The 1960s were a turbulent time for America. A major social issue on everyone’s mind was the issue of civil rights. The Civil Rights Movement, while focused primarily on African Americans, included every American minority group, including women and homosexuals.
The final straw for James Earl Ray, escaped convict and known racist, came with the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the face of the Black Civil Rights Movement. Sit-ins, freedom rides, protests, and riots all escalated the focus of the country on civil rights. The Movement was so influential to America, it even got the attention of Presidents at the time, like John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. In just the short time of a decade, the impossible thought of the desegregation of schools, transportation, and housing became a reality for African Americans. Although, blacks earning equal rights to whites was a long and drawn-out process. The process began before the assassination of MLK and even way before the 1960s. Yet, the “sporadic sixties” were a time of great change in a short amount of time. It began in 1960 with the escalation of sit-ins and events called “freedom rides”. The Greensboro sit-in is a famous example of the peaceful protesting of African Americans in which a small group of college students went to a local diner yet were denied service due to their skin color; yet, they remained sitting, tolerating food being thrown at them, physical discomfort, and harsh name calling. Freedom riders pledged to remain in jail rather than pay fines or be bailed out after protesting the segregation in interstate transportation. Freedom rides were organized in the early 1960s, by the Congress of Racial Equality, or CORE, led by James Farmer. Actually, Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent 400 federal marshals to protect the freedom riders and urged the Interstate Commerce Commission to order the desegregation of interstate level. Also, John F. Kennedy announced that major civil rights legislation would be submitted to the Congress to guarantee equal access to public facilities, to end segregation in education, and to provide federal protection of the right to vote. After the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Vice President-now-President, Lyndon B. Johnson, finished what Kennedy started, and signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited all kinds discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin; The Voting Rights Act of 1965, which made it easier for Southern blacks to vote by making literacy tests, poll taxes, and other such requirements illegal, and The Civil Rights Act of 1968, which prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
The Black Civil Rights Movement encouraged many other ethnic and minority groups to attempt to gain their rights as well. Women and the LGBT community were some of the larger groups involved in this. What the African Americans were doing made everyone else realize how unfairly they were all being treated. The 1960s were a major turning for of LGBT rights. Around this time, gay Americans began calling for the right for marriage or more formalized relationships. During this time period, homosexuality was highly frowned upon. Many men and women had been discharged during this time due to alleged homosexuality. One example of this was Fannie Clackhum; she had a other than honorable discharge and successfully fought to get it overturned. This was a first time this had ever been done in America and led to many other similar cases. The ‘60s were a decade of change for women as well. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed and gave women $0.70 for every man’s dollar in the workforce. Although not completely equal, it was a start and was a huge step for women in America. Women also began to enter the workforce and stereotypical gender roles began to disappear.
While the Civil Rights movement occurred decades ago, the central idea of basic human rights still applies to Americans today. Currently in America, there are still social stigmas about homosexuals, despite the fact that gay rights, such as gay marriage, is becoming more acceptable; there is still some remnants of racism today, seen mostly in the elders of our time; and there are still gender inequalities, an example being that woman only make 70 cents of every man’s dollar. The ferocity and courage of organizations like CORE and NOW fighting for equal rights encourage the same minorities to continue fighting for their rights.
The Black Civil Rights Movement encouraged many other ethnic and minority groups to attempt to gain their rights as well. Women and the LGBT community were some of the larger groups involved in this. What the African Americans were doing made everyone else realize how unfairly they were all being treated. The 1960s were a major turning for of LGBT rights. Around this time, gay Americans began calling for the right for marriage or more formalized relationships. During this time period, homosexuality was highly frowned upon. Many men and women had been discharged during this time due to alleged homosexuality. One example of this was Fannie Clackhum; she had a other than honorable discharge and successfully fought to get it overturned. This was a first time this had ever been done in America and led to many other similar cases. The ‘60s were a decade of change for women as well. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed and gave women $0.70 for every man’s dollar in the workforce. Although not completely equal, it was a start and was a huge step for women in America. Women also began to enter the workforce and stereotypical gender roles began to disappear.
While the Civil Rights movement occurred decades ago, the central idea of basic human rights still applies to Americans today. Currently in America, there are still social stigmas about homosexuals, despite the fact that gay rights, such as gay marriage, is becoming more acceptable; there is still some remnants of racism today, seen mostly in the elders of our time; and there are still gender inequalities, an example being that woman only make 70 cents of every man’s dollar. The ferocity and courage of organizations like CORE and NOW fighting for equal rights encourage the same minorities to continue fighting for their rights.
I am a big fan of your video. I also thoroughly enjoyed your pictures a lot. My biggest takeaway from this event is that many other groups were inspired to start their own movement to gain equal rights.
