The Civil War heralded a new beginning in as far as equality was concerned in America. While it is largely credited for helping rid the country of slavery, it is a fact that blacks continued to suffer discrimination at many levels. The discrimination suffered by this community in the decades to follow gave rise to a struggle for equality and social justice. Read on to learn some cool African American Civil Rights Movement facts.
In the years that followed the Civil War, there was a clear lack of commitment to end the habitual discrimination of black people, a habit that was more prevalent in the southern states of the nation. Towards the middle of the twentieth century, a vast majority of blacks felt they could not take it anymore. With support from a considerable number of whites, they partook in protests that spanned the course of two decades.
There was an effort to reinforce the aspect of equality after slavery was abolished. This began with the passing of the fourteenth amendment. This act, passed in 1868, assigned an equal level of protection to blacks under law. A further amendment in 1870 furthered this cause by making it a right for blacks to vote. These efforts enraged the majorly white population down south, being as they viewed the blacks as inferior owing to their long held position as a slave race.
This widespread hatred brought about the establishment of Jim Crow laws in the years leading up to the end of the nineteenth century. The laws, passed by the southern states, were meant to separate blacks from whites. It meant that blacks could not use the same public amenities as whites, including schools. Black and white intermarriage was also made illegal. Furthermore, blacks were not allowed to vote as voter literacy tests were skewed against them.
Luckily, Jim Crow laws were not enacted in the north. Nevertheless, discrimination continued to be prevalent. Getting an education or buying a house was a near impossibility for the ordinary black man. Sadly, some northern states still passed laws to limit the rights of the black population to vote.
A number of events led up to the start of the historic activism of the 1950s and 1960s. It all started on the 1st of December, 1955. Rosa Parks, a 42 year old lady, took up her seat on a bus after work in Montgomery, Alabama. Back then, segregation laws required blacks to seat at specific seats at the back of buses, which is exactly what Parks had done.
Soon after, a white man failed to secure seating space at his designated area. The driver subsequently instructed Parks and three other black passengers to surrender their seats. She resisted and was immediately arrested.
The incident resulted in a great uproar among the blacks. Subsequently, an equality movement was formed, with its leader being Martin Luther King Jr. Its members staged many peaceful protests that pushed the Supreme Court to declare segregated seating illegal. In the subsequent years, the blacks attained equality in employment, housing, education and the social system at large.
In the years that followed the Civil War, there was a clear lack of commitment to end the habitual discrimination of black people, a habit that was more prevalent in the southern states of the nation. Towards the middle of the twentieth century, a vast majority of blacks felt they could not take it anymore. With support from a considerable number of whites, they partook in protests that spanned the course of two decades.
There was an effort to reinforce the aspect of equality after slavery was abolished. This began with the passing of the fourteenth amendment. This act, passed in 1868, assigned an equal level of protection to blacks under law. A further amendment in 1870 furthered this cause by making it a right for blacks to vote. These efforts enraged the majorly white population down south, being as they viewed the blacks as inferior owing to their long held position as a slave race.
This widespread hatred brought about the establishment of Jim Crow laws in the years leading up to the end of the nineteenth century. The laws, passed by the southern states, were meant to separate blacks from whites. It meant that blacks could not use the same public amenities as whites, including schools. Black and white intermarriage was also made illegal. Furthermore, blacks were not allowed to vote as voter literacy tests were skewed against them.
Luckily, Jim Crow laws were not enacted in the north. Nevertheless, discrimination continued to be prevalent. Getting an education or buying a house was a near impossibility for the ordinary black man. Sadly, some northern states still passed laws to limit the rights of the black population to vote.
A number of events led up to the start of the historic activism of the 1950s and 1960s. It all started on the 1st of December, 1955. Rosa Parks, a 42 year old lady, took up her seat on a bus after work in Montgomery, Alabama. Back then, segregation laws required blacks to seat at specific seats at the back of buses, which is exactly what Parks had done.
Soon after, a white man failed to secure seating space at his designated area. The driver subsequently instructed Parks and three other black passengers to surrender their seats. She resisted and was immediately arrested.
The incident resulted in a great uproar among the blacks. Subsequently, an equality movement was formed, with its leader being Martin Luther King Jr. Its members staged many peaceful protests that pushed the Supreme Court to declare segregated seating illegal. In the subsequent years, the blacks attained equality in employment, housing, education and the social system at large.
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