Journey to Equality free essay sample

America was in a hard place and needed to make many changes to its many issues that were causing the country to be less than efficient (Risen, 2011). African Americans were treated as lower class and were often denied human rights. The basic human rights that every American is born with regardless to race, age or gender are shelter, food and safety (Shelton, 2012). This was something that really needed to be changed. America was recovering from four years of the hardships of the Civil War and the confederacy pushed to bring more African Americans to their plantations to continue to use them as slaves. It is often thought of by historians that the major cause of the Civil War was to due to the want for slavery (Bowles, 2011). White farmers had many slaves for their workers and allowed them to live in the slave shacks provided on the farmers land. The South eventually began to move forward with positive changes in growth and development in the 1880’s. The white farmers had begun to develop their shacks that once housed their slaves, into homes for whites and African Americans to live while they continued to work. These homes were not the greatest but they were no longer called the slave shacks and provided basic shelter. This was considered redemption which was the time where whites sought to find forgiveness for the sins they had caused. This was a great step forward in the right direction. Even though positive changes were happening within the country at this time, new ways of segregation were developing which held not so positive responses from the whites. In 1877 White farmers and politicians found that the African Americans started to hold too many rights and privileges and because of this they started to restrict their rights. This caused stress between the whites and African Americans. While the government put laws in place that prohibited discrimination due to race, whites proceeded to develop segregated white only areas within their homes and businesses. This allowed for African Americans and whites to be treated equal and yet be segregated. The government created ways to restrict the rights of African Americans by creating laws that would make being eligible to vote harder for them. The government developed a poll tax which was a fee they charged in order for African American’s to vote. These taxes generally led to African American’s declining their â€Å"right† to vote as they chose using the little money they had to provide for their families instead of paying to vote. Another law they created were ones that stated that one must be able to read in order to vote (Bowles, 2011). African Americans received little to no education and most were unable to read. Having this law for voting made many African Americans ineligible to vote. This brought in W. E. B Du Bois who was in support of a percent of African Americans to obtain an education (Sanders, 1997). Du Bois was a very educated white man who did not believe that Washington’s idea of segregation was a very good one. He did not believe that this would help bridge the gap between the whites and black and had no solid grounds for being. Du Bois provided much support for an organization called National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. This wonderful organization was developed to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to end discrimination based on race (NAACP, n. d. ). In 1896 the Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson legalized racism by allowing there to be equal but separate facilities for the whites and blacks. Although this law was passed in order to guarantee that all are treated equal as long as separate, rarely was it actually equal and followed through with the legal support. The 1920’s had brought big changes for the African Americans as they became more unhappy with their life situations they decided to leave the south and head for a better life in the North. This was known as the great migration. As they left their problems in the south they had encountered new problems in the north, such as housing, health care and safe living conditions (Ayers, 2009). As the World War developed African Americans joined the military. They were treated as less than the white soldiers, they were even denied honorable medals such as the Medal of Honor. The soldier groups were separated whites and blacks. The black soldier groups had a white leader. This brought the blacks to take this opportunity to fight for their rights. If they are fighting for our country as the white soldiers were then they should be treated as fairly as them too. They often times disobeyed orders from their white leader in order to prove their points and to show they were going to fight for their rights. This was a big deal because blacks who disobeyed were subject to severe punishments and sometimes even death. The civil rights movement is the very important fight for equality for all people. This movement was not only for African Americans but for equal rights for all people (Hamilton, n. d). The most memorable developments occurred in year 1954, the court case of Brown versus the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This case debated the segregation of students due to race. This helped to revisit the Supreme Court’s decision in the Plessy v. Ferguson case held in 1896 which states that there were to be equal rights among the races but that it was okay to have separate facilities such as bathrooms, fountains and other public facilities for blacks and for whites. This was known as separate but equal, which was still a form of racism. The outcome of the trial was that it was in fact unequal for there to be a separate white school and a separate black school. This was a big step forward in the civil rights movement and would help to move further to solve even more injustices. There was a major push back for many of the whites when equality was being enforced this was called massive resistance. It was necessary to use military to be sure that the laws were being followed and that people remained safe during this major transition. During this transition even with the military on guard there were many blacks that were injured for such reasons as looking at a white woman and children endured being harmed by rocks being thrown at them on their travels to and from school. As the Civil Right Movement progressed there were still areas that needed work. A female African American worker Rosa parks took her seat on the bus on the way home from work. The rules were that African Americans were to give their seats up to a white person who asked them to, and they were not allowed to sit across from a white. Parks stood her ground and simply told him â€Å"no† that she would not give up her seat, even after the bus driver asked her to move. The next stop the white man got off the bus and called the police and had her arrested. This unfair event brought on the interest of 26 year old Martin Luther King Jr. King was a young pastor and lead organizer of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This organization helped address the unfair issues regarding African American and their use of the public bus system. King led the boycott which was when African Americans avoided use of the bus at all costs. They protested in a non violent manner and this was very important as often times protests ended in violence and death (Strickland, n. d). Kings main concern was expressing the need for equality for all people regardless of race, gender, or age not just for African American’s or other minorities (Kirk, J. n. d. ). He was such a large part of the Civil Rights Movement. He was also responsible for holding noviolent protests. His speeches and his leadership helped many people including African Americans and women to fight for their rights for equality. King became such a powerful figure in history and he will never be forgotten and his words and famous speech â€Å" I have a dream† will forever live on. African Americans and their rights and freedoms have come such a long way over the years and continues to grow. The African American culture has worked very hard to fight for and keep and gain respect for their equality. Although, not always respected in today’s society just seeing how far they have come will only become strong as a culture as the years pass on and will gain the respect from more and more in our society. I am very proud of how far our country has come since the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. I cannot imagine living in a world where on race is predominately more respected than another. I agree that there are still people who believe their race is more important but I think that is getting better and better. We are so lucky to have had people like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr to take a stand for their rights and rights of others. As a woman in today’s society I am so lucky to have been always able to have the same rights as any other in our country. References: Bowles, M. (2011). A history of the United States since 1865. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education. Shelton, Dinah L. Human rights. World Book Advanced. World Book, 2012. Web. 6 Jan. 2012. Risen,  C.. (2011). â€Å"The Fire Last Time. † Democracy,(22),  106-113. Retrieved January 9, 2012, from Research Library. (Document ID:  2487220621). Hamilton, Charles V. Civil Rights Act of 1964. World Book Advanced. World Book, 2012. Web. 9 Jan. 2012. Kirk, J. (n. d. ). The Long Road to Equality for African-Americans | History Today. History Today | The Worlds Best History Writing. Retrieved January 9, 2012, from http://www. historytoday. com/john-kirk/long-road-equality-african-americans Sanders, M. 1997). Overcoming Obstacles: Academic Achievement as a Response to Racism and Discrimination. Journal of Negro Education, 66(1), 83-93. Strickland, L. (n. d. ). Martin Luther King Jr. s fight for equality . Marines. mil The Official Homepage of the United States Marine Corps. Retrieved January 9, 2012, from http://www. marines. mil/unit/mcascherrypoint/Pages/MartinLutherKing%27sfi ghtforequality. Our Mission | NAACP. (n. d. ). NAACP | National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Retrieved January 22, 2012, from http://www. naacp. org/pages/our-mission