The USA: From Reconstruction to Civil Rights, 1877

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Introduction to the Civil Rights Movement

The civil rights movement in the United States is one of the widest and most famous revolutions or movements in the American History. The black populations were used to offer labor in the plantation or firms during the Agrarian revolution. When colonialism ended, a percentage of the black population accepted to be taken back to their ancestral homes thus they were repatriated back to Africa. However, a bigger percentage of the black population decided to stay put in the US. The blacks who remained in the United States became subjects of racial discrimination and other forms of injustices as America picked up from the colonial to independence and later reconstruction. The injustices which the black population were exposed to were the major course of an uprising to fight for the rights of the black population commonly referred to as the Negros. Most of the injustices against the black populations were structured. It was supported by the regime with many organized groups such as the Ku Klux Klan being used to perpetrate the injustice.

The civil rights movement began towards the end of the 19th century. However, during this time, the movement was very weak as it had not gained strong voices. The name Rosa Parks cannot be left out when mentioning the struggles associated by the rights of the black people in the US. It should be noted that Rosa Parks was the female icon during the civil rights movement. Most people have been of the view that she had a big impact to the civil rights movement while others are of a contrary opinion. Therefore, this paper gives an analysis of Rosa Parks and the impact she had in the fight for civil rights. The paper focuses on the short-term impact of Parks. It borrows from both views – those who argue that she had a significant impact and those who argue against this view.

Overview of the Life of Rosa Parks

Rosa Louise McCauley was born in the year 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her father John McCauley was a carpenter while her mother – Leona Edwards was a teacher. She used to be sickling at her younger age. Her parents later separated letting her move with her mother to Pine Level next to Montgomery, Alabama. She thus spent her entire childhood with her maternal grandparents. Her stay in Montgomery made her develop a strong foundation in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Rosa never attended school till the age of 11 years. Till this age, she was schooled by her mother at home. She was admitted at the Industrial school for girls. While at school, she took both vocational and academic courses. After her elementary education, Rosa began her secondary education. However, she was unable to finish as she dropped out to nurse her grandmother who was sick. The childhood life of Rosa was greatly influenced by a piece of legislation referred to as the Jim Craw Laws in the South. These were segregate laws. They segregated the Negros from the white populations in nearly all aspects of life. African Americans were segregated in education, public rest rooms, transportation and public drinking rooms among many other utilities.

The early childhood life of Rosa exposed her to racial segregation and activism for equality of races. Both the grandparents of Rosa who resided in Montgomery were former slaves. This made them advocates of racial equality because of the racial atrocities that they had faced as slaves. An instance which painted a big mark in memory of Rosa, her grandfather took a position in front of the house holding a shotgun while the Ku Klux Klan members marched the streets. The school where Rosa attended had a lot of segregation practices. The school at Pine Level in Alabama had a new building and bus which were restricted to the white students. African-American students used the one room house in the school. The schoolroom for the black students had inadequate and poor facilities. The black students walked to school while their white counterparts were fetched by the school bus.

Later, in 1932, she got married to Raymond Parks who was a barber. At that time, Raymond was actively engaged in the forums arranged by the National Association for the Advancement of the Colored People (NAACP). Through the support of her husband, Rosa managed to finish high school in the year 1933. Rosa then became an active participant in the civil rights when she joined the NAACP – the Montgomery Chapter in the year 1943. Rosa was appointed to serve as a secretary to the president of the Association until the year 1957. Rosa is perhaps well known in the civil rights course through the bus boycott of Montgomery.

The significance of Rosa Parks in the Civil Rights Movement

Well, as observed earlier, there are differing opinions over the significance of Parks in civil rights course within the United States. We will begin with the opinions that support her significance and impact in the civil rights movement.

