In America today, social change is buzzing with an energy not unlike electricity. A divide in social status, wealth, and power is visible in innumerable systems of the United States. One of the most prevalent divides, as is evidenced by recent events, is race. Though many of these injustices are just being brought to light now, incidents of transgression based on race have been very prevalent throughout the course of American history. Since the American Civil War, freed slaves were put through the ruthless throes of the bitter American Public, and today’s modern African American citizens are still not immune to the microaggressions that remain through stereotypes and internalized racism. Throughout the whole of American history, black Americans
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The civil rights movement began in the early 1950, when the people began protesting the institution of segregation. This was at first seen in protest of the “Separate But Equal” segregation laws, which required African Americans to use different bathrooms, public transport, and even water fountains. Obviously, this was extremely dehumanizing. The separation of black and white schools caused enormous social gaps, nearly impossible to bridge (insert source about white rioters about black attendees) What’s worse, the majority of the supreme court went as far as to claim that African American citizens were making segregation about something that it wasn’t. In their opinion, segregation wasn’t actually about white citizens being superior, it was seen that way “solely because the colored race chooses to put that constriction on it” (Along the Color Line) The act of protesting these dehumanizing laws was known as the Civil RIghts Movement. Prominent leaders of this time period were, for example, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Leaders like this helped bring people together in large numbers to voice their opinions nonviolently. However, many police officers did not see it as a constitutional right to freedom of speech, but rather disrupting the peace. For this reason, hundreds upon hundreds of peaceful black protesters employing their right to free speech were arrested and jammed in over-full jail cells with genuine criminals. Often times, among these people were the public speakers themselves. They immersed themselves in the work of political protest, sometimes to the point of imminent bodily danger. Martin Luther King Jr., for example, was sent numerous death threats from his opposers. Some of these threatened to kill him or urged him to kill himself. () Changes in the black community were widely looked down upon in the united
The civil rights movement began in the early 1950, when the people began protesting the institution of segregation. This was at first seen in protest of the “Separate But Equal” segregation laws, which required African Americans to use different bathrooms, public transport, and even water fountains. Obviously, this was extremely dehumanizing. The separation of black and white schools caused enormous social gaps, nearly impossible to bridge (insert source about white rioters about black attendees) What’s worse, the majority of the supreme court went as far as to claim that African American citizens were making segregation about something that it wasn’t. In their opinion, segregation wasn’t actually about white citizens being superior, it was seen that way “solely because the colored race chooses to put that constriction on it” (Along the Color Line) The act of protesting these dehumanizing laws was known as the Civil RIghts Movement. Prominent leaders of this time period were, for example, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Leaders like this helped bring people together in large numbers to voice their opinions nonviolently. However, many police officers did not see it as a constitutional right to freedom of speech, but rather disrupting the peace. For this reason, hundreds upon hundreds of peaceful black protesters employing their right to free speech were arrested and jammed in over-full jail cells with genuine criminals. Often times, among these people were the public speakers themselves. They immersed themselves in the work of political protest, sometimes to the point of imminent bodily danger. Martin Luther King Jr., for example, was sent numerous death threats from his opposers. Some of these threatened to kill him or urged him to kill himself. () Changes in the black community were widely looked down upon in the united