...Civil Rights The struggle for equality has been a battle fought for hundreds of years amongst Native Americans, African Americans, and Mexican Americans. When we hear the words civil rights often we conjure images of Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his soul-stirring “I Have a Dream” speech before the nation’s capital. The truth is, minorities have been fighting for their civil rights way before the 1950’s in fact it dates way back to the early 1880’s when Native Americans lost their lands, family, culture but most importantly their rights as human beings. America deprived Native Americans of their rights and ways of living by recruiting the young children to try and stop them from growing up to become “savages,” as the USA described them and instead civilize them and turn them into men of class. The USA though they were doing the Native Americans a favor by civilizing them when instead all they were doing was destroying the most valuable thing a man has in this world which is his family. If being taken away from your family wasn’t bad enough students at federal boarding schools were forbidden to express their culture, everything from wearing long hair to speaking even a single Indian word. They lost not only their language, but also their American Indian name. In my opinion I don’t see how the USA was doing Native Americans a favor by the intent to completely transform people, inside and out, language, religion, family structure, economics, the way you make a living...
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...BROWN VS. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA The Brown vs. Board of Education ruling was a colossal influence on desegregation of schools and a landmark in the movement for equal opportunity between the blacks and whites that continues to this day. The Brown vs. Board of Education case was not the first of its kind. Ever since the early 1950s, there were five separate cases that were filed, dealing with the desegregation of schools. In all but one of these cases, the schools for whites were of better quality than the schools for the blacks. The African-Americans argued that this situation was unjust and unconstitutional1. Education has been long regarded as a valuable asset for all of America's adolescence. However, when this benefit is deprived of to a specific group, measures must be taken to defend its educational right. In the 1950's, a courageous group of activists launched a legal attack on segregation in schools. The one who headed this attack was NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall. We find that his legal strategies would contribute wholly to the closure of educational segregation. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Congress passed the 14th amendment that stated that all people born in the United States are considered citizens. The 14th amendment also proclaims that individual states cannot make any laws to take away a person's right to life, liberty, or property. Segregation laws made it permissible to keep races distant as long as each race had its own access...
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...Historically, the Civil Rights Movement was a time during the 1950’s and 60’s to eliminate segregation and gain equal rights. Looking back on all the events, and dynamic figures it produced, this description is very vague. In order to fully understand the Civil Rights Movement, you have to go back to its origin. Most people believe that Rosa Parks began the whole civil rights movement. She did in fact propel the Civil Rights Movement to unprecedented heights but, its origin began in 1954 with Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka was the cornerstone for change in American History as a whole. Even before our nation birthed the controversial ruling on May 17, 1954 that stated separate educational facilities were inherently unequal, there was Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896 that argued by declaring that state laws establish separate public schools for black and white students denied black children equal educational opportunities. Some may argue that Plessy vs. Ferguson is in fact backdrop for the Civil Rights Movement, but I disagree. Plessy vs. Ferguson was ahead of it’s time so to speak. “Separate but equal” thinking remained the body of teachings in America until it was later reputed by Brown vs. Board of Education. In 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, and prompted The Montgomery Bus Boycott led by one of the most pivotal leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. After the gruesome death of Emmett...
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...Civil Rights Essay The main purpose of the civil rights movement was for everyone to have equal rights regardless of skin color, gender, nationality, religion, disability or age. Dred Scott was told that he was not a citizen of the United States because he was a negro. Well that was until he took it to court. Browns case was made for "separate but equal" public schools for blacks and whites were unconstitutional. The case of Shelley vs Kreamer helped change the outlook today on African Americans owning property. There are three court cases that changed the path of the civil rights which include: The Dred Scott vs Standford case , Brown vs the Board of Education case, and Shelly vs Kreamer case. Dred Scott is a man that went to court to sue against Standford for the right to be considered a citizen and not a piece of property. From 1833- 1843 Dred Scott stayed in Illinois because of the Louisiana territory was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. After moving back to Missouri Scott sued for his freedom but was unsuccessful. Then that's when he brought a new case to court. Scotts master says that " no pure-blooded Negro of African descent and the descendant of slaves could be a citizen in the sense of Article III of the Constitution." Dred Scott sued for his freedom and when that didn't work he didn't let it stop him. He...
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...different from the white people. The National Association for the advancement of coloured people (NAACP). They were a black group that demanded civil rights for black people. Its mission is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination; To promote equality of rights and to eradicate caste or race prejudice among the citizens of the United States; to advance the interest of coloured citizens; to secure for them impartial suffrage; and to increase their opportunities for securing justice in the courts, education for the children, employment according to their ability and complete equality before law. Racial segregation is separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, and going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home. The black American people was segregated and this was mostly because they felt that black people was more inferior to the white people. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a racist anti-Semitic movement; at first the Ku Klux Klan focused its anger and violence on African-Americans, on white Americans who stood up for them, and against the federal government which supported their rights. Subsequent incarnations of the Klan, which typically emerged in times of rapid social change, added more categories to its enemies list, including...
