“Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict” (Saul Alinsky). Throughout the world, there are always flaws that are portrayed in our society, and it is necessary to challenge these flaws with the intention of producing a change in the status quo. Furthermore, when people do challenge these flaws an opposing side is always present; thus, conflict is inevitable. Conflict is important because it sheds light on the flaws in our society, and results in a change in the status quo.
Although it was a tragic event in American history, what happened to Emmitt Till caused a realization in African-American communities …show more content…
Around the 1950s in the southern states, African-Americans were limited to their rights because of a system of laws known as the “Jim Crow Laws”. The “Jim Crow Laws” declared the segregation between whites and blacks to be constitutional. Segregation created separate transportation systems, restaurants, parks, schools, hospitals, water fountains, and just about any form of public space or organization for whites and colored people. African-Americans decided that the inequalities in Southern America couldn’t go on any longer, so it was time to fight for change. “On December 1, 1955, the modern Civil Rights Movement began when Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama” (“Civil Rights Movement”). Consequently, Rosa Parks’ controversial protest influenced many people. Martin Luther King Jr., a minister in Alabama, heard about Rosa’s bravery and was deeply impacted. MLK was sick and tired of his color being forced to sit at the back of the bus, and to let white people take his spot whenever they wanted. Thus, he gathered civil rights activists and initiated the boycott of all public transportation. Consequently, the public transit system’s economy was weakening due to the lack of income that the African-American’s were responsible for, so eventually the transportation systems were forced to integrate. On February 1, 1960 in Greensboro, North Carolina, 4 students from North Carolina A&T went to a whites-only lunch counter determined to protest the segregation in public restaurants. The students sat down and ordered coffee, and the workers refused to serve them. The students continued to sit patiently even when met with threats, harassment, and abuse they remained peaceful. Just days after the sit-in, influenced by the 4 students, protesters all over the
Although it was a tragic event in American history, what happened to Emmitt Till caused a realization in African-American communities …show more content…
Around the 1950s in the southern states, African-Americans were limited to their rights because of a system of laws known as the “Jim Crow Laws”. The “Jim Crow Laws” declared the segregation between whites and blacks to be constitutional. Segregation created separate transportation systems, restaurants, parks, schools, hospitals, water fountains, and just about any form of public space or organization for whites and colored people. African-Americans decided that the inequalities in Southern America couldn’t go on any longer, so it was time to fight for change. “On December 1, 1955, the modern Civil Rights Movement began when Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama” (“Civil Rights Movement”). Consequently, Rosa Parks’ controversial protest influenced many people. Martin Luther King Jr., a minister in Alabama, heard about Rosa’s bravery and was deeply impacted. MLK was sick and tired of his color being forced to sit at the back of the bus, and to let white people take his spot whenever they wanted. Thus, he gathered civil rights activists and initiated the boycott of all public transportation. Consequently, the public transit system’s economy was weakening due to the lack of income that the African-American’s were responsible for, so eventually the transportation systems were forced to integrate. On February 1, 1960 in Greensboro, North Carolina, 4 students from North Carolina A&T went to a whites-only lunch counter determined to protest the segregation in public restaurants. The students sat down and ordered coffee, and the workers refused to serve them. The students continued to sit patiently even when met with threats, harassment, and abuse they remained peaceful. Just days after the sit-in, influenced by the 4 students, protesters all over the