The Montgomery Buy Boycott Scene

The city code of Alabama stipulated that public transportation in the city was to be segregated. Bus drivers had powers equivalent to the powers of police officers while en forcing the city laws. The code directed the bus drives to offer equal but unique treatment to passengers from different racial groups. According to the city code, African Americans were required to sit at the back of the bus while their white counterparts sat in front of the bus. The bus was separated by a line separation the white passengers from the black passengers. When the buses were filled up, African-Americans were required to surrender their seats to the white passengers. Rosa was one of the African Americans who resented the discriminative city code of Alabama. On the first of December 1955, Rosa bordered a bus – Cleveland Avenue. She chose to take a seat at the front seats of the bus which was contrary to the Montgomery city laws. Parks is mostly referred to as the mother of the modern day civil rights movement. She is considered as one who pioneered the civil rights movement that aided in the creation of a way for the attainment of racial equality in US. It is argued that the timeline of Rosa Parks signifies change in the general treatment and outlook of the African-American communities in Untied States. Parks was convinced that giving up the seat was wrong and would not help in championing for their course.

Rosa Parks was of course not the first woman to boycott the Alabama city laws in the bus. Earlier in the same year that Parks was put under arrest for boycotting the bus laws, another black woman had been kicked out of the bus for committing a similar “offense”. This woman was not given attention by the NAACP of which Parks was one of the leaders. The organization did not take the initiative to rally behind these women. Nonetheless, they were pursuing a similar agenda to that of the organization. Many questions are raised as to why NAACP did not respond to that the incidence while they quickly responded to the arrest of Rosa Parks. Perhaps Parks was one of their own. The others did not have a platform to applaud their actions as Parks had. This is one of the theses of which those who argue against the significance uses to justify their argument.

Rosa was very resilient, even the time when she was ordered to give up the front sit to the whites; she was with other black women who had heeded to this requirement. The other women left the seats the white passengers. She was later arrested. Perhaps her behavior during this incidence is what makes Parks more significant to the civil rights movement. Once the news about the arrest of Parks by the Montgomery police reached NAACP, they began mobilizing for a boycott of the Montgomery buses. They posted notices on the newspapers and the neighborhoods of the black population. This was one of the biggest boycotts which lasted for more than one year. The boycott was joined by other upcoming civil rights advocates like Martin Luther King Junior. The Montgomery bus boycott sparked of a new spirit in the civil rights movement. The relevance of Rosa Parks in the fight for a change within the segregation laws and actions is signified by her actions. Notably, her actions sparked the bus boycott in Montgomery by the African-Americans. The bus boycott had various effects on the civil rights movement.

The long duration of the boycott jeopardized the operations of the buses thereby necessitating social reforms that would help in bringing an end to the boycott. The boycott was a major force in the decision to reverse the Montgomery Bus Ordinance. Prior to her action in the bus, Parks has come from a meeting that was held at the Highlander Center – Tennessee. During the meeting, the strategies of nonviolent action had been discussed one of them being the use of civil disobedience. She was the first person in the civil rights movement to put to practice what had been discussed, and sure enough it proved a point.

The actions of Rosa Parks united the African Americans. When the news about her arrest got to the black communities, they got together and arranged for the boycott. During the bus incidence, Martin Luther King Junior was the leader of the Montgomery improvement association. The bus boycott also sparked other non-violent forma of opposition to segregation such as picketing, non-violent marches or demonstrations, sit inns among many others. This opposition spread to the entire southern region where segregation was prevalent due to the Jim Craw Law. Indeed Rosa parks created a spark that created the momentum for the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks had been an activist in the civil rights movement even before the Montgomery bus boycott. Being a preacher and having experienced racial segregation, Rosa began championing for the civil rights movement.

The civil rights movement began even before the 19th century. Nonetheless, the activities at this time were not as vocal as during the 19th century. In the 1880s, a woman by the name Ida Wells also did the same act as was done by Rosa Parks. Perhaps the civil rights movement could have gained momentum at this point but there was no platform for applauding this scene during the first reconstruction of the United States. NAACP gave a good ground for Rosa Parks. However, it is important to give due credit to Rosa Parks because of the confidence she had at that time when the regime was highly segregate. The use of non-violence means to champion for a course calls for courage as was put across by Mahatma Gandhi. While the action of Rosa Parks is seen as being timid, the impact it had is what makes it enormous.

