Premium Essay

Essay On Civil Rights Movement

Submitted By
Words 573
Pages 3
Entertainment reflects the times in which it was made. Music, film, television, theater radio and news print have all reflected the times of the Civil Rights Movement. Music has reflected the spirit of the movement. Television has been used to show the harsh reality of the movement. Film and theater have shown representations of African American life during the movement. Radio has been used to spread the message of the movement. All of these forms of entertainment were used to reflect the politics, beliefs, ideologies and the experience of the Civil Rights Movement. The music of the 1950’s and 1960’s has been the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement. Music has been used to lift up the spirits and used to motivate those involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Different genres of music have been used over the course of the movement. At first gospel music was the main form of music used during the movement. Songs such as “This Little Light of Mine” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” were sang to show the optimism and hope for change in the United States for African …show more content…
Both of these songs promote non violence and are even more hopeful as displayed in the lyrics of “We Shall Overcome”. “Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe, We shall overcome, some day” (Tindley, “We Shall Overcome). These lyrics show that African Americans will continue to rally and march for equal rights and freedom no matter how long it takes, shown by the lyrics of “,some day”. Sam Cooke’s song represents the fear of the common African American in the movement through the lyrics, “It’s been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die” (Cooke, “A Change Is Gonna Come”). These lyrics reflect the experience of how African Americans have a hard time dealing with the everyday struggle of Jin Crow and the constant fear of being killed if they try to stand up to this

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Process Essay: The Civil Rights Movement

...THE CIVIL RIGHTS In this essay I will be discussing the topic of the civil rights movements, and the important of this movement. In this movement lots of people scarified a lot just to be treated equally, and have the same rights as everyone. People as fought for this movement to have equal protection from the law, because during these times, people were being decimated due to their culture or there their skin color. This is the only way to gain equal right/protection from those ignorant people. Civil rights are the basic freedoms that belong to all citizens of a nation. In the Untied States of America civil rights re guaranteed by the constitution and its amendments. These rights...

Words: 408 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Personal Opinion Essay: The Civil Rights Movements Today

...It is very clear that we have civil rights movements today. We have the anti-gun rights, black lives matter, blue lives matter, and the LGBT movement. It is almost like a war, because everybody is turning against each other and some actually end up killing each other. Let’s start by talking about the LGBT movement. I understand that they all deserve rights too, but people these days are just taking it too far. The black lives matter and the blue lives matter are in the same group. The whole black lives matter movement is starting to get out of hand. In my opinion they have taken things way too far. It’s okay to want rights and fight for them, but it’s getting to the point where enough is enough. The violence between blacks and whites needs...

Words: 690 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Afericna American

...African American's Journey Essay Below is a free essay on "African American's Journey" from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples. “African American’s Journey to Freedom” Charity Johnson HIS204: American History since 1865 Instructor: Leslie Ruff February 11, 2013 “African American’s Journey to Freedom” To some African Americans it may seem ironic that The United States of America is known as “the land of the free” considering that majority of their ancestors entered the US as slaves. African Americans were brought to North America via the middle passage which originated during the fifteenth century.   They were enslaved for approximately 400 hundred years until the end of the Civil War in 1865. Although African Americans were enslaved in America, they were determine to survive and one day be freed in this great country. During The African American’s journey to freedom several significant events took place which was inclusive of but not limited to: The Civil Rights Movement of 1865-1877, Separate but Equal Legislation (Plessy vs. Ferguson court case) in 1896, The Harlem Renaissance of 1920, Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, The March on Washington Movement of 1963, and The Black Power Movement of the late 1960s and 1970. I will discuss the significance of these events in relation to the African American journey to freedom and how they have help shape American society today. THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT OF 1865-1877 Frequently when...

Words: 5251 - Pages: 22

Premium Essay

Southern Black Women

...Black southern women and the civil rights movement Southern Black Women in the modern Civil Rights movement played a major role during the Civil rights movement. Women all over were trying to make a difference in the areas that they lived in mainly the south. In Merline Pitre's and Bruce Glasrud book Black Southern Women and the Civil Rights Movement. They begin to discuss southern black women perspective on racism and their experiences during the modern civil rights movement. These women protested, participated in sit in and help change the inequality in the Deep South. The book is divided up in chapter specific to the states that racism affected in the south. The books discuss women experiences they faced during the civil rights movement in different states. The modern civil rights movement according to the authors is specified as the period of time in the U.S from 1954-1974. Jim Crow laws were intact, schools were segregated. Public accommodations and voter’s registrations In the first few paragraphs discuss the scholarship on the civil rights movement. Paragraph one we are introduced to Irene Morgan and Barbara Johns both women talked about their experiences and how they led up to the freedom rides. We also are introduced to the Brown vs. Board of education, sought to end segregation in an institutional setting and spearheaded the movement to end segregation. The inequality of education was a major issue during the modern civil rights era. These women wanted equality...