Stephanie and Jessica,
I enjoyed how you not only stated information about the Civil Rights Movement but the background information as well. I like how you connected the Civil Rights Movement to movements going on today. I like how you didn’t just focus on Martin Luther King Jr. because he is always the obvious choice for Civil Rights. The biggest thing I took away from this is that Americans are able to make a change if they stand up together against the government.
I would have liked to see you all mention Rosa Parks and how she was the one who inspired or sparked the Civil Rights movement when she refused to give up her seat to a white man. My biggest takeaway from this is that Civil Rights influenced many other groups to start their own movement, besides the African American group, in order to gain their rights as well.
They used dates that were very particular and specific, and I thought that was important. They also mentioned how the movement wasn’t just about the African American race. This event was not just important for the people in it, it also helped them show importance throughout the entire 20th century. If they mentioned people that were specific to the movement. What I took away from this was that other groups took influence from this and it changed our life today.
I liked how were very descriptive in the dates and time periods. I also loved how you mentioned all the discrimination not only the discrimination of African Americans. One suggestion would be to put the pictures in the middle. This isnt something very big, but its the only suggestion I had.My biggest take away was how the civil rights movement didnt only effect the African Americans in a big way but it also effects many other groups and changed there lives.
I really like the photos and video that you used to accuratley describe the Civil Rights Movement. Along with this I liked how you mentioned that the Civil Rights did not only include African Americans, but homosexuals and women. I believe this topic was very imformative and I realized how many people are still affected by this today.
Stephanie and Jessica,
I really enjoyed this post about the civil rights movement. My favorite part was the section about how it affects us now. Where you said there are still social stigmas about different types of people depending on their race, religious, or likes or dislikes; I thoughts that it was very true. People shouldn’t be judged because of how they choose to live their lives. Also, I did not know about the organizations of CORE and NOW trying to make everyone be allowed to have equal rights. Overall I really enjoyed you’re post including the pictures and videos.
-Taylor
I really enjoyed reading your post about the Civil Rights Movement. I liked the fact that you guys not only talked about African Americans, but you also included the likes of homosexuals and women. One thing I would recommend is to organize your pictures in a better way. The biggest thing people can take away from this post is that the Civil Rights Movement was truly a grand part of American history.
Jessica and Stephanie,
Overall this was a very good post and I like how you included all of the factors that the Civil Rights movement was about. I think it is good how you mentioned that Civil Rights were not only towards African Americans, but people like women and homosexuals. A suggestion would be to center the pictures, just to improve the appearance of the blog. The main thing that I took away is that the African American Civil Rights movement influenced other groups to start to stand up for what they believe in.
Sydney
Jessica and Stephanie,
Overall this was a very good post. I learned a lot of information by reading this. I think it is good how you mentioned that Civil Rights were not only towards African Americans, but other types of people also, such as homosexuals and women. What I took away was how many people are still being discriminated against today and their lack of rights. I really enjoyed your topic, however, if the pictures were placed in a better manner it would have been easier to read. The video was spot on!
I like how you included all of the factors that the Civil Rights movement was about. I enjoyed that your video was very informative and provided good descriptions. I suggest that you both center the photos and reconsider the layout. It caused difficulty for me to read. I learned that the Civil Rights movement was not only for African Americans, but it was for all minorities. I realized that the women got 0.70 for each mans dollar.
I like how you have a lot of pictures and your video shows an accurate representation of the Civil Rights Movement. I also like how you included a lot of information and facts about your topic. The only recommendation I have is to have a better layout with centered photos. Also your punctuation and grammar. I took away from this that the Civil Rights Movement was also for other minorities not just African Americans even thought that is all we think about when we think about it. I also learned that homosexuality was very frowned upon during this time period, 1960’s.
-Lauren
I liked how you compared what Civil Rights was like back in the sixties and now. It is horrible to know that there are still issues with Civil Rights even today. When someone’s race, gender, or sexuality should never be an issue of discrimination. It was also interesting that the African American Civil Rights movement helped to spur other Civil Rights movements. The main thing that I took away is that the the African American movement influenced other groups. Try to separate the pictures from the paragraphs to make it easier to read.
I liked how you all mentioned that the Civil Rights Movement was not just about African Americans, but it was also about the women and homosexual groups. Also I like how you all included specific dates and people that were involved in the movement. I believe that this was one of the most important events during the 20th century because it was the start of many minority groups receiving their rights. I would have liked to see you all mention Rosa Parks and how she was the one who inspired or sparked the Civil Rights movement when she refused to give up her seat to a white man. My biggest takeaway from this is that Civil Rights influenced many other groups to start their own movement, besides the African American group, in order to gain their rights as well.