The Civil Rights Movement was one of the key turning points in American history, which ended segregation and institutional oppression of African Americans. However, the observed changes would not be possible without proper leadership and societal reconstructions. Although the movement was not able to achieve every objective it put forward, one can observe that it was a success.
The presence of historical racism and segregation is undeniable in the pre-Civil Rights era because one might not understand the full extent of the improvements. Oppression and discrimination were highly common, where even public officials made direct claims that society needs to separate Blacks from Whites. For example, George Wallace was an active proponent of segregation and stated that it should always continue (Wallace 1963). The problem also undertook the form of documents, such as the Montgomery City Code, which explicitly requested to accommodate African Americans separately from White people (Montogomery City Code 1953). Therefore, the issue was systemic and deeply immoral, which is why the key role of Civil Rights leaders was to address and change the segregation nationwide.
Reconstruction era amendments were extended to a greater degree by the civil rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s. For example, Brown v. Board of Education is an outstanding demonstration of how equality and justice prevailed over segregating children from their very young age (Warren 1954). The marches forced the country’s leaders to be involved in advancing the necessary changes. The speech of John F. Kennedy was one of the key moments when the highest public official admitted the wrongness of the issue (Kennedy 1963). It was done to transform or reconstruct the nation from its unequal structure to the full inclusion of African Americans.
Civil Rights movements yielded massive positive results, which undoubtedly altered the nation’s course. For instance, the estimated percentage of voting-age African-Americans registered in 1955 and 1968 tripled during the given period (“Estimated Percentage of Voting-Age African-Americans Registered in 1960 and 1968” n.d.). In addition, Blacks were finally able to sit at “whites only” counters both as a sign of protest and liberty (“Greensboro Sit ins at a White Only counter” n.d.). Its success and scope can also be observed from a sheer scale and number of people involved in the movement (“March on Washington” 1963). However, the most prominent and critical success is manifested in the enactment and establishment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which finally ended segregation on the legislative level (88th Congress of the United States 1964). In other words, these major changes are indicative of the overall high success of the movement.
Nevertheless, the improvements and developments brought by civil rights activists were not easy to promote because there was a formidable resistance. The major challenges were precisely demonstrated in the famous speech of Dr. Martin Luther King. One of the most evident struggle came from the public itself, which would not seek equality for all, but rather prefer comfort (King 1963). Another major problem was the prevalence of police brutality, which still haunts the African American community even today. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. also pointed out the fact that inequality and segregation were unevenly distributed across the nation, with some states being harsher than others (King 1963). Therefore, both public officials, such as Wallace, police, and people, were the main hindrance factors.
In conclusion, the Civil Rights Movement was highly successful and led to major changes, which improved the nation forever. The leaders played a central role in raising awareness and organizing the actionable steps for advocating the alterations. Although the struggles were manifested in the form of police brutality and the public, African Americans were able to abolish segregation across the United States.
Bibliography
“Estimated Percentage of Voting-Age African-Americans Registered in 1960 and 1968”. n.d.
“Greensboro Sit ins at a White Only counter”. Web.
“March on Washington”. 1963. Web.
88th Congress of the United States. 1964. Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Kennedy, John F. 1963. President John F. Kennedy in a radio and television report to the American people, 1963.
King, Martin Luther Jr. 1963. I Have a Dream….
Montogomery City Code. 1953. Code 1938. No. 603, 608.
Wallace, George. 1963. Inaugural Address.
Warren, Earl. 1954. Brown v. Board of Education.