The Protests During The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement was the biggest turning point in U.S. history for African Americans. The Civil Rights Movement changed America from the very discriminating and racist country it was into a place where all people of different races were equal. There were also many protests during the Civil Rights Movement. All of them were meant to publicize the amount of racism in the U.S. One of the protests that opened the eye of the public the most was the Children 's Crusade. The Children 's Crusade was a group of college students who gathered outside of the 16th Street Baptist Church. They marched through the town of Birmingham and were abused by police, using fire hoses and dogs. It was James Bevel who had the idea to use children to publicize

He staged sit-ins against segregated Nashville businesses when he first began his civil rights works. He then became a director of the SCLC, which was one of the largest civil rights group during the CRM. He also convinced Martin Luther King Jr. to let him use children in protests in Birmingham. King had let Bevel start one of the most eye opening protests of the entire Civil Rights Movement, without even know that he’d done so yet. Then, when Bevel moved to Chicago he brought activism there with him. He was one of the only people during

The power of fire hoses that were turned on peaceful protesters during the CRM were high enough to rip the bark off trees. These hoses were then “turned” on the anti-protesters. This is because the public was then very aware of what the abusive behaviors of police officers and other anti-protesters were. Also, if it hadn’t been children being targeted, then the turn out would’ve been very different. People would’ve just seen it as another everyday thing back then. (Rochelle) After Bevel was finished in his days of activism, he became a Republican supporter. Thus, he assisted Louis Farrakhan (Nation of Islam Leader) with 1995’s Million Man March. Though it seems that Bevel was only here to help (which he was at first) he was sent to jail in 2008. He was convicted of incest in 2008 after his daughter, Aaralyn Mills, spoke out about herself being violated by Bevel. On December 19, 2008, 72, Bevel died (in prison) in Springfield, Virginia due to pancreatic cancer. (“James Bevel”)

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Overall, James Bevel opened the eye of the public very well to the amount of abuse black people took. Bevel began protesting early in his life and had a big impact throughout his life, even after activism. It’s clear that the actions Bevel made influenced the amount of publication of the horrible abuse towards black people during the Civil Rights