From 1955 to 1965 there was a war right in the middle of America. No, it wasn’t a war like World War II or the Revolutionary War.
It was a war for the heart and soul of this
country to determine once and for all if America was really going to be a land
of equal opportunity for all. It is a war that eventually took on the name of
“The Civil Rights Movement.”
We must make no mistake; this was not just a
shouting match. Some of the events that we even remember today became quite
brutal and deadly. Those who fought in this war on both sides were deadly
serious about the causes they represented and willing to fight and even die to
see their cause succeed.
The war was waged for years and steady progress
was made but not without tremendous sacrifice by the leaders of the movement
who were committed to giving a new meaning to the phrase “set my people
free.”
In all of black history, there may be no more
significant time than the Civil War when the rights of African Americans
were so deeply fought and won. The tensions in the country had been building.
When the Supreme Court mandated desegregation
in the schools in the historic case Brown versus the Board of Education, the
stage was set. But it was on December 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give
up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama to a white man that the movement
finally took shape and became a titanic struggle for the rights of African
Americans in America.
That first battle brought to the front line
one of the most important figures to fight for the Civil Rights of that era, the
Reverend Martin Luther King.
This tremendous struggle for freedom was
never easy and was often marked with violence. Over the next ten years, some of
the most important milestones in black history took place including:
1957 – President Eisenhower had to send
federal troops to Arkansas to secure admission to Central High School by nine
black students.
1960 – The sit-in at Woolworth's lunch counter
in Greensboro North Carolina set the stage for a nonviolent protest that was used
with great success for the rest of the struggle. Nonviolent protest and civil
disobedience became a staple of the civil rights movement because of the
influence of Martin Luther King.
1963 – The historic March on Washington in
which over 200,000 people gathered to hear Dr. King's famous “I Have a Dream”
speech.
1964 – President Lyndon Johnson signed the
bill that was the most significant event of his presidency and one he believed
deeply in, the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
1965 – The assassination of Malcolm X and the
Watts race rights
1965 – President Johnson takes another bold
step to accelerate the civil rights movement by implementing Affirmative Action
when he issues Executive Order 11246.
This short list is just a few of the
highlights of this troubled time in which the rights of all citizens of
America, black and white and of all colors were being redefined both on the
streets, in the courts, and in the different branches of government. In the
years to come, there would be great steps forward.
One by one, every area of American life would
see breakthroughs by African Americans in the areas of sports, entertainment,
education, and politics. There were many proud moments and there were moments of
tremendous shame and heinous acts committed by both white and black people.
But through that entire struggle, the society
continued to grow and adapt to the will of the people as has always been the
tradition in American culture.
The struggle is far from over. Discrimination
and hate speech continues to be a problem to this day. And while it is easy to
reflect on those days of struggle with regret, we can also look at them with
pride.
We can be proud of the great leaders who
demonstrated tremendous courage and wisdom to lead this nation to a better way
of life. And we can be proud of America because it is here where such a
struggle can result in equality and freedom for all citizens, not just a few.
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