Assess the contribution of local grass root activists in the civil rights movement

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Assess the contribution to the civil rights movement of local grass-roots activists

        The American civil rights movement is perhaps one of the most significant and influential movements of our history. For decades in America the African-American population suffered severely from discrimination, however it was a sequence of events which sparked an entire black nation to demand change. The fact that the country was found on the basis of freedom spoke out to many of the African-American’s but it was perhaps after World War Two that the African-American population acted on their feelings, especially as they felt obliged to share the same rights as the white people who fought alongside them. Regardless of the actual reason as to what started this movement it is the variety of factors which contributed to the civil rights movement which are significant. When analysing the effects that the local grass-root activists had on the movement it is also as important in discussing other significant factors such as the influences of Malcolm X, media coverage and government involvement.

        Martin Luther King Junior and Rosa Parks could be considered two of the biggest names when discussing the Civil Rights movement in America. They both stood for the same idea, equality, as well as their connections with local grass-root activists allowed them to become heavily involved in the movement. It can be said that the famous Rosa Parks story of not giving up her seat and getting arrested is the start of the movement; nevertheless the tactics used by local grass-root activists that followed had a peaceful yet strong message. Martin Luther King Junior was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLL) which planned some of the movements’ biggest events which had great impact, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington. The main reason why the local grass-root activists were so effective and popular was because they were involved with the population of blacks which allowed them to spread the word whilst getting everyone involved. For example with the Montgomery Bus Boycott “working-class blacks walked miles to their jobs…Black taxis lowered rates to the same dime fare that buses charged and crammed riders in” 1 . This demonstrates the strong bond between the ethnic community as everyone is willing to do their bit for the struggle which resulted in a 13month successful boycott, “As the bus company, downtown businessmen, and city lost $1 million, local authorities tried to destroy the boycott” 2 It was a victory, not just a victory in the sense that they cost companies millions but that their peaceful protesting and their voices were finally being heard; “We felt that we were somebody. That somebody listened to us, that we had forced the white man to give what we knew [was] our own citizenship…” 3. Furthermore the vicious attacks being made in public on peaceful protests gained a lot of media attention as well as sympathy from white people across America. It is undeniable that Martin Luther King’s tactics were very much like those of Ghandi’s which is why he was so popular with the public; he used the media well to his advantage to show the peaceful protests. Not only did the grass-root activist’s spread the word but they committed fully to all boycotts, sit ins and protests which is why their effort was as successful as it was. For example with the Washington riots there was hoped to be 100,000 protesters, “Rustin was worried about falling short of the goal of 100,000 marchers…28 August 1963, 21 special trains, 1,514 buses and countless car pools brought 250,000 marchers to Washington.” 4, this highlights how popular the movement was becoming as the peaceful protesters were coming in from all parts of America as well as the success of the grass-roots activists seeing that they managed 250,000 people to march peacefully, not just black people marching but whites too which showed that they had got at least a bit of their message out- part of the plan. One other example of the success of grass-root activists are the various ride-ins by both white and black people as it showed that they had courage and believed in what they did. One particular ride-in which was perhaps the most successful was when the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) recruited thirteen people with no harmful reputations, so the press could not blame or badmouth the freedom riders, to ride into New Orleans via many other racist and segregated states. The success of the story is not so much that they arrived in these places but the attention and media coverage it caused. The fact that each person was willing to die for the cause, “I think all of us were prepared for as much violence as could be thrown at us. We were prepared for the possibility of death” 5  , demonstrated that they would not be stopped and for the entire black nation to see it gave every single African-American a purpose and showed what unity could do, which it did. When one of the busses arrived in Birmingham and was burned to ashes it allowed the media to intervene which exposed America as being a racist and prejudice nation – not what the Kennedy’s wanted. As a result of the coverage it angered the southerners even more so but more significantly it created even more awareness about the situation. With the combination of very skilled public speakers, like Martin Luther King, as well as the support from grass-root activists and their supporters it was inevitable that at least some sort of voice would be heard- instead millions of voices were heard through the mouth of Martin Luther King junior and through the courageous efforts maintained by the black population across America.

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        The civil rights movements for many people represent Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks; however there were other important factors which also contributed greatly to the civil rights movement. One of the most famous and perhaps the most effective cases during the civil rights movement was the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which was made up of five similar cases that were challenging the segregation of blacks in schools. One of the reasons it made an impact was that it made political figures think that the African-Americans deserved an equal opportunity in life, “ We must consider ...

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