Black+Americans

Black Americans

__Purpose__ __Methods__
 * 1) **CORE** (Congress of Racial Equality): //Open to “anyone who believes that ‘all people are created equal’ and is willing to work towards the ultimate goal of true equality throughout the world.”(CORE, Wikipedia) CORE advocates for conservative causes.//
 * 2) **SCLC** (Southern Christian Leadership Council and MLK Jr.): //To carry on nonviolent crusades against the evils of second-class citizenship. End all forms of segregation. The Ku Klux Klan and the White Citizens’ Council discouraged black based churches and communities from joining the organization.//
 * 3) **SNCC** (Student for Non-Violent Coordinating Committee): //A nonviolent student organization that used certain methods or protests to remove segregation from cities. Many whites brutally attacked students while staging sit-ins and other protests.//
 * 4) **Black Muslims** (Malcolm X): //“To improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African Americans in the United States.” (Nation of Islam, Wikipedia) Malcolm X called “for armed self-defense” (Danzer, 713) and persuaded other members of the Black Muslims to resent whites.//
 * 5) **Black Powers and the Black Panthers**: //There goal was to fight police brutality and have African-Americans define their own goals and lead their own organizations. Stokely Carmichael urged the SNCC “to stop recruiting whites and to focus on developing African-American pride.” (Danzer, 714) They were faced with fear and distrust from white leaders which caused problems for them.//
 * Many of these organizations used freedom rides to end segregation in interstate travel. Some of them built Freedom Schools to help teach black history and the civil rights movements to influence them to join. Others built Citizenship schools to help adults learn how to read so they could pass literacy tests when voting, or be able to fill out driver’s license exams, or use mail form orders, or open checking accounts. Other than the Black Muslims and the Black Panthers, the other organizations held many nonviolent campaigns. The Black Muslims had extremists, like Malcolm X, give speeches on how they were the original race and all other race’s branched off from them. The Black Panther party helped spread black power and protected Black-Americans from police brutality.


 * Unfortunately, many black churches and black homes were firebombed and volunteers were often beaten by white mobs. Laws were changed to make it seem equal, but most local governments found loop holes or didn’t enforce them. Some leaders of the organizations were murdered. This led to Black-Africans having more reactions towards the governments and white people in general. This then led white people into dragging on the process of granting equality.

__Outcomes__
 * The efforts from all of these groups have contributed in today’s society. A lot of laws were made to end segregation and give Black-Americans their natural rights. There are still racist people and organizations out there, but there aren’t as many as there once was. Some of these organizations are still running, but they aren’t fighting for freedom anymore. They have gained much respect and have helped shape the world today.

> "From afar firearms scream. > A man topples and brood spurts > out of ruptured limbs. > Leaves are red; it is autumn. > > Through the leaves color flows, > figures crossing back and forth. > Through the leaves sunlight glows, > memories brought forth in autumn. > > At first pain itself then feeling goes, > passing with a deadness that leaves no more. > > The stillness of ethereal air. > Circles turn silvery arcs glide > forward with a smile to bare > Stop. And then we part." > (McNichols, Steven)
 * A MOMEMT OF SILENCE**