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...What was the Brown vs. Board of Education Case and why was it deemed a significant step within the civil rights movement? [2] The Brown vs Board education case was a supreme court case that overturned the ruling of state-wide segregation. Instead of different places for blacks and whites, all places, such as schools were for people of black and white colour. There was no more racial segregation. This was a significant step within the civil rights movement as this is where it all started. Black people were already fighting for civil rights but by winning this case it was the beginning of the civil rights blacks had always dreamed of. 2. Who was Emmett Till? Why was the decision by his mother to display his body in an open casket, in the city...
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...Nicole Cummings POSU 343 Signature Assignment October 16, 2014 Brown vs. Board of Education The court case docketed Brown vs. Board of education was a culmination of several individuals seeking constitutional justice for their civil liberties. These brave individuals changed the course of history. This landmark case changed racial segregation in schools and allowed equal education to all regardless of race. Although the Declaration of Independence declared that all men were created equal, it wasn’t for many years after the ending of slavery that equal rights were strengthened and the effects of slavery were abolished. Amendments to the constitution were put into effect to equal out the balance of the laws due to racial segregation, but despite these amendments African-Americans were rarely given the equal treatment as their white counterparts. Many states, especially in the south, made segregation a legal practice. What became known as Jim Crow Laws, were regulations that enabled separate bathrooms, busses, and schools simply based on the color of their skin. Many people disagreed with these unjust laws, but only few made their opinion known in court. One of the first cases to be heard regarding unmerited segregation was brought to the Supreme Court by a gentleman by the name of Homer Plessy. Mr. Plessy refused to give up his seat on the train to a white man and was therefore arrested. He knew that this arrest violated the 14th amendments “equal protection clause”...
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...Struggles of the Civil Rights Movement Jason Mitchell Southern New Hampshire University The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s was a powerful political movement that not only spurred for change for the people of the African American race, but for other minority races as well. This movement peaked in the 1950’s and lasted through the ending of the 1960s. Through the numerous arrests of individuals, protests, and sit-ins around the country, marchers for a better way of living marched on. The main country that was mostly affected by the Civil Rights Movement was the United States of America. The 1954 decision of Brown v. Board of Education, 1963 March on Washington was just a corner piece of one of the biggest movement to ever happen in the US. One of America’s most notable court cases, Brown v. Board of Education, changed the mindset of so many people. From December 1952-May 1954 the case brought different viewpoints that supported the case, but it also brought negative support as well. Before the 1954 decision that ruled separate educational institutions unequal, that was the court case of Plessy vs. Ferguson of 1896 that argued that state laws should establish separate public schools for black and white children. Many people thought that Plessy vs. Ferguson was the backstage scene for the Civil Rights Movement, but others disagree. The “Separate but Equal” idea remained in America until the historic case of Brown v. Board of Education. The Civil Rights Movement called for...
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...The Brown Vs. Board of Education case started in the 1950's. Linda Brown was denied from a white school in Topeka, Kansas. Her father took the situation to court. He was appealed many times until finally he took it to the Supreme Court where nine justices ruled for him. This was only the beginning for the civil rights movement, because only Linda was allowed in the white school. Soon integration became a law for schools, but not for other workplaces, restaurants, or buses. If it weren't for Brown Vs. Board of Education, not many would have been inspired. After the case, nine African American children in Little Rock, Arkansas attempted to walk into school. Governor Orval Faubus had guards stand out to block their way. President Eisenhower...
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...Protection clause. The clause was a deciding factor in cases that involved racism. Though it sometimes limited rights, the Equal Protection clause eventually became a key element to justice. Lum vs. Rice (1927) was a Supreme Court case where the Mississippi education board did not allow a nine year old girl to attend the all-white Rosedale Consolidated School because of her ethnicity. Gong Lum’s daughter, Martha Lum, was Chinese and a native-born in the United States. One day, a superintendent at Rosedale told Martha to leave school because she was not Caucasian. Gong Lum later filed for suit and the state trial court was in his favor. The state took the issue to officials to readmit Martha Lum, however, the Supreme Court opposed the state’s decision. The Supreme Court supported their argument from the Cumming vs. Richmond County Board of Education case (1899) where it showed that schools are allowed to be separated for white and “colored” students. They also focused on whether or not Martha Lum was being denied of her equal protection of the laws from the 14th Amendment. This brought the Supreme Court to uphold the Plessy vs. Ferguson case (1896) by approaching the concept “separate but equal.” They declared that Martha Lum was not white and the Board of Trustees was allowed to exclude her from Rosedale. In 1954, the Brown family went against the Board of Education because they believed segregated schools can never be equal despite their similar...