Words: 616 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

The Relationship of Southern Jews to Blacks and the Civil Rights Movement

...the Civil Rights Movement Since the 1960’s historians and many other scholars have tried to delve into the relationship of blacks and Jews. The experiences of blacks and Jewish people have common histories of dispersion, bondage, persecution, and emancipation. Their relationship can be primarily recognized since the formation of the NAACP in 1909. During the civil rights movement, this organization played a key role in the black-Jewish alliance. However, many scholars have argued if there ever was an alliance between the two, and if so, what might have caused this alliance to break? We may generalize that today’s relationship between the two groups is a relationship in which Jews are superior in regards to social position. In my research I analyzed the works of several scholars to seek the involvement of southern Jews with blacks and the Civil Rights movement. In his 1973 publication of The Provincials, Eli Evans argues that the South is one of the least anti-Semitic regions in the Nation. Among their gentile neighbors, Jews had been accepted as white members of Southern society during the civil rights movement. At this time Jews barely made up one percent of the South's population. Even though a large portion of white civil rights activists were Jewish, the percentage of Jews in the South that took part in the civil rights movement was significantly smaller compared to Jews in the North, because many Southern Jews were afraid to actively support the civil rights movement...

Words: 2899 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Black Music and the Civil Rights Movement

...Anna Munoz Dr. Jones DISC 1313 December 4, 2015 Music and The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s All forms of Black music, from jazz to rock and roll, played an important part in the Civil Rights Movement. The songs were sung for multiple purposes and played a critical role in inspiring, activating, and giving voice to the people involved. The evolution of music during the early 1950’s and 1960’s in the Black freedom struggle reflects the evolution of the Civil Rights Movement itself. The progressive thought of the 1950s nurtured new ideas and cultures including the Civil Rights Movement and the fast spread of rock and roll. One such cultural revival occurred after the end of World War II during a time of change, prosperity and restoration.  The “Puritan dicta” outlined by Baldwin represents the American ideology before the Second World War. As the first settlers of this nation, the Puritans set the mold for many common American ideologies.  In the Puritan view white represented good and black represented evil, including Africans and their culture.  After the war, Baldwin states that the former puritanical views of whites will be challenged.  Musicians such as Elvis Presley were the first to issue this challenge to white society.  Early rockers like Elvis would pave the way for social commentary in music that would add much fire to the Civil Rights Movement. To fully understand the explosion of popularity of Black music in the years following World War II, one must understand...

Words: 4492 - Pages: 18

Free Essay

Student

...Thematic Essay Practice – Reform Movements US History/Napp Name: __________________ From the August 2004 New York States Regents/ U.S. History & Government THEMATIC ESSAY QUESTION Directions: Write a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, several paragraphs addressing the task below, and a conclusion. Theme: Reform Movements Task: Some suggestions you might wish to consider include the abolitionist movement, Populist movement, Progressive movement, women’s rights movement, civil rights movement, and the labor movement. Gathering the Facts: 1- The Abolitionist Movement • “The goal of the abolitionist movement was the immediate emancipation of all slaves and the end of racial discrimination and segregation. • Advocating for immediate emancipation distinguished abolitionists from more moderate anti-slavery advocates who argued for gradual emancipation, and from free-soil activists who sought to restrict slavery to existing areas and prevent its spread further west. • Radical abolitionism was partly fueled by the religious fervor of the Second Great Awakening, which prompted many people to advocate for emancipation on religious grounds. • Abolitionist ideas became increasingly prominent in Northern churches and politics beginning in the 1830s, which contributed to the regional animosity between North and South leading up to the...