> This poem explains the moment of silence when a protestor is hit and he screams in pain, and than silence. His blood staining the surrounding around him signifying his sacrifice. And he dies silently with the pain go away. This represents the sacrafice of the black protestor as he fights with loudness and than silenced, to death. > **THE LITTLE GIRL FROM LITTLE ROCK** > "Policemen and Federalized National Guardsmen > Brothers and cousins in the Klan > Stood at the curb on both sides of her > Holding big dogs, bred to track game, convicts and niggers, > On long leashes. > Leaping, snarling, salivating > Hunting dogs straining > To set their teethIn the American flesh of the little girl. > Who walked between them. > > A brown skinned ninth grade student > With short hair, plaid dress, and books > Facing forward, walking forward. > A brave, every day American girl going to school > Down the middle of the street. > > Out-of-step with the dogs > Out-of-step with the sidewalk hate chorus > Reaching, screaming, snarling, spitting > Everyday American townspeople > Imprinting words into her flesh forever. > > She walked to a baiting, hating, hog-tied Governor > And his power hose color guard at the steps > A martyr for the President > And the waiting world press. > > She stayed the course with 7 others > They had to swallow so much hate > I nursed the first of four white babies > Vicariously safe in '58. > > I nursed the fourth in August, 1963, > Sat sad and proud of Dr. King > Hoping that his words would gather > Jobs and peace for the aggreived. > > Thirty years passed like a shadow > A rally in DC in August 1993 > An anniversary, a new call > For Jobs and Peace > > Busses were cancelled because money was scarce. > I was in a van of civil rights workers from the '50s > I sat across the aisle > From the shorthaired, brown-skinned girl in the plaid dress. > > She slumped in her seat reeling before the first stop. > Feeling the old experience. > Folding herself into a ball. > She said it was flu but it wasn't. > The rest of us knew. > > The Klansmen were there, too. > Had she sensed what would be? > Does whispered hate wait forever? > It was there. In every parking lot we pulled into, > Waiting. > > "Don't get out of the van," they ordered. > Venom on their tongues. > "Can we get take-out," I, the white one, asked? > "Can I and one other use your restroom?" > "Yir with them ain't ya? Get out of this parking lot. > We have a private party in here. > "And so it was except for McDonalds. > From Dallas, Texas to Washington, D. C. on the interstate. Then was now > Same power. > Same hyenas shepherding > The end of the road stop > Same show, blacks in a big car, using the side of the road. > > There are challenges, colleges, > Opportunities to be middle class > If you walked the line and were bootstrap > At the same time. > > Except for this > Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend? > Are we on the downslope of hate? > Ask the ADL, Ask Klanwatch. > Ask her."

(Bernstein, Joan Dresner) > This poem is significant in its own right because it describes the hardship of the girl time getting into Little Rock. This was the most pivitol moment in Civil Rights movement where blacks and whites can finally learn together in a public school system insegerated. It also shows the cruelty of people to one another just because of the color of skin and her and others hardship to be equal.

> . >

This is a picture of the Olympics with two African Americans lifting their black gloves signifying that they are representing Black Power. African Americans were treated as people who were not recognized so in this event African Americans were given recognition through the accomplishments of these two athletes.



This is a picture of the March on Washington. In the front are civil rights leaders. The enormous crowd is holding tons of signs as they march to Washington D.C. They are in search of desegregation and rights equal to white people. Using a march demonstrates they are committed to their cause to sacrifice time and energy to a cause that they thoroughly believe in. These marchers faced oppposition as they marched. The KKK was the biggest opposer of the march. Even JFK didn't want them to complete the march because he feared that it might make the legislators oppose the civil rights laws.They met at the Lincoln Memorial, which is significant because they wanted to finish what President Lincoln had started about 100 years ago.



This is a picture of one of the Little Rock Nine. On September 25, 1957 Elizabeth Eckford walked to Little Rock High School in Arkansas and was surrounded by angry pro-segregation people. In the case Brown vs. Board of Education, Senator Brown would not let blacks integrate into his schools. So John F. Kennedy brought the 101st Airborne with tanks and weapons to let them in. This act demonstrates that African Americans would go through heated situations to get what they wanted. In this case it was free education without separation of colors. It also showed that they were not afraid of anything that stood in their way to equality.



This is a picture of the Rosa Parks incident. At this time blacks were sent to the back of the bus when whites came in. Rosa Parks did not want to give up her seat. She was then arrested and that started to bus boycotts. Her act of rebellion stirred in thousand of African Americans and finally after the bus companies realized they needed the blacks to keep them running. So African Americans demonstrated that they will do whatever it takes to get equality. This picture of Rosa Parks represents the strength and the will that they had during the bus boycotts.

media type="custom" key="13059200"

This is a portion of the great speech MLK gave on August 28 1963 in WashingtonDC. I believe this speech made America realize that Black-American people wanted to have the same rights and same treatment as a normal white person. Martin Luther King along with many other great leaders gave many speeches to the people who attended to show them that no matter what it will take; Black-Americans are willing to sacrifice anything to have that “Dream” of being equal and non-discriminated.

media type="custom" key="13200510"

This video is on the Montgomery Bus Boycott. I believe this is a important time to Black-American people because this was the start of the end of segregation and discrimination for Black-Americans. MLK was a wise leader that follow or believed on Gandhi’s philosophy on civil disobedience. He drove his people to never revolt against any assaults towards them. Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving her seat to a white person. MLK then led the Montgomery Bus Boycott that lasted over a year, after this event, Congress found it unconstitutional to segregate buses, so they passed a law that allowed blacks to sit on the front.

