African American Empowerment 1945-1968 Essay
By: Manraj Singh The African American Civil Rights Movement (1945-1968) was a mass protest against the segregation present in the United States during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. Despite severe resistance and violence from those who wanted to keep the segregation present in many aspects of day-to-day life, African Americans continued to fight for equality using non-violent methods, with a few exceptions. During the time period from 1945 to 1968, African Americans attempted to gain equal rights by leading boycotts, filing lawsuits against establishments where segregation was prevalent, and by raising awareness of the issues regarding segregation that were present in the United States. African Americans
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Several speeches and protests were held during the civil rights movement, such as the Birmingham Children’s March in 1963, or the “We Shall Overcome Speech” in 1965. However, inarguably the most famous speech and march of them all were the “I have a Dream” speech, and the March on Washington, respectively. The “I have a Dream” was delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28th, 1963, and is regarded as one of, if not, the greatest speeches of all time. An audience of around 250,000 people gathered to listen to his speech, including members of all races. The Washington March took place at the same time as Martin Luther King Jr’s speech, as the speech was delivered during the march. These two events raised awareness of the segregation present in the United States to the entire world, as, at the time, the audience of 250,000 people was the largest to have ever been gathered in Washington D.C. The eternal words of Martin Luther King Jr. were conveyed nationwide, opening people’s eyes to his “dream” of equality across the nation. These two events were the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, as they inspired African Americans all around America to fight for equality, bringing attention to the issues present in society at the