The Civil War heralded a new beginning in as far as equality was concerned in America. While it is largely credited for helping rid the country of slavery, it is a fact that blacks continued to suffer discrimination at many levels. The discrimination suffered by this community in the decades to follow gave rise to a struggle for equality and social justice. Read on to learn some cool African American Civil Rights Movement facts.
In the years that followed the Civil War, there was a clear lack of commitment to end the habitual discrimination of black people, a habit that was more prevalent in the southern states of the nation. Towards the middle of the twentieth century, a vast majority of blacks felt they could not take it anymore. With support from a considerable number of whites, they partook in protests that spanned the course of two decades.
There was an effort to reinforce the aspect of equality after slavery was abolished. This began with the passing of the fourteenth amendment. This act, passed in 1868, assigned an equal level of protection to blacks under law. A further amendment in 1870 furthered this cause by making it a right for blacks to vote. These efforts enraged the majorly white population down south, being as they viewed the blacks as inferior owing to their long held position as a slave race.
The infamous Jim Crow laws associated with the south at the end of the 1900s came as a result of the mounting hatred. The general aim of these laws was to bring about racial segregation. A typical black was forbidden from using the same public facilities as whites, including educational institutions. It was also illegal for a black to marry a white. Unfair voter literacy tests also ensured blacks stayed out of voting.
Luckily, Jim Crow laws were not enacted in the north. Nevertheless, discrimination continued to be prevalent. Getting an education or buying a house was a near impossibility for the ordinary black man. Sadly, some northern states still passed laws to limit the rights of the black population to vote.
Some events ultimately led to the historic protests of the 1950s and 60s. The first major event took place on the first of December, 1955. A 42 year old woman by the name Rosa Parks boarded a Montgomery, Alabama bus after work. The segregation laws back then required buses to have designated seating spots for blacks and whites, with blacks expected to seat at the back, which Parks did.
Soon after, a white man failed to secure seating space at his designated area. The driver subsequently instructed Parks and three other black passengers to surrender their seats. She resisted and was immediately arrested.
The incident resulted in a great uproar among the blacks. Subsequently, an equality movement was formed, with its leader being Martin Luther King Jr. Its members staged many peaceful protests that pushed the Supreme Court to declare segregated seating illegal. In the subsequent years, the blacks attained equality in employment, housing, education and the social system at large.
In the years that followed the Civil War, there was a clear lack of commitment to end the habitual discrimination of black people, a habit that was more prevalent in the southern states of the nation. Towards the middle of the twentieth century, a vast majority of blacks felt they could not take it anymore. With support from a considerable number of whites, they partook in protests that spanned the course of two decades.
There was an effort to reinforce the aspect of equality after slavery was abolished. This began with the passing of the fourteenth amendment. This act, passed in 1868, assigned an equal level of protection to blacks under law. A further amendment in 1870 furthered this cause by making it a right for blacks to vote. These efforts enraged the majorly white population down south, being as they viewed the blacks as inferior owing to their long held position as a slave race.
The infamous Jim Crow laws associated with the south at the end of the 1900s came as a result of the mounting hatred. The general aim of these laws was to bring about racial segregation. A typical black was forbidden from using the same public facilities as whites, including educational institutions. It was also illegal for a black to marry a white. Unfair voter literacy tests also ensured blacks stayed out of voting.
Luckily, Jim Crow laws were not enacted in the north. Nevertheless, discrimination continued to be prevalent. Getting an education or buying a house was a near impossibility for the ordinary black man. Sadly, some northern states still passed laws to limit the rights of the black population to vote.
Some events ultimately led to the historic protests of the 1950s and 60s. The first major event took place on the first of December, 1955. A 42 year old woman by the name Rosa Parks boarded a Montgomery, Alabama bus after work. The segregation laws back then required buses to have designated seating spots for blacks and whites, with blacks expected to seat at the back, which Parks did.
Soon after, a white man failed to secure seating space at his designated area. The driver subsequently instructed Parks and three other black passengers to surrender their seats. She resisted and was immediately arrested.
The incident resulted in a great uproar among the blacks. Subsequently, an equality movement was formed, with its leader being Martin Luther King Jr. Its members staged many peaceful protests that pushed the Supreme Court to declare segregated seating illegal. In the subsequent years, the blacks attained equality in employment, housing, education and the social system at large.
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