“In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham. There can be no gainsaying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community.Birminghamis probably the most thoroughly segregated city in theUnited States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. These are the hard, brutal facts of the case. On the basis of these conditions, Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the latter consistently refused to engage in good faith negotiation” (King Jr. Letter from a Birmingham Jail). Martin Luther King wrote this document when he was jailed in Birmingham for a nonviolent protest. The document itself is eleven paragraphs, but this is the most important. He explains his process of a nonviolent campaign, and states flat out that Birmingham is the most segregated city in the United States. This shows that African-Americans everywhere were not going to stand for segregation anywhere. Martin Luther King lives in Atlanta, but by this protest, he showed that he would not stand for segregation in Atlanta, in Birmingham, or in America in general. This document almost served as an accusation of the white people neglecting to recognize the black community and culture. This paragraph accurately portrays that the black people did not want violence or war; they simply just wanted to be free. However, it also showed the white people that they would not stop until they were given the rights they felt they deserved.
 * Primary Documents:**
 * //“Letter from a Birmingham Jail”// Martin Luther King Jr.**


 * //“The Ballot or the Bullet”// Malcolm X**

"Now in speaking like this, it doesn't mean that we're anti-white, but it does mean we're anti-exploitation, we're anti-degradation, we're anti-oppression. And if the white man doesn't want us to be anti-him, let him stop oppressing and exploiting and degrading us" (Malcolm X, “The Ballot or the Bullet”). Malcolm X was a highly influential figure in the civil rights movement. He was a member of a group called the Black Panthers, which still exist today. Aside from Martin Luther King, Malcolm X was the second most followed leader for black rights. This excerpt is extremely important to the movement because Malcolm X explains that he does not hate white people. He hates the oppression and hatred they show the black people. This speech re-assured many white followers of the civil rights movement that the black people resented the hatred, not the white people themselves. It teaches us that all the groups of the civil rights movement just wanted to end the hatred and segregation. They wanted the black people to live with the white people peacefully if possible. The white people noticed that they must recognize the black culture and accept them in order for them to not be anti-white.

__**Conclusion**__ As of right now the African-American Community is not as equal as everyone percieves. There are several issues concerning to Black community including the Klu Klux Klan, white supremacists, and racists. As quoted by Huey P. Newton, “ I do not expect the white media to create positive black male images.” He means that world still perceives blacks as socially different people with the rest of the world. Many accomplishments the Black Community has achieved are a Black President, accomplished athletes, Olympic winners, Senators and Representatives in Congress. They’re in our life, jobs, and community. There are no known black movements as of today as they are equal and there’s nothing left to fight for.

Works Cited AmericanHistoryRules. //Montgomery Bus Boycott//. //Youtube//. Google, 6 May 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. [].
 * __References:__**

AP Photographer. //http://www.wikipedia.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2012. .

Bernstein, Joan Dresner. “THE LITTLE GIRL FROM LITTLE ROCK .” //www.crmvet.org//. webmaster@crmvet.org, 2004. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. [].

CurtHenniganImpact. //Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Speech(i have a dream)//. //Youtube//. Google, 13 May 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. [].

Danzer, Gerald A., et al. “From the Grassroots Up.” //The Americans: Reconstruction through the 20th Century//. Evanston, Illinois: McDougal Littell Inc., 1999. 702. Print.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” Letter. 16 Apr. 1963. //Africa Upenn//. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. [].

“Little Rock Nine.” //http://theleimertparkgroup.blogspot.com//. http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/‌imagegallery.php?EntryID=M082, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. [].

McNichols, Steven. “A Moment of Silence.” Editorial. //www.crmvet.org//. N.p., 2004. Web. 9 Mar. 2012. [].

“Moments in the Life of Martin Luther King Jr.” //www.abcnews.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2012. [].

Nash, Sunny. “Race Relations in America.” //Sunnynash.Blogspot.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. [].

Ross, Shmuel. “Civil Rights March on Washington (History, Facts, Martin Luther King Jr.” //www.infoplease.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. [].

Wikipedia. “Congress of Racial Equality.” //Wikipedia//. wikimedia, 10 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. [].

- - -. “Nation of Islam.” //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Fondation, Inc, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. [|http://en.wikipedia.org/‌wiki/‌Nation_of_Islam#Separatism].

X, Malcolm. “’The Ballot or the Bullet.’” //Enotes//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. .