African- American Civil Rights Movement of 1955-1968 Essay

Introduction The series of African – American Civil Rights movements, which stretched from 1955 to 1968, aimed at restoring the rights of the African – American people and liberating them from the social and racial discrimination. This movement changed the social and political structure of the United States. The main catch was that the movement accomplished successful results following the ‘nonviolent resistance’, establishing the fact that the Christian religion believed in peace and equality. Birth of the Civil Rights Movements: United States, since its foundation has endured racial inequality. The government and other major institutions were administrated by the ‘whites’ and the ‘black’ Americans lacked behind in every aspect of†¦show more content†¦By 1955, the policy of ‘Massive Resistance’ was employed which followed the pattern of non-violent resistance in the form of boycotts and sit-ins .Some of the successful movements include: Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955 – 1956) in Alabama, Greensboro sit-in (1960) in North Carolina and Selma to Montgomery marches (1965) in Alabama. The prominent leaders of the Movement include Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, Joseph Lowry, Fred Shuttlesworth, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and W.E.B Du Bois. Major issues: Voter Registration Categorization One of the major focuses of the entire movement was to reinstate the political voting rights of the African American people and include their representations in the government organizations. The alteration of the Mississippi law in 1890 included some provisions such as poll taxes, literacy tests and residency requirements which made registration for the black people close to impossible; as majority were not stable, financially as well as educationally. Some prominent local Black leaders tried to convince SNCC to promote the registration of the Black voters and help set up organizations that shared political power within the state, contrary to the conventional culture of White domination. The successful action was taken in 1961, when SNCC organizer Robert Moses took initiatives to establish a project, fulfilling the demanded terms in McComb and some otherShow MoreRelatedEssay about Lasting African Conributions to American Society890 Words   |  4 Pagesusing African slave labor. Africa slaves were not allowed to be educated. All most every African slave could not read or write because it was against the law to educate slaves for over 200 years. 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