The Nature of Southern Segregation Essay - 974 Words

The Nature of Southern Segregation Eyes on the Prize v. I, narrated by Julian Bond, was launched by the episode entitled Awakenings. It documents two events that helped focus the nations attention on the oppression of African American citizens: the lynching of 14 year-old Emmett Till in 1955 and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, motivated by the arrest of Rosa Parks, who refused to relinquish her seat on a public bus to a white person. The legal and social separation of whites and blacks in a wide range of situations in order to keep blacks from advancing economically, socially, and politically and to prevent them from exercising their legal and political rights (Altman 215). The Nature of†¦show more content†¦Reactions of White Southerners to the Civil Rights Movement The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was a student civil rights group that grew out of the sit-in movement. In the spring of 1961, SNCC workers arrived in Albany, Georgia, to organize local African-Americans to fight against segregation there. Martin Luther King, Jr., was invited to the city to give a speech after more than five hundred demonstrators had been arrested. King joined the demonstration and was himself arrested. In January 1965, SCLC and SNCC set aside their differences over to launch a combined voter registration effort in the Selma, Alabama, area. More than half the countys residents were Black, but only one percent of Blacks were registered to vote. After Sheriff Jim Clark arrested a highly respected community leader, local teachers and other groups marched in protest. But the Selma campaign escalated further after violence broke out during a nighttime march in Marion, a neighboring town. Jimmy Lee Jackson, a young Black man trying to prevent his mother from being hurt by a police officer, was killed by a state trooper. In response to Jacksons death, SCLC proposed a symbolic march from Selma to Montgomery, the state capital. Governor George Wallace banned the march, but six hundred people gathered to participate just the same. In what was later called Bloody Sunday, stateShow MoreRelatedAs Far as the Crow Flies731 Words   |  3 PagesSlavery began in Mississippi before it became a state and the majority of its existence relied on the free labor of African-Americans. Jim Crow Laws enforced segregation between African-Americans and Whites in Mississippi following the end of slavery. Emmett Till was an unfortunate casualty of unknowingly going against the laws of segregation in the South. Slavery in Mississippi went through more stages than most people think. Initially, British convicts, indentured servants, and even Native AmericansRead MoreComparative Critique of Fredericksons Dixiecrat Revolt and Kelleys Race Rebels1159 Words   |  5 PagesKari Fredericksons work, The Dixiecrat Revolt, examined the growing disenchantment of Southern Democrats to the federal government, President Truman, and ultimately, the Democratic Party. These Southern conservatives rebelled against the Democratic Party in the 1948 Presidential election resulting in the eventual political realignment of the South to a two-party system, and the rise of the Republican Party within that system. The two chapters of Robin D.G. Kelleys book, Race Rebels, studied theRead MoreThe Struggle for Racial Desegregation1230 Words   |  5 Pages The Brown v. Board ruling declared segregation in schools as unconstitutional and therefore encouraging integration. Many people thought this as a turning point and the start of a social revolution that will change the way white-Americans perceived African- Americans. However, there was a belief that, although positive, the ruling did not do enough to implement the actual change. One can even argue that the ruling increased white opposition, which slowed the progress of Civil Rights. OverallRead MoreSuccess and Failure of the Civil Rights Movement Essay1580 Words   |  7 Pagessociety. Success was a big part of the Civil Rights Movement. Starting with the year 1954, there were some major victories in favor of African Americans. In 1954, the landmark trial Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka Kansas ruled that segregation in public education was unfair. This unanimous Supreme Court decision overturned the prior Plessy vs. Ferguson case during which the â€Å"separate but equal† doctrine was created and abused. One year later, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. launchedRead MoreHistory Of The Confederate Flag1455 Words   |  6 Pageshas really started to stir up in the southern states such as South Carolina, Mississippi, and Georgia. On January 30, 2001, the state of Georgia changed its flag, removing the large Confederate battle cross from the 1956 design and replacing it with the state seal of Georgia. Now, the state of Mississippi is the only state that fearlessly displays the Southern Cross in its state flag. Though several Southerners see the C onfederate Flag as a symbol of southern pride and heritage, many others see theRead MoreAnalysis Of John Lewis s The Movement 1666 Words   |  7 PagesSegregation and civil rights movements are familiar words that reflects some of the good, bad and ugly pasts of the United States of America. Though these events had its history for many centuries, but its extension into modern times created a culture that almost truncated the amazing potentials that diversity has been destined to bring to the United States. John Lewis Memoir of the movement gave a definitive insight to this period in the American history. Congressman John Robert Lewis was theRead MoreFree Blacks During The Antebellum : A Comparative And Analytical Study1017 Words   |  5 PagesPreceding his statement over 150 years, newly freed blacks began to assimilate into the white-dominated society of the United States. While slavery still dominated in the southern part of the country, blacks in the north began to be freed during and after the American Revolution. While there were instances of free blacks in southern society, as demonstrated by the case study of Louisville, KY, this newfound freedom was commonly seen throughout the northern states, such as New York City. It seems ludicrousRead MoreThe Civil Rights Act And Voting Rights1665 Words   |  7 PagesUnion States, to rebuild the southern portion to what was now coined â€Å"The United States of America,† and to ensure that the civil rights and liberties of the newly emancipated blacks were respected, President Lincoln imposed Reconstruction. Unfortunately, Lincoln was assassinated that same year and the next president, Rutherford B. Hayes took office, putting an abrupt end to reconstruction. The scandalous President Hayes was thirsty for votes, and made a promise with southern states that if were grantedRead MoreJIM CORW LAWS Essay1524 Words   |  7 Pageswhites, the so-called superiors and blacks, the inferiors. The phase that began in 1877 was inaugurated by withdrawal of Union troops from the south that would leave the future of former slaves in the hands of white southerners. The rise of Jim Crow segregation in the 1890s was not a mere expression of racism but developed out of a complex and corrupt outworking of many political causes like removal Northern troops and the disintegration of Republican influence, and economic interests like Panic of 1893Read MoreAnalysis Of The Battle Royal By Ralph Ellison1383 Words   |  6 PagesRoyal† by Ralph Ellison Life is full of obstacles, but no matter what it is we must struggle for survival. In the short story â€Å"The Battle Royal† by Ralph Ellison, the narrator talks about the clash between the African-American and white and the segregation issues. It features a young black man who has recently graduated from high school, and he is invited to give a speech to a group white gathering. While delivering the speech, he goes through humiliation from the whites as a sign of enjoyment. Therefore