Words: 2348 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

History Extension

...Was the legislation that gave African Americans equal rights to ‘whites’ the result of famous, glorified leaders such as Martin Luther King and Lyndon Johnson or was it those who worked behind the scenes, the local groups and individuals, who set the stage for these legal amendments to be possible? The Civil Rights Movement was one of the most significant events in the modern history of the United States that has formed the basis of many of its core values and laws today. The Civil Rights Movement unofficially ended with the passing of the long awaited “1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act” which legally saw an end to the racial discrimination faced by African Americans. However the historiography of the Civil Rights Movement has “undergone some serious revision” since 1965 as it ‘gained popular appeal.’ Initially the Civil Rights Movement was “romanticized” and considered to be a “heroic narrative of moral purpose and personal courage by which great men and women inspired ordinary people to rise up and struggle for their rights” such as the famed Martin Luther King, who was painted as the ‘driving force behind the movement’ ,President Lyndon Johnson and Kennedy and organisations such as ‘The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People’ (NAACP) This idea of the federal government, prominent leaders and organisations playing the defining role in the passing of these bills soon became less plausible in the 1970’s and 1980’s as the “second...

Words: 3577 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

En 209 Civil Disobedience Critical Essay

...Lloyd Wyse Melissa Hull EN 209-014 April 18, 2012 Critical Essay: Civil Disobedience Civil disobedience is the active refusal to comply with certain laws or demands of a government, such as paying fines or taxes. Although it is not necessarily on-violent, it has classically been attributed to nonviolent resistance. The etymological origin of the term is from Henry David Thoreau’s essay Resistance to Government, written in 1849, which was eventually renamed to Essay on Civil Disobedience. Since its republication in 1866, Thoreau’s essay has inspired many important activists over the course of history. Its messages have resonated within countless people unsatisfied or disgusted with the law of the land; one of the most prominent lessons it teaches is that an unjust government can only be corrected by the defiance of its people. As long as there is an imperfect government, there will be a need for civil disobedience. Citizens of nations from all over the globe still read and learn from Civil Disobedience because even in modern times a perfect government does not exist. In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau prompts the reader to take direct action against injustice. He argues that the government is a representative of corruption and injustice that, like a machine, fuels the enabling of its wrongdoings through enforcement of law. He states that an individual’s silent compliance with the law is essentially the same as cooperation with injustices that the lawmaker commits. In particular...

Words: 1563 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

History Www Ii

...* Essays » * History World War Ii Through the 1970's By micahneisha33, March 2013 | 9 Pages (2,045 Words) | 402 Views | Report | ------------------------------------------------- This is a Premium essay Sign Up to access full essay * * * * * * March 3, 2013 In this paper I will go into details explains two major historical turning points that occurred during the period of World War II through the 1970’s, and the effect it had on today’s society, economy, politics and culture. In this paper I will also give two reasons why in the late 30’s Americans wanted to remain out of the European conflict. In this paper I will talk about the role women played to helped win World War II, will describes two civil rights breakthroughs, explain two ways the Vietnam War brought political awareness to a new generation of young Americans and I will talk about two programs that president Lyndon Johnson Great Society Agenda had put into effect and that are still into effect today. A turning point was in 1962, the world experienced a threat so real, so dangerous, and so deadly; that any believed Armageddon was approaching. The Cuban Missile Crisis was undoubtedly the closest the world has come to nuclear war in its entire existence. The presence of Soviet nuclear warheads on Cuban soil, less than 100 miles from the coast of Florida shocked the world. The discovery of the missiles was completely unexpected; the public's reaction was not. Thousands...

Words: 715 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

The Women's Movement

...The women’s rights movement was a huge turning point for women because they had succeeded in the altering of their status as a group and changing their lives of countless men and women. Gender, Ideology, and Historical Change: Explaining the Women’s Movement was a great chapter because it explained and analyzed the change and causes of the women’s movement. Elaine Tyler May’s essay, Cold War Ideology and the Rise of Feminism and Women’s Liberation and Sixties Radicalism by Alice Echols both gave important but different opinions and ideas about the women’s movement. Also, the primary sources reflect a number of economic, cultural, political, and demographic influences on the women’s movement. This chapter really explains how the Cold War ideologies, other protests and the free speech movements occurring during this time helped spark the rise or the women’s right’s movements. In Cold War Ideology and the Rise of Feminism by Elaine Tyler May, May examines the impact of political changes on American families, specifically the relationship of a Cold War ideology and the ideal of domesticity in the 1960s. May believed that with security as the common thread, the Cold War ideology and the domestic revival reinforced each other. Personal adaption, rather than political resistance, characterized the era. However, postwar domesticity never fully delivered on its promises because the baby-boom children who grew up in suburban homes abandoned the containment ethos when...

