Example Of Standing For Rights Argumentative Essay

Every human being has equal rights towards how they work, eat and stay. Everyone is free to be what they want, and no one should discriminate the other or deny them their rights. However, some people take advantage of certain situations and deny others the rights. The United States has had several cases of denial of human rights especially towards the African American race. Other immigrants have similar fates when it comes to relocation to the United States. It is like a custom where people have to undergo a series of harassments before they are taken seriously. However, the struggle to get freedom and equal rights does not come easily. People have to go through a series of hardships that most likely involve bloodshed. However, the fight is not for them but their future generations. They would not want others to go through their lifestyle. The end results are valuable compared to what they have to go through.
In the 1st of February in 1960, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, David Richmond and Ezell Blair, college freshmen made their first ever sit-in in the Woolworths store (Greensboro 1960 par 2). They got fed up of the segregation of the black community yet the Supreme Court brought an end to it in 1954. North Carolina had hot-headed white people who did not adhere to the court’s rule. They still placed labels for black and white only sections, and black people still had to sit at the back of the bus. The students wanted service from the all-White Woolworth restaurant. They did not like the food served in the cafeteria and wanted to eat in a different location. However, the staff did not serve them but they still sat there till the close of the day. The restaurant manager reported the case to the police, but they could not intervene because the boys did not pose any danger. The students researched heavily on the protest they wanted to do for them to avoid any commotion with the police. The news about their sit in sparked off other black students to begin theirs in their respective communities.
They went back there the next day to the hotel, sat down and wait for the waiters to serve them. Again, the restaurant refused and closed thirty minutes earlier. On the 2nd of February, 24 students joined the group in the sit in and two days later, white students joined in the non-violent demonstration. The demonstration spread across Greensboro, and the situation was going out of hand (Greensboro 1960 par 5). Woolworth had to shut down the premises since it did not undertake the business of the day. By the 7th of February, there was a report of more than 54 sit-ins in 15 cities across nine states. The essence of the protest was to preach equality among the races. The demonstrators lost most of their time away from the class, but that was not as important as preaching equality. Their actions were for the sole purpose of freeing people off the segregation, which they finally achieved. Woolworths changed their policy after suffering a major loss in their revenue.
Another infamous incident that brought about the fight for rights was the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The purpose of the protest was to go against the rule of blacks sitting in the back and giving the whites seats when the bus is full. The boycott lasted for 13 months and Rosa Parks, a lady who refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus (History.com par 2). What surprised people was the fact that it was a lady who had the guts to go against the rule. She was taken to court, charged and fined. Though Rosa Parks went into the books as a criminal, her action brought about protest across the city. People stopped using the cars and tracked daily to work, church, home or carpooled with other people. The bus company gave up the fight after it had recorded losses since most of their customers were the blacks. The result was freedom from segregation and begin of more protests.
The next great protest was by Martin Luther King, who came into limelight after the Montgomery bus boycott. He preached about equal rights for the whites and blacks. He is famously known for his dream in which children will live in a nation without the judgment of their skin color but by their character (More Information about Martin Luther King par 7). Martin was a role model for each black American across the nation, and his strength and courage gave the black people the strength to fight on. The black people had lost hope after their churches and schools received a series of bombings, and they could not violently fight back as it was not the movement’s cause. They had to undertake their protests peacefully if they were to speak out their troubles and tribulations.
The brave and courageous acts of these people brought forth the peace currently felt across the nation. People now live among each other in unity and help out in the day to day activities. However, there is a speck of people who do not obey the rules but they do not affect the country at large. The acts show that anything is possible; one has to be patient and think more about others than themselves. Another thing is, change begins with an individual; do not wait for someone else to start the change.

Works Cited

Greensboro 1960. 2011. Web. 23 March 2015. < http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/greensboro_1960.htm >
History.com, Staff. Montgomery BUs Boycott. 2010. Web. 23 March 2015. < http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/montgomery-bus-boycott >
More Information about Martin Luther King. 2012. Web. 23 March 2015. < http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/martin_luther_king.shtml >