University of South Florida The Long Civil Rights Movement Discussion

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s was one of the most important efforts of social action in American history. Looking at the readings and the history describe why those in the movement defined freedom as in the United States? In other words, what was their definition of freedom?

Reply:

The civil rights movement during 1950-60 years in the United States was a great impulse in the fight for Civil Rights. Black community leaders formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), led by Baptist preacher Martin Luther King Jr., a role that brought him to the forefront of the civil rights struggle. In 1954, the civil rights movement received a new impetus when the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation in public schools illegal in Brown v. Board of Education. In 1957, Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas requested that volunteers be sent from high schools across the country to attend the previously segregated school. Even though all Americans gained the right to vote, many southern states made it difficult for black citizens. They often required potential voters of color to take literacy tests, which were confusing, misleading, and virtually impossible to complete. Perhaps one of the most famous events of the civil rights movement took place on August 28, 1963, the March on Washington. It was organized and attended by civil rights leaders such as A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, and Martin Luther King Jr. Over 200,000 people of all races gathered in Washington DC. for a peaceful march with the overriding goal of enforcing civil rights legislation and securing employment equity for all. Marsh culminated in King’s speech in which he constantly said, “I have a dream…” (“I Have a Dream…”). Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech quickly became a slogan for equality and freedom. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was initiated by President John F. Kennedy before his assassination, and went into effect on July 2 of that year. Dr. King and other civil rights activists witnessed the signing. The law guarantees equal employment opportunities for all limits the use of voter literacy tests and forces the federal government to ensure the integration of public facilities.