Noah Mader 02/15/12 Bill Dahlk Civil Rights Movement Essay For hundreds of years dating all the

way back to the 1600s, the African Americans have been taking a back seat to the white race. Blacks and Whites have been fighting a battle to get along. Slavery ended in 1865, and ever since they have struggled to get along. Whites always thought that they were greater than blacks and thought that they deserved better in everything in life than blacks. Blacks always wanted to be equal, but it wasnt until around 1955 when they finally started to do something about it. It took a nice lady to finally stand up, or you could say sit down, for what she believes in. Rosa Parks got on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama and sat in the front of the bus. The front of the bus was designated for whites only. When a man asked her to sit down and she refused to give up her seat, she was arrested. This news heard around America started revolution that changed the world. That revolution would turn out to be the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement was started to raise awareness o f racial segregation and discrimination. The Civil Rights Movement had a fearless leader in Martin Luther King, Jr who was a 27 year old new Baptist minister .

Martin Luther King, Jr played a very important role in the civil rights movement as many people followed him and learned what to do from his speeches. Martin Luther King, Jr organized many protests after Parks was arrested. After her arrest, it was decided that the black commun ity would have a bus boycott. Many of the blacks relied on the buses to travel around as they did not have cars. Many black ended up walking everywhere they went. The boycott was only to be for one day, but it went on for an entire year. The boycotts lead to many different plans to raise awareness. Martin Luther King, Jr lead the black community to these ideas then helped them win in the end. Martin Luther King, Jr was a strong leader in non -violent protest. Many of his protests that he lead were non -violent. Even though they were non-violent, the white group responded with violent actions including using fire hoses and police dogs during their protests. During the bus boycotts, Martin Luther King, Jr would give many different speeches. It was the determination that won them the right to sit in the front of a bus. In November 1956, the US Supreme Court ruled that the law segregating buses was unconstitutional. The boycotts were a success and they could now sit wherever they chose. Thanks to Martin Luther King , Jr, his leadership and speeches won them a lot of battles with the courts.

The role of the media played a huge role in the Civil Rights Movement. With the TV being in almost every single home by this time, all of the Civil Rights Movement was put on TV. People across the nation knew what was going on and saw all of it. When Martin Luther King, Jr and the black community would go on a march, it was on TV. TV played a big role as when many blacks saw what was going on, they too wanted to get involved and joined the cause. During the boycotts of stores where many blacks picketed and rioted with non-violence, Bull Conner who was the head of the police at the time in Birmingham ordered to use police dogs and fire hoses on the protesters. This was shown on TV across the world and everyone was in shock. Many of the whites in the north were outraged and started to join the cause for desegregation. They joined the cause and joined the marches that the blacks would have, now the fight we desegregation was backed no t only by the black community, but the white community also from the north. All of this put a lot of pressure on President Kennedy. In the end President Kennedy was forced to propose the Civil Rights Bill. The Civil Right Bill ended segregation in most public facilities and made discrimination in hiring illegal. Without the TV and the role of media in the fight, the black community would not get the help of the white community and not many people would know what was going on in Alabama.

As I talked about before, the white community responded to the protests in a very not ethical way. In the beginning of the movement during the bus boycotts, Bull Conner who was the head of the police at the time in Birmingham ordered to use police dogs and fire hoses on the protesters. In Selma, Alabama, many black people were protesting to earn the right to vote. On March 7, 1965 they organized a march in Selma. When the march reached the borders of the city, they were met by state troopers and ordered to go back. When they refused, the state troopers charged beating them with clubs and using tear gas. The beatings were once again captured by cameras and aired on TV. After the Civil Right Bill was passed, many of the whites were very angry. They started many Klan type actions, including many bombings. Many of these incidents were aired on TV. This played a big role in the fight as the President did not want any more of the beatings and was forced to pass many bills in favor of the black community. There are many different reasons why the blacks won the struggle for basic rights. There were many great leaders, the role of media played a big role, and when whites get angry and start to beat up blacks, so does the president. Without all of these things, the black community would have a tough time getting their rights.