Civil Rights Movement!
By Gretchen Berkey
The Effects of Civil Rights
Useful Tactics
The civil rights movement was really hard because the issue they were facing was so cruel and difficult that a lot of emotion went with it, but since they were black they couldn't fight for what they wanted without threatening their lives. If they did one little thing wrong the white community could kill them for it. So their tactics took thought and planning to get the outcome they wanted.
One of their tactics was the Montgomery bus boycott. The blacks protested by not riding the city buses, they walked, hitch-hiked, or car-pooled instead! This worked very well because this was a huge number of the people who road the buses and without them it made a huge dent in the bus system. They weren't making the amount of money they needed to keep the buses running! So a law was passed that had more opportunities for blacks on public buses.
The black community organised huge marches down city streets and famous landmarks. They were stopped by police officers every time and were put through very crazy things. The police officers would bring out the guard dogs and let them bite the blacks and beat them for no reason. They would even bring out the fire hoses and spray them with water until they fell to the ground from the power of the hose. The marches were not easy but they got national attention which helped them later on the road.
The black community was very smart in their tactics. They used civil disobedience which really worked. How i see civil disobedience is disobeying the law in a civil way. They made a point and protested for what they believed in without violence. And with all the angry they built up over the years that was really amazing to see.
Taxi vs Bus
Freedom March
Peaceful Protesters
Dorothy Irene Height
Claudette Colvin
Many know the case of Rosa Parks, but another young woman stood her ground nine months earlier, and that was Claudette Colvin. In March 1955, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin and three friends were told to change seats so one white woman could sit down. While Ms. Colvin’s three friends got up and moved, she remained seated, stating it was her “constitutional right” to keep her seat. Later, two police officers came on board and arrested her. She was charged with violating segregation law, disorderly conduct, and assault and battery on a policeman. In 1956, Colvin was asked by the NAACP to be a part of a lawsuit with three other women against Alabama's bus segregation law. This became known as Browder vs. Gayle. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of those women, and the law was struck down.
A Long Time Coming- Sam Cooke
The US has changed to be better. Things that happened back then would never happen today. Blacks have rights now and are treated like whites more than 90% of the time. There are still problems in our world today and blacks are still being mistreated. We see it in the news all the time. But we have to have hope and know that one day these problems will be completely resolved and in the right place.