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...Brown v. Board of Education Brown v. Board of education case took place in 1954. It is one of the most important cases in the American history of racial prejudice. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized separate schools for blacks and whites unconstitutional. This decision became an important event of struggle against racial segregation in the United States. The Brown case proved that there is no way a separation on the base of race to be in a democratic society. Brown v. Board of education is not a case just about education and children, it is a case of everybody being equal. Brown v. Board of Education was a beginning for American people to understand that separate but equal is not the same. The Brown case revealed this. It was the reason why blacks and whites do not have separate accomodations any more. Separate and equal does not exist any more, Brown v. Board of eduacation made everyone equal. The first case in which African American challenged the doctrine of separate but equal in the United States public education system was in Boston Massachusetts in 1849. Prior to Brown v. Board (1954), from 1881 to 1949 there were eleven cases initiated to try an integrate schools in Kansas. The schools that the African American children attended were not equal to their white counterparts. Most of the time the African American students had to travel farther than white students to get to their schools. The schools for African Americans were run down with-of-date...
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...monroe55 English 11B 5/14/2015 Brown vs. Board of Education Influence Civil War Not many years ago, children of all ages and different race were permitted from going to the same school together along with many other places in to United States. Districts were able to legally separate students by the color of there skin. According to the law as of now had being set into place, they said these schools had to be equal. However, back then majority of schools for the black race were looked at as “nothing” or have “lesser value” than schools with white students. In addition, what were some effects on people of color and factors that were lead to bring down segregation? Meanwhile as many historical events were passing by such as past Slavery and Wars ending. Many people question the fact of why African Americans freedom was not fully set free. The freedom was set from slavery but much more was only waiting for them. This being called segregation, from having to sit separate on the bus, drink from different water fountains that where not only labeled for “Blacks and Whites”. These things were so crucial for people of color to deal with. It was like they over came something big only to be thrown another big people against them only because of there skin tone. Setting forth more ideas of the segregation among blacks and whites it did not just begin with drinking at separate fountains and riding in the back of the bus, there was more, which was very hurtful for them to...
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...of Colored People • Plessy Vs. Ferguson-1896-separate but equal • De facto segregation-segregation by custom and tradition • Sweatt vs. Painter-schools had to admit black people • Sit-ins---would sit and refused to move in order to shame managers into integration • Brown vs. Board-Thurgood Marshall-Linda Brown-ended segregation in all public schools • Montgomery Bus Boycott-Rosa Parks-MLK was a leader • MLK-inspired by Gandhi • Southern Christian Leadership Conference-set out to end segregation • Little Rock Nine-Eisenhower hand to order troops in-LBJ helped it pass, but it was weaker • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee • Freedom Riders- rode buses in the south to protest-were beaten by Whites and KKK • Kennedy used civil rights to win election-promised support • James Meredith-applied to college, but was denied even with a court order • Kennedy assassinated, but Lyndon Johnson carries on his support of African Americans • Civil Rights Act of 1964- Gave power to made segregation illegal, gave power to federal gov. to prevent discrimination • Selma March-many were beaten in front of cameras-shocked nation • Voting Rights Act of 1965-allowed for many African Americans to vote-no more literacy tests • Even though discrimination was ending, it didn’t change people’s attitudes • Watts riot- African American neighborhood-had to send in National Guard • Kerner Commission- studied why the riots were happening • Chicago movement- march through white neighborhoods...
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...Throughout the history of the United States, the Supreme Court has made major decisions relating to the civil liberties and rights of African Americans and each major decision has had a major impact on the American Society. Three Supreme Court decisions in response to cases filed by African Americans have impacted America more than any other decisions and also highlight the gradual development of equal rights in the United States. In 1857 when tensions over slavery ran high, the Dred Scott v. Sanford decision divided the nation into two camps – slavery and antislavery and this ultimately contributed to the Civil War in 1861. Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 was a major setback in race decisions allowing African Americans to be discriminated...
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...Throughout the 19th and 20th century, African Americans have been fighting for basic rights, equality, and abolishing slavery. This is all the same movement, from Dred Scott, to the Martin Luther King Jr.’s march on Washington. The basic idea was to achieve equality. And African Americans never stopped doing that. When Dred Scott brought his case to court, he started a fire. A fire that grew and grew, until a whole movement was created. And that movement was never stopped, until African Americans were given equal rights as whites were. The Civil Rights Movement, and the abolitionist movement, are just parts of a larger fight, the equality movement. For many African-Americans, Brown vs. Board of Education was a very important case. It was a...
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