Steven F Lawson Running For Freedom Summary

In 1987, PBS started airing a fourteen-hour documentary series on the civil rights movement called Eye on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement. The purpose of this series was to inform the public about the civil rights movement from 1954 -1985. In episode six, “The Bridge to Freedom” the series turns it focus onto Selma, Alabama right before the death of Lee Jackson. The documentary which is based on primary sources including both images and interviews of SLCC leaders, SNCC leaders, personal friends of Martin Luther King Jr., supporters of segregation, and television reporters give a broad over view of the events in Selma from a plethora of perspectives.

Baker famously stated, “strong people don’t need strong leaders”. Relating to a point brought up in Cobb’s book, “nonviolent direction actions” (90) brought upon real change in the South with SNCC leading at the forefront of voter registration drives for African-American beliefs. Done in the early 1960s, during the latter half of decade other Black groups would empathize political power spurred by African-Americans as a key ingredient to ensuring their rights increased as citizens in the country. The early grassroots organizing done by groups such as SNCC played a crucial role in the success of the

By Thomas C. DeNoville DOB: September 25, 1995 Major: Criminal Justice Submitted To: Scott H. Bennett, PhD HI-132, Section 12 15 April 2015 Introduction (1 par). Includes argument, research question, & main themes. Last sentence in Intro begin with these 4 words: “This paper argues that …” Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. helped influence Reverend James Lawson to become one of the best known civil right activists of his era.

“Freedom Is an Endless Meeting: Democracy in American Social Movements,” by Francesca Polletta focuses mainly on the strategies, methods, and tactics of three groups from the 1960s. The aim of the book was to exemplify the participatory democratic decision making in social movements. The first movement studied by Polletta was the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, which was a network of both black and white youths, many of which became the main organizers of the Mississippi Freedom Struggle. The second movement studied were the Students for a Democratic Society, who tried to emulate Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee’s organizing approach in seven cities in the northern United States. After the group participated in protesting the Vietnam War, the Students for a Democratic Society became a movement with a membership level in the tens of thousands.

Throughout the years of the 1950’s and 1960’s the civil rights contributed to building leaders fighting for the civil rights of African Americans. In today’s time there are only a few people who are thought about when the words “civil rights” come up. Leaders such as Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X are names that ring bells to those talking about civil rights, but even though those people played a significant role there were people who were equally effective but not as known. A man by the name of James Forman is one of the civil rights leaders whose name rarely comes up but his actions and job throughout the civil rights effected it entirely.

Americans have lost their lives for centuries in exchange for our nation’s freedom, but is every citizen really free? President Lyndon B. Johnson addressed congress following a police beat down during a peaceful protest in Selma, Alabama. The protest led by Martin Luther King became a turning point in American history; attacks on African American’s at Selma sparked reason in the eyes of many. Johnson used his address to Congress as a call to action, his goal was to ensure freedom and equality for all citizens; they shall not face persecution for the color of their skin. “We Shall Overcome” suggests that the text focuses on the constitutionality of the police beat down in Selma, Alabama and the concern of how our nation will overcome the issues of racism.

African Americans face a struggle with racism which has been present in our country before the Civil War began in 1861. America still faces racism today however, around the 1920’s the daily life of an African American slowly began to improve. Thus, this time period was known by many, as the “Negro Fad” (O’Neill). The quality of life and freedom of African Americans that lived in the United States was constantly evolving and never completely considered ‘equal’. From being enslaved, to fighting for their freedom, African Americans were greatly changing the status quo and beginning to make their mark in the United States.

Civil rights has been a very harsh and long fight for those condemned to the title of Black, colored, or negro. Slavery in our country dates back all the way to 1619, where Africans were sold from Africa, to help colonize the new Americas’. Slavery then continued throughout the centuries, until those who were slaves, rose up against the unethical view on slavery. With this, certain people began to push against the ‘lost’ civil rights of the colored people. Two of these people include the well-known civil rights activist and as well as the well-known Stokely Carmichael.

In our cultural the task of gaining freedom is never easy to obtain. Stephen Rose, in his poem ‘The Stones Cried Out’, states, ‘How long will it be till a voice of liberty can speak so free’. The quote reflects on how long will it be till a brave prophet of the African- American community will testify their freedom with a voice of no chains or restraints openly without regard. This poem relates to the historical activist Martin Luther King Jr who was above all else a voice of liberty within the American-American community aiming for his people to have Equal rights. Furthermore, the journey during the Civil Rights did not go without tears and blood.

‘Opposition to AA civil rights remained powerful throughout the period from 1865 – 1992’ – How far do you agree? (25 marks) Opposition to African American civil rights came from a multitude of people and different groups. The KKK had an obvious resentment towards African American’s and they made this clear through their actions. However, opposition also came from the government, in the form of JFK, who always spoke about equality but let the south continue with their violence and violent state of mind.

Living within this prejudiced society caused African Americans to hope for a better life, and these dreams gave them a sense of purpose. They realized “the black man in America is in a perpetual state of slavery”, and their dreams gave them a reason to transform society’s mindset (SNCC 264). Looking forward to the future and dreaming of civil rights gave African Americans a reason to unite and rise up together as one group. Dreams gave them a purpose to continue fighting. African Americans did not stop pursuing these dreams, and they ultimately accomplished their goals and obtained civil

Throughout his memoir “Walking With the Wind” John Lewis explained the generational divide within the Civil Rights Movement and how it shaped the movement as a whole. The older generation like Martin Luther King Jr. and those of the NAACP like Thurgood Marshall believed in a slower, more conservative approach. On the other hand, the younger generation such as Lewis and his SNCC compatriots believed in dramatic, more radical measures to cause change. The key differences between the older generation and younger generation of civil rights activists lay in who is involved in the movement, their methodology, and The beliefs of the older generation of civil rights activists differed greatly from those of the younger generation The first difference

The graphic memoir, March, is a biography about Congressman John Lewis’ young life in rural Alabama which provides a great insight into lives of black families in 1940s and 50s under Jim Crow and segregation laws. March opens with a violent march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which the gruesome acts later became known as “Bloody Sunday,” during this march, 600 peaceful civil rights protestors were attacked by the Alabama state troopers for not listening to their commands. The story then goes back and forth depicts Lewis growing up in rural Alabama and President Obama’s inauguration in 2009. This story of a civil rights pioneer, John Lewis, portrays a strong influence between geography, community, and politics. The correlation between these pillars of March is that they have to coexist with other in order for John Lewis to exist that the world knows today.

Many countries concurred with Luther King and agreed with his ideas because he made a difference for African-Americans and took a stand against racism. Yet the question today, over forty years later is: Was the African-American civil rights movement an overall success? Or is it the same now as it was back in 50’s and 60’s? For the purpose of this assignment the author will explore the literature and discuss the notion that racism and equality has changed as a result of the civil rights movement.

Two incredibly influential speeches written a century apart are greatly remembered in the fight for solidarity and freedom. In Abraham Lincoln’s and Martin Luther King, Jr’s speeches “The Gettysburg Address” and “I Have a Dream” the authors both passionately target the ideas of liberation and unity. While both speeches written years apart they still both acknowledge the same civil issues in their society and the action that needs to happen to overcome these issues. Lincoln and King both convey the problems of racial injustice in their beautifully written speeches and the unity that needs to happen to improve the country.