African American History

Civil Rights Movement

History of US democratic system is over two hundred years old . During these two hundred years , the system has faced various challenges various issues that were resolved present new challenges . This is a part of evolution of the democracy . Since American democracy has been a benchmark for many a democracies around the world , the expectations from American system have forever been high , however , the reality has occasionally been below par . Yet the country has developed and flourished , through a persistent process of adjustment and conciliation One of the

major challenges that the country has faced in the past has been the racial discrimination and to the credit of the system , the country has come out as more united and stronger than ever

The Civil war that though united the country and ended the slavery in southern states however created a schism in the society . In spite of efforts from whites , which professed equality for all , the issues related to blacks ' were left for states to decide . However , the laws prevailing and enacted in many of these states compulsorily isolated the races and offered a `second-class ' status for African Americans . In several cities and towns particularly in South , African Americans couldn 't legally share a taxi with whites (Holt , Brown 2000 a ) or have a common entrance to a building . They were not allowed to drink water from the fountains used by whites . Law forbade them from using common restrooms with whites , attending common schools , and they even had to swear on separate Bibles and be buried in graveyards meant for blacks only (Hine et al 2006 a ) They were not welcomed at restaurants and turned away from public libraries . Even many parks had signboards read "Negroes and dogs not allowed " and all this in the name of law . The judiciary , the police , and organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan all enforced these inequitable practices (Holt , Brown 2000a ) Lynching of blacks was also prevalent and as per estimates approximately forty five hundred African Americans were lynched in the US during 1882 and early 50s . Thomas Jefferson 's inspiring words , in the Declaration of Independence , defined the pledge of America- freedom and equality for all . The words sounded empty for the millions of African Americans who were treated as slaves before the civil war and subsequently judgments that called them separate but equal ' ensured that they were denied political , economic , educational , and social equality by unfair laws and social background . It was only after a struggle of centuries that African Americans were able to achieve the freedom and equality in the US in mid-20th century in a laudable movement that has been termed as the modern civil rights movement (Hine et al 2006 c , d , e , f

Although black Americans had been fighting for equal rights from the time of the end of Reconstruction , their fight for civil rights gained momentum in the 1950s and 1960s as a result of the Great Migration Second World War , and the historic...