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The Sixties Essay

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PART 1 - ESSAY The sixties was a time of massive change and new ideas. Many new ideas were accepted while many were rejected. The events of the sixties began with the presidential election of 1960. John F. Kennedy won the election promising to use government power to stimulate the economy. Around the same time the Cuban government was overthrown by a man named Dwight Eisenhower. This is important because the people of Cuba did not like his rule and quickly started flooding into America seeking refuge. This new influx caused the U.S. and Cuba to fight resulting in the end of diplomatic relations between the two. The U.S. tried to use Cuba’s rebel citizens against them but it was a failed attempt. While this was going on the U.S. also started …show more content…

Tensions were high between the U.S. and outside countries, but they weren't the only tensions America was experiencing. During the Sixties the Civil Rights movement was making big changes. Many people staged sit-ins and many strides were made to improve the environment and education of segregated students in school. The Freedom Rides took place to celebrate and embrace their new found freedom when riding on public buses. The Civil Rights Movement experienced a lot of pushback from Southerns and KKK members while traveling the country during the Freedom Rides. The Southerns let up a little when the idea was spread under christianity that segregation is a sin. Though all these actions made great progress towards equality for people of color, many were still fighting against their newly found civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter describing how he would irradicate racial segregation peacefully and the letter became widely popularized. Soon after his letter sparked a March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous I Have a Dream speech inspiring the current President Kennedy to create a civil rights bill. Kennedy did not follow through with his promise because the Southerner …show more content…

Freedom Rides- Civil Rights advocates hosted a bold sit-in named the Freedom Rides. The Supreme Court had just ruled the outlawing of segregation on public means of transportation. In light of this new opportunity, anti-segregation activists rode on interstate buses across state lines. The rides were meant to see if the court's ruling was being taken seriously or just a silencing tool. The activists found that many southern states ignored the ruling and used aggressive and strong pushback. In spite of the pushback received, a group of the Freedom Riders traveled on buses into Washington D.C. and sat in pre-planned patterns as to annoy anyone who disagreed with their new rights. The riders obviously encountered heavy resistance from mobs filled with KKK and Southerner activists. The Freedom Riders' efforts eventually brought to light the hate in America and accumulated a decent amount of national attention. The Interstate Commerce Commission heard their plea and enforced integrated interstate transportation throughout the

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The original 'Freedom Rides' in the American South were a series of student political protests that took the form of bus journeys through the southern states. Student volunteers, both African American and white, rode interstate into the pro-segregationist south, to bring awareness to and fight for person of colours rights. This eventually led to violent protest and hostility that additionally increased public awareness of racism in society through this intensive media coverage. Due to international coverage, protests in support of the Civil Rights movement occurred in Australia as well, supporting the Civil Rights Bill that was being considered by the United States

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Before the 60s, Brown v. Board of Education was passed which led to a couple of reforms in de jure segregation, but not heavily mandated by the government. President John F. Kennedy could not do much for the movement due to his desire to keep his image in front of Southern Democrats and his lack of popular mandate in Congress. There was a groundwork set for the movement, but it had not entered its most energized form. However, when the 1960s hit, there were changes that occurred in the entire setting of the movement. The shift in goals, strategies, and support of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s can be attributed to multiple factors, including the influence of younger, more motivated activists, the increasing influence of media on public

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The purpose of Free Rider movement was to boycott the segregation on buses, the interstate and interstate transportation, failed compliance with ruling Morgan v. Virginia, on going boycott and sit-in demonstrations in the south and more. In 1961 the activists would take interstate buses into the segregated southern United States and it went on for years to protest the United State Supreme Court that to segregated buses is not right and unconstitutional. There were 436 individuals participated in about 60 separate Freedom Rides. The results were desegregation order from Interstate Commerce Commission and it was then recognized as a serious organization. Freedom Summer Project Started in the summer of 1964 in Mississippi, organized by the Council of Federated Organizations.

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The 1960s was a time of racial differences; privileges were given only to the whites. Blacks, mexican, and other races were discriminated for the color of their skin. Not only that, the blacks weren't able to use the whites fountains or bathrooms. Violence was commonly used to express how they felt over a colored person. September 15th 1963, a baptist church in Birmingham Alabama had a bombing, killing 4 children and injuring others.

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That September the Interstate Commerce Commission delivered its order to end segregation on buses and in railway stations, and the civil rights movement had an enormous triumph. Now so too does this genre of documentary film. It is easy to imagine “Freedom Riders,” attaining the status of “Eyes on the Prize,” the multipart film on the history of the civil rights movement that has been an essential component of American history classes for years. “Freedom Riders” should have an equally long life. AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

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A small group of African-American and white civil rights activists began a series of bus trips throughout the American South on May 4th, 1961 and the years that followed to take a stand and call for change against the racial segregation that was taking place in America at the time. The Freedom Rides were organised by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a US civil rights group. The African-American riders set out to test the 1960 decision that segregation of interstate bus terminals was unconstitutional. They also attempted to use 'white-only' restrooms, lunch tables and waiting rooms. It proved to be an extremely dangerous mission, they were met with hatred and violence.

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The Freedom Rides was a huge step towards desegregation in the 1960s and put many African American lives on the line. CORE created the rides to bring national attention to segregation laws in America, but mainly to test the Supreme Court’s ruling in Boynton v. Virginia (1960), the declared segregation in interstate buses and rail stations unconstitutional. Even with violent mobs and attacks, they continued on with bravery to keep pushing for desegregation. Many activists and speakers came out of these rides. As well as making segregation in bus terminals unconstitutional.

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As stated in the article titled “The Civil Rights Movement”, they stated, “public transportation was a vital site of struggle over racial justice. Black paying customers were relegated to the back of city buses, and black women in particular endured assault, humiliation, and even gunplay at the hands of white bus drivers and customers. But blacks found ways to respond to the shoving and pushing of white passengers: they boldly sat next to white women, refused to pay fares, and rang the bell for every stop with no one getting off. These subversive acts provided the infrastructure for more formal kinds of political action. As early as 1953, black church and social organizations had organized a bus boycott in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.”.

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