Civil Rights Movement Research Paper

What happens when an entire race has their constitutionally guaranteed unalienable rights denied to them? Revolution? War? Instead, the centuries of oppression and brutality that the African American people endured manifested itself into an intelligent and cohesive movement powered by the sheer force of will of an entire people. There came a point where settling for second-class was no longer an option and leading civil rights activists decided everyone should have access to institutions of learning. The struggle of the Civil Rights Movement ultimately stemmed from the battle between the white population’s fear of losing power and the moral obligation African American’s owed themselves to fight for justice and equality. It became the duty of …show more content…
They were ostracized from their peers, facing daily threats and taunts. After a loss to rival Georgia Tech in a basketball game a crowd of almost 2,000 rioters stormed Hunter’s dorm. Still in a frenzy from their forced integration, members of the student body, aided by political connections, incited a dangerous riot that caused injury, resulted in expulsion for many, and suspended both Hunter and Holmes for provoking violence from the students. The riot was said to have been “aided and abetted by what appears to [have been] … planned negligence,” as the state troopers did not arrive to assist local police until after the riot had ended and all of the administration knew about it prior to its occurrence, but still refused to stop it (Pratt 106). Their suspension elicited wildly diverse reactions. From the faculty, they received immense support and requests that they be to returned to the university. Georgia lawmakers, however, urged that the rioters who were suspended to be reinstated and praised the faculty who opposed Hunter and Holmes. The difference in opinions seemed to reflect the difference between those who experienced the racial violence firsthand, such as UGA faculty, and those who only ruled on it from the statehouse, without seeing the terror and destruction it caused. After the campus calmed, the two students settled into their routines but took very different approaches to their education. Hamilton Holmes spent no social time on campus or in Athens and applied himself relentlessly to his studies. His academic competitiveness threatened his white classmates, and placed a target on his back. He was unashamedly intelligent and unwilling to mingle with whites, despite Hunter’s urging. Charlayne Hunter, on the other hand, did her best to fit in socially and was an average performer in her classes. She made friends and enjoyed much of her time on campus. She ran into