How Did African Americans Support Civil Rights

“We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights”(17). Dr.King explains why African Americans have the right to be impatient. He wants his white readers to understand why being given equal rights is such a important matter. The writer,a civil rights leader and pastor, is Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.

The rights and freedoms of Americans have been evolving since the decision was made to break free from England. Even though African Americans were granted freedom at the end of the Civil War they were not granted equality and they were denied many of the basic rights of enjoyed by white Americans. Things reached a boiling point during the 1950’s and 1960’s when powerful activists challenged the United States federal government to uphold their rights as American citizens. As a result, the federal government was forced to intercede with state governments on their behalf in order to restore their rights as guaranteed by the 14th and 15th amendments.

As the Civil War represented the fight between labor systems and the shift of power, Africans Americans weren’t really free. As an immediate result after the war, they were subjugated to several laws and racism swept the

Since the Independence of America in 1776 , African-American have been fighting for their civil rights in the U.S. They, since day one, have been treated different from everyone else. They were considered servants to the white folk at the time

They had many more rights than they had before however they still experienced a large amount of hate. African Americans migrated during the Great Migration due to poor living conditions and treatment in the Southeast of the United States (Phillips 33) . “For many blacks, their departure from the South was a response to, and a defiance of, the coercions used to keep them bound to segregation” (Phillips 39). In the 1920’s, treatment of African Americans was different, blacks were able to do more such as getting a job however, some felt as though the hate they would get for it wasn 't worth it. Although, there would always be challenges that African Americans would have to face such as landowners supporting the passing of laws meant to control the mobility of blacks, limit their wages, and minimize their chance to purchase and own land (Phillips 33).

From Selma to Stonewall, the civil rights and LGBTQ movement forever changed American culture by challenging the entrenched systems of injustice and inspiring generations to demand freedom and equality for all. Following the American Civil War, the Reconstruction era began with the aim to rebuild the country by bringing former confederate states back, and counteracting the political, social, and economic legacies of slavery. However, reconstruction efforts were undermined due to white supremacy groups like the Ku Klux Klan, lynchings of African Americans, segregation, disenfranchisement, and share cropping leading to lack of economic freedom. This violation of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment which was supposed to guarantee newly freed slaves

African Americans had suffered a lot of persecution in the 19th century. They had endured many years of slavery and finally achieved the end of slavery in the end of 1865. Even though slavery ended, the persecution did not. Many people formed groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) to bring up the idea of white supremacy. White supremacy had quickly spread in the south again, which was where the majority of African Americans lived.

At the end of civil war in the united states in the nineteenth century, American slaves were free, but not from discrimination. The country had expanded its territory to the west that allowed some people to relocate rather than just staying in south alone. Those who remained in the south faced various hardships whereas those who moved to the west experienced vast challenges. When the Congress passed the civil rights bill in 1866 followed by Reconstruction in the following year, it implied that the former slaves acquired equal status with the whites. In the south, the hope for racial equality among the blacks and immigrant communities was contested, more so by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which used fear and terror to promote white supremacy.

African-American in the late 1800s and early in the 1900s were socially, politically and economically restricted from participating in the Southern state. Although, slaves were abolished in the 1865, even though they were free and escape the brutality in the South, their rights of human being were still taking away from them. They were given little right such as owning property in specific area. African-American could sue, be sued and testify in court only involving other African-Americans. They were given the right to get marry, however, they could not interact or have an relationship outside of race.

The reason why so many African Americans felt that civil rights was not pushed enough in supporting their new freedom was seen here in, “The Ghetto Uprisings.” In this section Eric Foner states that, “With black unemployment twice that of whites and the average black family income little more than half the white norm.” The point here is that if civil rights had pushed freedom over and above then they might could have decent jobs and fix their poverty problems. Seen in the section, “Freedom and Equality” Eric Foner says, “Johnson’s Great Society may not achieved equality … but it represented the most expansive effort” When conditions such as this came up and fell through, African Americans began to feel that if freedom had been promoted more,

African Americans have come a long way since 1619 when they arrived from Africa on huge boats. They were not considered people. They were considered property. African Americans were described as, “a thing to be used, not a person to be respected.” They were treated as less than humans and that’s how they felt.

In order for the civil rights to anchor down, the effectiveness of peaceful protest led by African Americans led to securing the civil rights in the USA. The target of carrying out a peaceful protest was to allow African Americans to have the rights to vote, to allow them to vote for public officials who will listen to them and work for a change, than to vote against who will obey, as the 1960s was a great social change throughout the world as thousands of volunteers joined in the effort to overthrow the obstacles faced by minorities. There were some limitations; some parts in the south fewer than 40% were registered to vote. As the civil rights activists wanted to push their movement ahead through peaceful demonstrations not all considered this due to the slow pace this caused others to move towards a violent method, because knowing that there is laws and limits that will make it almost impossible for African Americans to register.

Post Civil War, African Americans started to gain rights to gain rights, and soon gain rights equal to whites. While there were some people/things standing in their way (KKK, Black Codes), in the end they got what they needed; Equality. Many acts and laws were passed to aid the new rights now held by African Americans, as well as the numerous people willing to help. New Amendments were added to give African Americans rights after the war, all giving them some equal rights to whites. The first of the three added was the Thirteenth Amendment, it gave African Americans freedom from slave owners, and stated that no one could be kept as a slave in the U.S..

Discrimination and inequality around the world is not something that can be denied. African American citizens first started out as slaves and later earned their freedom after the Civil War. However, throughout American history, black women and men faced countless amounts of discrimination from white Americans and have had their civil liberties taken away from them even thought they were free men and women. There have many civil rights movements lead by black activists to fight for black equality. However, even with so many civil rights movements, black men and women are still fighting against discrimination and equality.

Even a hundred of years later, African Americans weren’t seen equal and have the same whites. African Americans demanded to be treated the same. It guaranteed African Americans rights to vote. Blacks were not allowed were not allowed to to buy houses or share with whites. They were not allowed to go to whites schools,eat in whites restaurants, stay in white hotels, or go to white laundromats.