The end of the 1st Reconstruction brought new laws of segregation and institutional racism that, to black outrage, would not be challenged until the civil rights movement of the mid-1900s. At first, African Americans relied on white leaders to take action on desegregation decisions including Brown v. Board of Education, but these decisions failed to gain momentum. Exasperated, black people started the process on their own with boycott movements, yet these actions were still reactive and passive in respect to Jim Crow racism. It took a new generation of young black students taught not to accept discrimination to actively resist and finally secure the attention of an entire nation. Thus, William H. Chafe argues in his essay “The Civil Rights
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. Raised while passive resistance was in full force, these young adults were determined to create change, and nationwide sit-ins, where black youth would go to previously segregated areas and mandate equal service, sparked this change (Chafe 460). They wanted to force white people to confront their racism rather than evade it. Taking an ethical focus, they believed in humanity, in people. Clearly, these kids were riled up; Chafe writes that they served as catalysts that “mobilized the entire community” (Chafe 462). This is evident because the demonstrations, led by young blacks, spread to fifty-four cities within two months. Their vivacious spirit garnered the support of black leaders including Martin Luther King, who stood back and let their spirit direct their actions. They saw themselves as the unstoppable “vanguard of the civil rights struggle” (Chafe 465). Still, Chafe points out that these demonstrations came with a heavy price; more than 3,600 Greensboro demonstrators were arrested, and many interstate bus Freedom Riders were stopped and assaulted (Chafe 466). No matter the setback, the SNCC, made up of this new generation, would stay together. This dogged determination touched the lives of those who witnessed it, and it soon began to affect the entire nation (Chafe 467). White students flocked to support them, and by 1963, civil rights had entered the “daily agenda” of American life (Chafe 468). The new generation, through active resistance, had forced the voice of the civil rights movement to be
. Raised while passive resistance was in full force, these young adults were determined to create change, and nationwide sit-ins, where black youth would go to previously segregated areas and mandate equal service, sparked this change (Chafe 460). They wanted to force white people to confront their racism rather than evade it. Taking an ethical focus, they believed in humanity, in people. Clearly, these kids were riled up; Chafe writes that they served as catalysts that “mobilized the entire community” (Chafe 462). This is evident because the demonstrations, led by young blacks, spread to fifty-four cities within two months. Their vivacious spirit garnered the support of black leaders including Martin Luther King, who stood back and let their spirit direct their actions. They saw themselves as the unstoppable “vanguard of the civil rights struggle” (Chafe 465). Still, Chafe points out that these demonstrations came with a heavy price; more than 3,600 Greensboro demonstrators were arrested, and many interstate bus Freedom Riders were stopped and assaulted (Chafe 466). No matter the setback, the SNCC, made up of this new generation, would stay together. This dogged determination touched the lives of those who witnessed it, and it soon began to affect the entire nation (Chafe 467). White students flocked to support them, and by 1963, civil rights had entered the “daily agenda” of American life (Chafe 468). The new generation, through active resistance, had forced the voice of the civil rights movement to be