The Struggle For Black Equality Summary

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The first three chapters of the reading, The Struggle for Black Equality, Harvard Sitkoff runs through the civil rights movement in the 20th century; outlining the adversities facing black people, the resistance to black equality, hindrances to the already progress and the achievements made in the journey for civil rights. John Hope Franklin, in the foreword, dwells on the impact of the time between 1954 and 1992 and the impact it had on American Society, how fight for equality is far from easy and patience is required in the fight to "eliminate the road blocks that prevent the realization of the ideal of equality". In the preface, Sitkoff is clear that that history does not speak for themselves and attempt to detail any particular will be influenced by the author 's personal beliefs. Sitkoff, who associated and identified with the movement, believed "that the struggle was confronting the United States with an issue that had undermined the nation 's democratic institutions". Sitkoff elected …show more content…

Segregation was still apart of US custom, black people were still denied seating with white guests at diners and public restaurants. Four students from Greensboro, North Carolina decided to have stay seated in their seats and in turn sparked a revolution of "sit-ins" all around the country. News spread of another bold defiance from white supremacy and support came running in, even support from white allies who decided no longer to be just witnesses to this oppression. A newer younger civil rights movement was birthed from these young men, but with this movement, there also came pressures against them from within the black community. From the black older cook who reprimanded the boys for seating, blaming their defiance for the employment troubles facing black workers, to the older black figures who opposed the students actions for sometimes altruistic, sometimes selfish reasons. These sit-ins exposed the savagery of white supremacy and did not impede the faith of these