Civil Rights Research Paper

Submitted By Rob2it
Words: 1950
Pages: 8
Open Document
3 months ago I was instructed to write a paper on my opinion of civil rights in America. This paper was based off of our previous knowledge we attained before college. The significance of this paper is to address the same topic but to show what our two learning community classes have exposed us to and taught us. Now our opinions do not have to change on civil rights but at a minimum be able to go into much greater detail about civil rights. I believe many of the readings, movies, and people we met were supposed to make us all more well-rounded and diverse. What is civil rights? Well through my experience I believe civil rights is a group of people who are alike in some size, shape, or form that join together and fight for equality. In America today, we see vast inequalities of power, wealth, and privilege that survive among groups identified by ethnicity, gender, race and other features. “Groups with power and often those without continue to justify those disparities with arguments, assumptions, and stereotypes that depict inequalities as natural or otherwise legitimate, and thus consistent with American ideals.”
Our main focus throughout AFAM 240 was addressing the modern civil rights movement. When we first started studying the modern civil rights movement, I didn’t have much prior knowledge but as a child I have been drilled that racism is an evil thing and Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks are the greatest African America heroes to ever live. While this is generally true there happens to be much more to the story, and surprise, surprise my opinion did change and I might have actually learned something, or in short became more aware and educated on the movement as a result of these two classes. I find that I often surprise myself by getting offensive when I hear a racial comment or witness racial injustice due to becoming much more sensitive and aware of it. Before these classes I never paid much attention, and thought racism was a thing of the past. However racism can still be seen all over our nation today.
The modern civil rights movement is America’s single largest and most important movement that has changed our world and still does today. I believe Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote while being held in a jail cell in Birmingham, summarizes the goal of civil rights activists. He wrote “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” I believe this quote is one of the most powerful throughout the movement, and a guideline for future generations.
In our nations recent history racial injustice took place and still does today in the devastated New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. Jerry Ward, a professor and a poet wrote his survival experience in a book called The Katrina Papers. Ward was arrested and placed in the New Orleans Parish Prison and describes the outrageous racial injustice that took place during his short stay. He said, “The experiences were adorned with fears, the shock of verbal abuse, disgust, shame, sympathy for prisoners who suffered greater agony then I. The experiences resonated the Arab slave caravans over the hot sand and the European slave ships cutting the cold water of the Atlantic.” Jerry ward was thrown into a jail cell with 60 other men, ment to hold thirty. They had no working showers or toilets, they were beaton by the police and did not recieve medical attention. Drugs were almost encourage and ran rampat, while the police watched and withheld their rights. This is just one account there are many describing police abuse, racial profiling, housing discrimination, along with other civil liberties violations. Stories like this shame America, how can our country move forward if we still cannot move on from something that was changed at the end of the civil war. The modern civil rights movement can explain the way things are today as well. For example take a local example such as the city of Rochester, statistics say that only 9% of African American males will graduate high
Show More

Related Documents: Civil Rights Research Paper

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

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

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 Liberties Vs. Civil Rights

American citizen’s civil liberties and civil rights. Although, civil liberties and civil rights protect Americans in the U.S. they are sometimes confused for providing the same rights but the distinction between the two are very different. The differences between the two are Civil liberties protect American citizens against the actions of the government and Civil rights, on the other hand refer to government actions that provide equality for all American’s. One example of Civil liberties are the…

Words 418 - Pages 2

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