Helen Keller was once quoted as saying “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” From early on in the United States of America’s history, citizens again and again have demonstrated that as a group, they have the power to change the course of history. The American Civil Rights Movement was no exception. It was one of the first steps to true equality and a show of how powerful of an effect non-violence can have on a country. Although many African-Americans, or Negros as they were called at the time, stood up, few took the spotlight and led the movement such as Congressman John Lewis, or William Hampton, a lawyer and representative of NAACP. The goals between the two gentlemen may have been similar, but ultimately their ways of
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Motivation wise, John Lewis and William Hamilton both focused on the inequality in “separate but equal” standards of the law.. Lewis credited school as being “…ultimately the reason I got involved in the civil rights movement.” (Lewis 35) He described how the streets were never paved unless white traffic had to use it, the buses and books were used, torn hand me downs, and even the prison yards were filled with mostly black work gangs. (48) When he eventually was able to go to college, he expressed his regret being of being unable to make the change he had heard so long ago, a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. about the social gospel. “Here I was reading about justice, when there were brave people out there to make it happen.” (65) Lewis felt a strong pull from beliefs in the Bible of how we are all God’s children, therefore we all deserve the same respect and treatment. He didn’t want future generations to have to continue to feel the inequality he felt as he grew up. Lewis eventually funneled his motivations into the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, and was able to become a leader in the Civil Rights …show more content…
The NAACP is one of the oldest organizations out of the many that participated in the Civil Rights Movement and saw no reason to change their tactics. When first created, it set priority on lynching which had become widespread across the country. Many credit them for decreasing lynching due to releasing their report.(NAACP) The NAACP believed the Constitution and law is what makes up America. The sit ins and boycotts caused a lot of conflict between the two groups because they believed it brought unnecessary violence, plus bailing everyone out of jail would be a very expensive financial move. Black Nationalism, which eventually was the weakening point for the SNCC, was also a tough pill for the NAACP to swallow because they believed it made it more difficult to make progress. A big point to NAACP was that feelings are temporary, laws are permanent. No matter how different the two groups may have appeared due to approaches, the two gentleman both unite under the rationale that this fight was worth the battle simply because it is the right thing to do. Social Gospel was described by Lewis “…as a bolt of lightning” (56) Hamilton and Lewis both felt the urge to improve society, and it didn’t matter how long it took, time was going to pass anyway. Why not make it
Motivation wise, John Lewis and William Hamilton both focused on the inequality in “separate but equal” standards of the law.. Lewis credited school as being “…ultimately the reason I got involved in the civil rights movement.” (Lewis 35) He described how the streets were never paved unless white traffic had to use it, the buses and books were used, torn hand me downs, and even the prison yards were filled with mostly black work gangs. (48) When he eventually was able to go to college, he expressed his regret being of being unable to make the change he had heard so long ago, a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. about the social gospel. “Here I was reading about justice, when there were brave people out there to make it happen.” (65) Lewis felt a strong pull from beliefs in the Bible of how we are all God’s children, therefore we all deserve the same respect and treatment. He didn’t want future generations to have to continue to feel the inequality he felt as he grew up. Lewis eventually funneled his motivations into the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, and was able to become a leader in the Civil Rights …show more content…
The NAACP is one of the oldest organizations out of the many that participated in the Civil Rights Movement and saw no reason to change their tactics. When first created, it set priority on lynching which had become widespread across the country. Many credit them for decreasing lynching due to releasing their report.(NAACP) The NAACP believed the Constitution and law is what makes up America. The sit ins and boycotts caused a lot of conflict between the two groups because they believed it brought unnecessary violence, plus bailing everyone out of jail would be a very expensive financial move. Black Nationalism, which eventually was the weakening point for the SNCC, was also a tough pill for the NAACP to swallow because they believed it made it more difficult to make progress. A big point to NAACP was that feelings are temporary, laws are permanent. No matter how different the two groups may have appeared due to approaches, the two gentleman both unite under the rationale that this fight was worth the battle simply because it is the right thing to do. Social Gospel was described by Lewis “…as a bolt of lightning” (56) Hamilton and Lewis both felt the urge to improve society, and it didn’t matter how long it took, time was going to pass anyway. Why not make it