Goals Of Civil Rights Movement

Freedom, opportunity and a better life. Regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. The American Dream, an ideal defined by James Truslow Adamas in 1931. Something Americans want to live by. A large contrast to what the situation was like for many people in the country. The oppression of non-white people has been a dark past in the history of the United States. In this essay, I will direct my attention towards the more recent Civil Rights Movement in the United States, which reached national prominence between 1954 and 1968. I will look at three of the best-known incidents of nonviolent protests, then discuss to what extent it reached its goals, and if a similar movement in contemporary America is needed. To answer this question, one must first establish what the goals for the Civil Rights Movement was. If we look to Martin Luther King jr. and his speech, “I have a dream” delivered on August 28, 1963, we will find the essence of their goal. It reads as follows, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.” Trough social movements, people wanted to end racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans.

This because of the nature of civil disobedience, the protestors cannot but win, if they stay true to the process. Almost no matter what the state enforce upon the participants they will look bad doing so. The media loves these stories and people in general loves it, but before and in the midst of these public actions we find two political struggles. Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 both influenced the integration of African Americans in the society. Brown v. Board of Education overturn the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896, where the Supreme Court ruled in favour of stopping segregation of students in public schools. At first, it would have created a stir, since many parents and students were uncomfortable with the change. However, one can only imagine how important this was for the desegregation. Children would play, learn and live together seeing that the only difference between them were the colour of their skin. This in turn would create a new generation of grownups who wouldn’t alienate other people because of their looks. The Civil Rights Act is a civil rights legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex or national origin. It were to end inequality, enforce the right to vote, equal employment opportunities and protect constitutional rights in public accommodations. At first, the power to enforce the act was weak, but