Essay on Civil Rights

Submitted By Lakinta-Hart
Words: 722
Pages: 3
Open Document
Sergio Cox
History U5L5
Take a Position

Racial Segregation
Segregation or Jim Crow was a plan to keep people separated from one another. It was the plan of the law makers to keep black away from whites. They said separate but equal. But where blacks really equal?
I say no, because segregation was the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. The Fourteenth Amendment stopped state governments from treating citizens differently. But, in Plessy vs. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that state governments could segregate the races, as long the rights remained equal. What? To me that just does not make sense. How can you be forced to be separate but be equal?
The Supreme Court’s Plessy vs. Ferguson decision was a major delay for early civil rights activists, like Booker T. Washington, who believed that “Social equality and political rights would come only if blacks first became independent and improved their financial stability.” Then, he also said that, “Respect from the white community would naturally follow.” And W. E. B. Du Bois said that “Blacks need to seek complete and immediate social and economic equality.” Du Bois also called on blacks to develop a “Black Consciousness” that was different from whites. In his book The Souls of Black Folk, he said that “Blacks needed to become more aware of their history, art, music, and religious backgrounds in order to understand themselves.” The decision from the Supreme Court stated that segregated public and private places for blacks and whites were “separate but equal,” basically justifying Jim Crow segregation laws. The only judge that disagreed with the decision said that the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision would set back blacks to become equal for many decades. Also, the Court supported the right of southern law makers to charge poll taxes and give literacy tests to exclude blacks from voting. These choices made it easy to legalized and spread racism throughout the North and South.
Jim Crow laws were in place for activities such as eating in a restaurant, whites could eat at the counter but blacks had to eat in the back. Drinking from a water fountain, the white water fountain was clean and had fresh water while the black fountain was dirty and nasty. Using a public restroom, it was some places where blacks did not have a restroom and could not use the restroom that was available because it was for white only and blacks had to use the bathroom in the bushes. Attending school, you would think that something like education would be equal for all people but whites got the good new books while blacks had to settle for what was given to them and most of the times the book
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Civil Rights

Civil Liberties And Civil Rights

Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Civil liberties and civil rights is something that is very important to everyone living in the United States. When it comes to both civil liberties and civil rights it is in fact aimed directly at the government. It is aimed directly at the government due to the fact that there must exist a balance between the freedom of an individual and how much power the government is able and willing to limit an individual. In fact, with the diversity that the United States…

Words 1583 - Pages 7

Civil Rights And Civil Liberties

the countries that prides in the civil liberties of all the persons that come across the borders. For the longest time; the democracy card has been waved around in the international platforms. Regarding the fact that the United States has been involved in advocating the rest of the world to adopt democratic practices; as well as referencing to helping most of the countries find their bearing with democratic rights of the people. Rather, much of the civil rights we currently have covers any person…

Words 579 - Pages 3

The Civil Right Movement: The Beginning Of The Civil Rights Movement

this evening to say to those who have mistreated us so long that were are tired of being segregated and humiliated, tired of being kicked about by brutal feet of oppression.” Spoke by Martin Luther King Jr. (Berkin, 2015) The beginning of the civil right movement spark during national headline reporting on Brown v. Board of Education, The death of Emmett Till, and the Montgomery bus boycott education the public what going on in the lives of African American and other minorities. Integrating school…

Words 383 - Pages 2

Civil Rights Essay

Brianna Martins May 18, 2014 US History II (H) Period 3 Civil Rights Essay The Civil Rights movement has changed conditions and opportunities for African- Americans all across the country, specifically in Newark. Although many feel that even though the Civil Rights Act was put into place segregation and injustice against minorities would still continue, in reality, today the discrimination of these people is subdued. Despite the arguments that the conditions for African-Americans…

Words 1018 - Pages 5

Civil Rights Essay

Civil Rights Civil Rights Citizens within a country have civil rights that allow them to own property, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and to be treated as equals by governing bodies, groups, and other people. Men and women alike have civil rights, but the Civil Rights Movement started the racial equality issue. “The most turbulent liberation movement of the twentieth century addressed the issue of racial equality- an issue so dramatically reflected in the African-American…

Words 436 - Pages 2

Civil Rights Essay

The African American Civil Rights movement refers to the movements between 1955- 1968 in the United States aimed at the illegalization of racial discrimination against African Americans. The processes and strategies used by African Americans during The Civil Rights Movement, consisted of a series of campaigns such as The Montgomery Boycott, Selma Montgomery Marches, and Greensboro Sit-ins. These campaigns highlighted the inequalities for African American’s, protests where non-violent. On December…

Words 617 - Pages 3

Civil Rights In The Sixties

Civil Rights in the Sixties HIS/145 John Lary By Linsey Tisdale Week two Civil Rights in the Sixties Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a 17 minute speech on August 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to over 200,000 civil rights followers. This speech was polled in 1999 and ranked the top American speech of the 20th century. The King had a way of educating, inspiring, and informing people throughout the…

Words 1087 - Pages 5

The Civil Rights Movement

The 1960s and 1970s signaled a transformative era in American history, marked by a surge of social justice movements that confronted systemic injustices and aimed to reshape society. From the classical phase of the Civil Rights Movement, distinguished by its nonviolent protests and legal triumphs, to the rise of the Black Power Movement and the active involvement of students in the Free Speech Movement and Anti-War Movement, these movements aimed not only to enact significant political change but…

Words 1598 - Pages 7

Civil Disobedience In The Civil Rights Movement

alone, disenfranchised minority groups have had doors opened because of their civil disobedience. From the earlier Civil Rights and Women’s Suffrage movements to more recent events like Standing Rock, civil disobedience has proved to play a crucial role in the advancement of minority groups. If not for civil disobedience, people of color and women would not have the rights that are obliged to them today. The Civil Rights movement allowed for people of color to protest their unjust treatment in society…

Words 765 - Pages 4

Civil Right Journey

young age. An experience that I knew going in could have the possibility of changing my life. The experience that I am talking about is the Civil Right Tour. Spring, my freshman year, I am sitting in the auditorium of Wisconsin Lutheran High School listening to a group of upperclassmen talk about a free trip that they just came back from called the Civil Rights Tour. They are mentioning all the places they went to, the things they learned, and the people they met. Some are showing pictures of themselves…

Words 1141 - Pages 5