The Montgomery bus boycott was the solid genesis of the second reconstruction in the United States. It left a legacy for the civil rights movement. This was not the first boycott in the city of Alabama. Alabama had witnessed several other boycotts though these boycotts did not have as big impact as was the Bus Boycott. Rosa Parks was the author of the Bus boycott which in turn had far-reaching impacts on the fight for civil rights in the United States. This is considered the short – term but most significant impact of Rosa Parks in the civil rights movement.

Overview of the Second Reconstruction

The fight for the civil rights for the black people in the U.S. is a historical event that happened a long time ago. It began in the early 1800 and spread through the 1900. The period between 1877 and 1981 characterized by the civil rights is referred to as the second reconstruction. This moment in time was characterized by an upsurge in the civil rights movement. This period saw vocal and active civil rights advocated that stood out as true champions of the civil rights movement.

There are various individuals who left a legacy because of their contribution in eliminating discrimination in the United States. These individuals are often referred to as the civil rights leaders who contributed to reconstruction in different ways. The major focal point of the history of the fight for discrimination against the black people in the US lies in this period. This does not mean that we did not have other leaders before this period. During the period from 1877 to 1981, there emerged many individuals throughout the US who led people in opposition to the laws and actions that were considered to be oppressive and discriminatory to the black Americans. These individuals were both drawn from the government including a number of presidents of the United States and significant figures from the civil society. The civil rights movement could not bear fruits without the participation of the larger American population – the power of the people. However, there are very many individuals who went out the way and made a significant contribution to the war against discrimination in the US. This paper will center on a few individuals and their major contribution to the second reconstruction of the US. These are Booker T. Washington, Du Bois, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Junior.

The significance of William Edward Burghardt – Du Bois to the Second Reconstruction of the US

Dubois was born in 1868 in western Massachusetts. He lived till 1965 when he died. He was a historian, sociologist, pan Africanist and civil rights activist. Dubois was also an editor and author. Dubois experienced little racism during his early life as he was brought up in a tolerant community. He was the first African to attain a doctorate from Harvard University. Dubois rose to become a professor at Atlanta University teaching sociology, history and economics. In the year 1909, he was among the main founders of the National Association for the Advancement of the Colored People (NAACP). This is the association which grew and later came to organize the bus boycott in Montgomery within the state of Alabama. NAACP is one of the associations that had the biggest contribution in the civil rights movement.

Dubois became prominent through his activities in the Niagara Movement which was a group of activists – African-Americans who demanded equal rights for African-Americans. In the real sense, he was the leader of this movement. The movement rejected the Atlanta Compromise which was an agreement that had been crafted by Booker Washington. His argument was that the Atlanta Compromise subjected the black people in the United States to oppression and discrimination. The compromise provided that the blacks in the South were to submit themselves to the political rule in the south in exchange for economic and educational opportunities from the whites. Dubois insisted on the attainment of full civil rights for the African-Americans and the increased political representation. Dubois mainly targeted racial discrimination through his polemics. Dubois strongly opposed discriminatory practices in education and advocated for equal opportunities in education.

As an author, he used his works to voice his concerns. He authored a collection of essays known as “The Souls of Black Folk” and “Black Reconstruction in America”. His works were widely read by people across the United States. They led to a renewed awareness of segregation and discrimination of blacks in the United States. He also authored other political articles which awakened the fight for independence of the black nations.

James Bevel and his significance to the second reconstruction

James Bevel is one of the leaders of the civil rights movement who is rarely talked about. Nonetheless, he did a lot in the civil rights movement. He was born in the year 1936 in Itta Benna, Mississippi. Bevel was a minister, as well as a leader of the war against segregation and discrimination in the U.S. It should be noted that James was the main strategist who advocated for non-violence at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He was the main organizer of the non-violent interventions by the SCLC. He organized the famous March on Washington in the year 1963 among other nonviolent events.

Bevel did a lot in the civil rights movement in the 1960s leaving him to be called the “father of the voting rights”. Bevel did the ground work for the activities of the SCLC. He worked with the Nashville Student Movement before joining the SCLC. He took part in the Nashville sit-in movement of 1960. He was also the director of the Mississippi Voting Rights Movement. Bevel worked closely with King in developing the activities of the SCLC which was another major tool in the second reconstruction of the United States. Though he has a bad ending, it is important to mention him as one of the key figures in agitating for the rights of the African-Americans.

