Civil Rights Movement

Hailey Pettijohn

Throughout the years

The years 1954 through 1968 were very eventful for the United States. The African Americans were fighting to get rid of segregation, have a just society, and to be treated equally. During the years Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X fought to help with the movement. MLK went with a non-violent form of movement where as Malcolm X on the other hand wanted to go with a different form for the movement. Malcolm X believed that the non-violent way was not working and that the African Americans needed to do something else to get what they wanted. The African Americans who followed MLK were treated very poorly and many of the times were beaten and abused by the police. The police would be violent towards the African Americans even though they were being non-violent. In the beginning the movement seemed to not be working, but throughout the years the whites began to see that the African Americans deserved more rights. Also the whites were beginning to see that the African Americans were not very different from them and that in some ways they were very alike.

Feature Article.

During the Civil Rights Movement the tactics and strategies that were used differed from person to person. The main strategy that was used was non-violent. Martin Luther King Jr. used this strategy many times throughout the Civil Rights Movement. One example of how MLK used non-violent ways to be effective was during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. During the boycott African Americans stopped using the buses fight to get rid of the segregation on the buses. This was effective ways that it was spiritually violent and not physically.

Another way that the African Americans and MLK used nonviolence to make a stand was during the marches from Selma to Montgomery. The people would walk from Selma to Montgomery to make a statement. The first march which happened March 7 was cut short due to the police standing at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Some of the people who were marching were severely beaten by the police. Even though the African Americans weren't violent at all yet they were still beaten.

Other ways that the Civil Rights Movement had successful tactics was during the March on Washington. There were around 200,000 blacks and whites who met at the Washington Monument. During this historical event MLK also gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The march was organized by a group of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations. After the march the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the National Voting Rights Act of 1965 were passed.

There were many ways that the tactics and strategy's by Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X helped get rid of segregation and helped get African Americans more rights throughout the years t

  • Little Rock Nine
Nine African American students were recurtited by the NCAAP to go to Central High School. This was the first time that African Americans and Whites went to the same school.
  • Birmingham, Alabama
Was a campain led by MLK to break segeration peacfully. MLK wanted such large numbers of people that the jails would be overcrowded and the laws wouldnt be able to be enforced.
  • March on Washington
200,000 African Americans and Whites met at the Washington Monument. This is where MLK gave his famous "I Have a Dream" Speech.
  • 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
Members of the Ku Klux Klan bombed the 16th Street Babtist Church. 4 girls were killed in the bombing, the girls were Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, and Addie Mae Collins.
  • Selma to Montgomery March
MLK and many others including African Americans and Whites marched from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama. They marched to help get rid of segregation and ended up doing the march 3 different times because the first two times they weren't aloud to go across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
  • CORE
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE were made up of African Americans . The attempted to desegregate restraints that refused to serve African Americans. The major goal of the CORE was to successfully integrate many restaurants, theaters, and other public facilities.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or NCAAP was made up of African Americans. The NCAAP supported court cases intended to overturn segregation. The major goal of the NCAAP was to not let segregation be over turned, the NCAAP won some cases such as Norris vs. Alabama.