Struggle For Civil Rights Essays Example

The African Americans struggle for freedom and civil rights was paramount in opening new fronts in the American history. For many years the minority groups in the country faced discrimination in terms of enjoying equal employment rights as the white community. Generally, the American society was synonymous with discrimination not only on racial basis but also in terms of gender, disability, religion, age as well as sexual orientation. Although the country was the most diverse in terms of population and enjoyed the most advanced economy and other aspects of modernization, it was cast into a system of backwardness in terms of according equal rights to its citizens. The fourteenth amendment guaranteed equal right to all American citizens but the reality on the ground was different close to a century after it was passed.
The struggle for equal treatment intensified in the 1960s with renewed efforts that resulted from a large number of young people who had gone through the basic university and college education and viewed life differently. Similarly, the Second World War gave birth to a number of activists who championed for equality and implementation of the law and past treaties. What brought the success to the African-Americans is the boldness depicted in their leadership as well as the new forms of demonstrations they came up with. After a series of victories in the 1950s the black community depicted great levels of enthusiasm which led to the media focusing on their quest. The new approach used by the black community included the use of occupy through non violent activities. This paper is an analysis of how the struggles of justice and civil rights plus the successes achieved by the African-Americans influence the struggle by the Latin-Americans, women and other groups in the society.
The discrimination and segregation of the members of the black community date back from the days of slavery in America. The changes experienced during the reconstruction era sought to solve the puzzle but were met with opposition from the white community who mainly championed for their supremacy. This discrimination was carried down the history line and after the great depression the new deal was seen as the hope of the Americans. However, the opportunities that resulted from the program only benefited the white communities sparking a series of protests from the minorities. Some of the notable events in the struggle for equal rights by the African-Americans include the march on Washington which was planned to take place in 1941 involving more than fifty thousand people. This was after it turned out that the African-Americans were being discriminated against in recruitment to the security forces. It culminated to the issuing of the executive order 8802 in mid 1941 that outlawed any discrimination of all American citizens. This made Philip Randolph, the organizer of the match to call it off and later more than two million African-American were employed in the military and other security units.
The executive order issued by President Roosevelt offered temporary relief but things changed in later years and discrimination continued. The second march on Washington was organized by Randolph in 1963 the main aim of the march was to compel the government to act and design mechanisms that would solve the issue of segregation and discrimination. President John F Kennedy ignored the issue resulting to more than two hundred thousand Americans marching to Washington. Different groups took part with the members of both the black and the white communities having representation in the event that attracted many clergymen, artists and political leaders. One of the memorable aspects of the event is the famous “I have a dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. the march was successful and led to many changes in the civil laws and the treatment of the members of the black community.
The success led to other minority groups to follow suit in championing for their right with some of the memorable events being the trail of the broken treaties where a group of American Indians marched from the west coast to Washington DC in an event that led to the occupying of the bureau of Indian affairs building until the president addressed them. They were seeking equal right and the implementation of past treaties that their fore fathers had entered with the American administration. The event attracted thousands of Native Americans who presented a document that had twenty demands that sought to solve their social and economic challenges.
The Latin Americans had their fight for equal rights shaped from the struggles of the African Americans. Many organizations and unions that championed for the rights of Latin-Americans farm workers were formed from as early as 1920. In the 1960s, Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association that opposed the exploitation of the Hispanic Americans by grape growers in the country. The union organized boycotts that culminated into positive changes. Women on the other hand, exploited their numbers to organize mass marches and hunger strikes that brought changes in the country. Organizations such as the NAWSA (National American Woman Suffrage Association) were instrumental in the fight for equal rights and led to the 19th amendment that accorded American women the right to vote.
The American society is synonymous with discrimination and social injustices against the minority groups with the African-Americans being the most affected. Since the period of slavery, the black community has found it hard to enjoy the status that is accorded to the citizens even after the law outlawed discrimination of any kind. However, their quest for freedom led to serious campaigns that influenced even the other minority groups and led to the present American society.

References

Joseph, P. (2013). The Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil Rights-Black Power Era. New York: Routledge
Kirk, J. (2007). Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement: Controversies and Debates. London: Palgrave Macmillan
Segal, E. (2009). Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs: A Values Perspective. Boston: Cengage Learning.