Martin Luther King Junior and his significance to the civil rights movement

Martin Luther King Junior was born in the year 1929 in Atlanta in the State of Georgia. He was a clergyman, activist and a very prominent leader of the civil rights movement. It is quite hard to separate the name Martin Luther from the civil rights movement. King is widely known for the active role he played in advancing the civil rights movement. He even lost his life as a result of his role in the movement. He advocated and led civil obedience actions against the oppressive regime. He was assassinated in1968.

King used the non-violent tactics as was advocated by Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi. He is an icon in the history of liberation in the US. King stated engaging in the early ages of his life. He was a minister in the Baptist church. This gave him a platform to raise his views against the oppression of blacks in the U.S. King was the main organizer of the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 in the state of Alabama. He was one of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference becoming the first president in the year 1957. The activities of King in the SCLC led to the great march on Washington in 1963. During this march, King delivered his famous speech – “I Have a Dream” which was very comprehensive and which sparked reaction from many people across the US. The speech elevated King to be regarded as one of the most renowned orators in the U.S. history. King continued using his oratorical skills as a nonviolent tool to fight for the rights of the black communities.

His efforts to fight for racial segregation and discrimination were recognized by the international community who awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize in the year 1964. His works later led to a planned assassination. During his assassination, he had focused on fighting poverty and the stoppage of the American war in Vietnam. He was assassinated on the 4th of April, 1968 in the state of Tennessee at Memphis. King was arrested several times and faced a lot of resistance from the government, but he remained determined thus he has remained relevant in the American history.

Prathia Hall and the American Civil Rights Movement

This is one of the least mentioned yet also an active advocate for the civil rights movement in the United States. She was born in 1940. She was an activist and a member of the civil rights movement of 1960s. Prathia was a very active member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Also, she was at the forefront in the Albany Movement. She was the speaker of the events of the movement. She also had good oratorical skills which featured in her speeches at the meetings of the movement and sermons.

Hall got arrested while still at the Temple University for her involvement in the anti-segregation protests within Maryland. This was in the year 1961. She was sentenced for two weeks. Pressure mounted forcing her to quit the university while she was just about to finish. She was also shot by police officers in 1962 while she was with other activists in Terrell, Georgia. She was also jailed several times while in Georgia. Hall preached at the first anniversary of the Albany movement. Also, she spoke about her future dream while at the site of the burned Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Terrell County. Beside Rosa Parks, Hall was one of the women who showed bravery in the fight against racial segregation and discrimination.

Julius Bond and the civil rights movement

Horace Julian Bond was born in 1940. He was a social activist and a leader of the civil rights movement. He was also an academician and a politician. His civil rights activism began while he was in college. He helped in forming the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee while he was at the college. He also helped in finding the Sothern Poverty Law Center of which he became its first president. He was elected in the United States parliament as a representative of the state of Georgia. While in parliament, he helped in advancing the civil rights by pushing for the passage of bills like the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Ralph David Abernathy and the Civil Rights Movement

Ralph was born in 1926 in Linden, Alabama. He is recognized among those who led the fight for the civil rights. He was also a minister which made him have very strong links with Martin Luther King Junior. He actively participated in the activities of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. After the assassination of King, Ralph took up the movement and led the 1968 March in Washington. He was also the key organizer of the Montgomery bus, 1965 following the arrest of Rosa Parks. He helped King to organize the strike.

The second reconstruction of the United States saw the resurgence of many activists who stood out to champion for the rights of the African Americans. Therefore, at this point, it is worth noting that the civil rights were not something that could be advanced by a single person. It required cooperation and a collection of ideas and efforts so that it could be successful. It also required the use of structured and systemic resilient tools like associations among others. Therefore, the fight against discrimination and segregation was a course that has very many participants most of whom are not even mentioned.

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The USA: From Reconstruction to Civil Rights, 1877 – 1981

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