Words: 2090 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Martin Luther

...things he saw and experienced were eventually what caused him to strive for African American freedom and despise segregation. “I had grown up abhorring not only segregation but also the aggressive and barbaric acts that grew out of it.” (Martin Luther King pg 90). Martin was an extremely bright student and skipped right through his high school years and on June 1944 he entered Atlanta’s Negro Morehouse College at age 15.His father encouraged him to study ministry though his heart was set on medicine or law. During his studies at school and as a minister , two very important people came into Dr. King’s life .One of these men was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi; who was a leader in India which had a similar situation to Dr. King. Lower class of India lived in poverty and hunger while the upper class Indians and British led a separate life. Gandhi saw the need for India to gain its independence from Britain in order for all the horrors of the lower class to stop (Haskins 32). Gandhi performed strikes, boycotts and fasts against the British government and he did it in a nonviolent way. King would use Gandhi’s nonviolent tactics in much of his involvement with the civil rights movements. He called for nonviolence not only because of his dedication to the teachings of Christ but also because it was the only practical way of changing the ‘Negro; condition. (Coretta Scott King pg...

Words: 1125 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

论文Aaa

...Thesis Statement: Henry David Thoreau is one of the pioneers of Transcendentalism, and his famous work, Civil Disobedience has great effect on Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology and movement which drives the India for independence. Outline 1. Introduction 1. Brief introduction of Henry David Thoreau 2. Brief introduction of Mahatma Gandhi 2. Writing background and cores of Civil Disobedience 2.1 Writing background 2.2 Cores of Civil Disobedience 2.2.1 Conscience of human 2.2.2 Effect of morality 2.2.3 Suspicion of American’s democracy 2.3.4 In-cooperation with government 3. Embodiment on Mahatma Gandhi 3.1 Effect on Gandhi’s ideology 3.1.1 Works of Gandhi 3.1.2 Speeches of Gandhi 3.2 Effect on Gandhi’s movement 3.2.1 Gandhi in South Africa 3.2.2 Gandhi in India 4. Conclusion 1. Introduction 1.1 Brief introduction of Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau was one of the most famous writers, naturalist, philosophers, abolitionists, and the pioneers of Transcendentalism in America in 19 century. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts, 1817. Thoreau met Ralph Waldo Emerson when he studied in university. And he was deeply influenced by Emerson who advocated that man should be true to himself and close to nature. Emerson was not only a friend but also a teacher to Thoreau. They had edited the journal Sundial together. Thoreau graduated from Harvard College in 1837 and worked as...

Words: 5392 - Pages: 22

Premium Essay

History

...The Big Question How did Americans challenge the rigid social expectations that characterized the early Cold War period? What was the relationship between domestic changes of the 1960s and the US's changing foreign policy? Section 1: Short Answer (30 points) Write multi-sentence responses for the prompts below. Be specific and give examples from the history we have learned. A. Read the statement below and then analyze what it is saying about being a young person in the United States in the 1960’s. Use these questions to help you write a commentary of 3-5 sentences: (10 points) * What events and changes in American society does the writer refer to? * How is this document an example of the ‘youth culture’ at the time? "When we were kids the United States was the wealthiest and strongest country in the world; the only one with the atom bomb. . . . As we grew, however, our comfort was penetrated [filled] by events too troubling to dismiss [forget about]. . . . The Southern struggle against racial bigotry [racism], compelled [took] most of us from silence to activism. Second . . . the Cold War, symbolized by the presence of the Bomb, brought awareness that we ourselves, and our friends, and millions of abstract "others" . . . might die at any time."  —Port Huron Statement, Students for a Democratic Society The writer is referring to how America changed as he grew up. He grew up during a time when America was the wealthiest nation, but there was racism in the south...

Words: 745 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Civil Disobedience In Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

...resistance to laws positively impacts a free society. It stresses our natural rights as written in the Consititution. By doing so, we are practicing the rights to protect, assemble peaceably, and oppose laws, as stated in the First Amendment. While to some, civil disobedience may seem as an idea that destroys a society, to others (including myself) is just another way to bring about awareness and change to a society. In Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail", civil disobedience is shown throughout King's actions. King's peaceful protest movements showed resistance to several negative impacts of injustice. In the essay, King states that although Alabama clergymen were criticizing his actions, his argument was...

Words: 515 - Pages: 3