My Movement: Civil Rights
What was the conflict?
The Civil Rights movement has affected every single African-American in Daly Elementary. The movement was started in 1955, because African-Americans had rights taken away from them, African-Americans also weren’t treated equally, this inspired people to take action. This movement made many things happen such as; multi-cultural classrooms and schools, African-Americans and Caucasians to be allowed under the same roof, and equal rights for everybody in Daly Elementary.
Who is Rosa Parks?
Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist, she was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her full name is Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, and was educated at Industrial School for Girls, Alabama State Teachers College for Negroes. She became a civil rights activist after being jailed because she wouldn’t give up her first row seat in the back of the bus to a Caucasian man. Rosa Parks was married Raymond Parks, but their marriage ended after 45 years when Raymond died. Rosa had no children.
The Bus Boycott.
I stated that Rosa became a civil rights activist after being jailed because she wouldn’t give up her first row seat in the back of the bus to a Caucasian man, here’s what she did about it. Rosa started a bus boycott. The boycott began on December 1, 1955, and ended on December 20, 1956. She encouraged all African-Americans to not ride the county bus, they either had to walk, bike ride, or carpool. 50,000 African-Americans did not ride the county bus for 13 months. This peaceful protest ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional.
Who was Martin Luther King Jr.?
Martin Luther King Jr. was also a civil rights rights activist. He was born on January 15, 1929, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Martin’s name at birth is Michael King Jr., named after his father; Michael King. Michael Sr. then changed his name to Martin– in honor of the great protestant reformer. Michael Sr. also changed his son’s name too. Martin Jr. had 4 kids. He was married Coretta Scott King, who was also an activist, an author, and a civil rights leader. He was shot and killed on April 4, 1968 in Memphis Tennessee by James Earl Ray.
Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” Speech.
On August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial , in Washington D.C., during the march on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous I have a dream speech. The I have a dream part came at the very end though, the speech was about how 100 years after Abraham Lincoln freed all the slaves, African-Americans were still treated like dirt. 250,000 demonstrators attended the nonviolent protesting. Demonstrators then marched a mile-long walk from the National Mall to the Lincoln Memorial. The three-hour long program at the Lincoln Memorial included speeches from civil rights leaders and religious leaders. The day came to end with a meeting between the march leaders and President John F. Kennedy at the White House.
Bloody Sunday.
On Sunday, March 7, 1965, Dr. King and several other civil rights leaders organized three marches from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery, in a bid for voting rights for all. It involved nearly 600 protesters, (which compared his other protests was nothing) the protest got out of hand very quickly. Dr.King wasn’t present at the time of the protest, he had church duties to fulfill. Yet days before, Dr.King had met with government officials to try to ensure the marchers would not be blocking any of the main streets during the march. Even though Dr.King did that, mob and police violence still broke out. Seeing the footage made him call that Sunday, “a Bloody Sunday.” The march was aborted, and Dr.King tried several other times to get to Montgomery, only to fail. The protesters finally made it to Montgomery in March 25. Bloody Sunday was a turning point for Dr.King, demonstrating his nonviolence strategy.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The civil rights act of 1964 made everything that all the protest leaders of all movements worth it. It is a piece of civil rights legislation that outlawed any discrimination against race, color, religion, gender, or national origin.
With the determination of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and other civil rights activists, African-Americans have equal rights just as any race. Without the civil rights movement, the classrooms at Daly Elementary in 2015 would not be the way they are right now, classrooms would still be segregated, and every other thing in the school would be changed so that African-Americans and Caucasians would be separated. Nowadays, African-Americans and any other race can be together. Classrooms are a mix of all the races, and no race is separated from each other.