America, Civil rights movement, Education Supreme Court
Despite the stop of slavery in the United States at the end of the 19th century, African Americans were still subjected to regular discrimination, were forced to use separate schools and public utilities from the better-quality ones of the whites, and they could not fully exercise their voting rights. By the 1950s, the blacks started to mobilize their fellow African Americans against discrimination. Civil rights groups came up and fought for equality in employment opportunities, voting rights, education, and housing. Civil rights activists engaged in various activities to challenge the draconian customs and laws to obtain equality for all Americans. The activists won some milestones; among them the 1954 Brown against Board of Education Supreme Court decision which declared unlawful and unconstitutional the states that demanded that white and black students attend different schools.
However, institutionalized and systemic racism continued to persist oppressing the African Americans. The environment, having given the African Americans the chance to see that where black and white citizens equal, attracted Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X to fight for the civil rights of black Americans. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King became significant persons in the struggle for freedom for the blacks (Waldschmidt-Nelson 142). Contrary to their image as adversaries, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X should be properly understood as fellow justice fighters in the historical African American Civil Rights Movement, who were struggling against the same evil - racism - and for the same goal - freedom for African Americans.
[...] The early backgrounds of the two activists contributed to their different reactions to American racism. Malcolm X was raised in an environment of anger and fear due to the seeds of bitterness planted in him after his house was burnt down by the Klu Klux Klan, murder of his father, divergence of his family after her mother underwent a nervous breakdown. The circumstances led him to a life driven by the desire to revenge and full of hatred. Both activists finally emerged as icons of African-American culture and caused a great impact on black Americans. [...]
[...] "The Civil Rights Movement: Struggle And Resistance, (Studies In Contemporary History) Author: William T. Ma." (2010): 304. Waldschmidt-Nelson, Britta. Dreams and Nightmares: Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm and the Struggle for Black Equality in America. University Press of Florida, 2012. [...]
[...] The violence, which was elicited by the racially founded arrest of black motorcyclists, developed to be the most lethal urban uprising at the time in the United States. The violence shook the nation, but in the next years it made the citizens come together celebrate their acquired civic freedom. Malcolm X demonstrated to the masses the lengths that human beings must go to secure their freedom (Hall 41). The civil right movement's leaders adopted the same commitment to fighting for black's freedom. [...]
[...] Malcolm achieved his success in the North while King achieved his in the South. To appreciate the achievements of the 1960s for the African- Americans requires viewing contributions of Martin and Malcolm as complements-complements that worked for a symmetric whole equality for African-Americans. In their fight against race prejudice and racism, Malcolm and Martin in 1965, began to think about the race relations and liberalism between blacks and whites. Malcolm said that the blacks needed to unite in brotherhood and advocate for unity for the blacks in the fight for their rights. [...]
[...] In 1964, Malcolm made a speech in which he declared that there would be freedom for everyone or no freedom at all. Although neither Martin nor Malcolm X began the Civil rights Movement, their articulation for African Americans collective subjectivity was imperative for the success of the resistance. However, Martin's speech widely referred to as have a dream”, encouraged resident leaders who were fighting for equality civil rights legislation. From the 1950s to the 1970s, civil movements advocating for equality, justice, and social rights were widespread in the US. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
