavery the African Americans must have
equal facilities as the whites, but they had to be segregated. After the duration of World War II is
when people started to make strives to end segregation. Also some people would boycott some
businesses because of the way the treated many African Americans.
Some things African American’s did to try and change the injustices that was happening
to them was protest and do sit ins. Like Rosa Park’s famous scenario about how she was going to
stand up for herself and stay in the front. Or the four Woolworth University students who went to
an all-white luncheon and sat at their front counter. Some people radicals but for the most part
they just wanted change.
Also around the civil rights movement we start to see figures that wanted change more
than anyone. Figures like Louis Farrakhan, Hughey Newton, and Martin Luther King, Jr. These
gentlemen made civil rights a national issue and made the United States fully aware of the
injustices happening in the south.
As all Americans are lead to believe that we all have the same rights and opportunities as
the person next to us. But if you think about it, if you are different in the least it was an uphill
battle to achieve normalcy with the rest of the world. Think about the rights off all except babies
and country clubs there had to be a fight for it. The fight came from several different movements
such as, civil rights, women’s rights, gay rights, and ethical rights of the minorities of our great
nation. Civil Rights movement would have to be the most enduring and the toughest for equality

3. to be established. The government but the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to help with the
process of achieving racial equality in the United States
The first major event that happened was the boycott of a local bus stop in Montgomery
Alabama. Prior to this boycott being placed in Alabama, a woman by the name of Rosa Parks
was discriminated against and ordered to retreat towards the back of her bus, when she refused
problems arose. At this boycott that was a figure that would change the course of American
society and would later become the leader of the civil rights movement. That man was a
Alabama local named Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King would later become one of the most
influential people in American history, and the most important in the civil rights movement and
helping equality around the United States.
One of the most influential persons during the civil rights movement was Thurgood
Marshall. He was the person that presented the information between segregation and it’s effect in
the schools in the south. During these times in south black kids were given old out to date
textbooks, and the conditions within their school was less than ideal. Having children learn in a
facility that should have been condemned, some would not have regularly running water, or even
heat. While the other children were given the up to date text, fresh hot lunches, competent
teachers, and access to buses to get to class. This was also referred to as Brown vs. The Board of
Education of Topeka Kansas (Civil Rights, 2005).Thurgood Marshall later became the founder
of the NAACP and even more impressive he became the first black man to become a Supreme
Court Judge.
Later towards the end of the civil rights movement you start to notice a lot of riots
and violence in a lot of black communities and neighbors around the world. The massive riots

4. were due to the black community having issues with police and the injustices that they
personally have gone through. And listening to speeches from figures like Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. and Malcolm X, who let people around the world know about the corruption happening
across the nation. The only difference between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
would have to be that Dr. King has a more peaceful protest. Things were considerately less
violent protest going to a rally with Dr. King while Malcolm X’s views seemed to cause a lot of
conflict when people were around. Malcolm X would tell others that came to his rallies some
disturbing information. He told people in the black community that they should be in fear of the
white man, fear of the unknown. Which is basically the same thing said from people in the white
communities. They fear black people because they did not look like them or walk and talk just
like them. Which to me looked like an eye for an eye theory. You did this to me and my family
so I will then in return do it to you, but with an outlook like that nothing productive would get
accomplished in the near future besides violence.
In 1964 the Civil Rights Act was the biggest step in the right direction moving to
desegregation at this time. The federal law civil rights laws were aimed to help blacks
economically, politically, and socially. There were already some laws in place to help people
within the black community, protection from blacks being slaves, given them citizenship, and
help with protection from the Ku Klux Klan to name a few. While most black men were not as
educated as others, there was always a revolving door around politics in the south. Up until 1960
when blacks were legally able to vote, this made local politicians more aware of the people in
their entire community and not just the people on their street corner.
While the black community had gained some long awaited freedom, they still would be
behind the ball for other decades to come. Black people were still be discriminated against, still

5. being accused of crimes they did not commit, and still behind when it comes to education. Even
though the laws were in place to unsure that works conditions would be fair for black
employee’s, when they were hazardous or life threatening they did not know where to turn. And
also around the mid to late 1960’s the poverty rate amongst black people was around 60%.(Civil
Rights,2005). But with this change in the black community that number would slowly decrease.

6. Works Cited
"Civil Rights."The Crystal Reference Encyclopedia. West Chiltington: Crystal Semantics, 2005. Credo
Reference. 29 Mar. 2006. Web.<http://www.credoreference.com/entry/cre/civil_rights>.
"CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964."Poverty and the Government in America: A Historical Encyclopedia.
Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Credo Reference. 24 May
2011.Web.<http://www.credoreference.com/entry/abcpga/civil_rights_act_of_1964>.
American Civil Liberties Union."Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices. Armonk:
M.E. Sharpe, 2010. Credo Reference. 1 Oct. 2010.
Web.<http://www.credoreference.com/entry/sharpecw/american_civil_liberties_union>.
"Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)." The American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia. Santa
Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2011. Credo Reference. 22 Dec.
2011..<http://www.credoreference.com/entry/abcamerecon/civil_rights_movement_1955_1968>
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