The American civil rights movement dates back in the 19th century. However, it gained momentum in the 60’s and was dubbed the militancy movement. This was due to the vigor it received from the masses amid opposition from the government and a majority of the citizens. The core mandate for this movement was to champion for equality of the African Americans in the United States. In their agenda they championed for education for all without discrimination, social segregation, and voting rights.
Although the civil rights movement started way back in the 19th, there was little progress in the reform process. At schools, black students were still experiencing prejudice from the teachers, fellow students and tribes such as the Ku Klux Klan. In 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas ushered in a new era in the struggle for civil rights. This verdict was meant to stop segregation in public school. The decision was faced by vehement opposition from the whites and the Ku Klux Klan. Thus, the blacks were forced to protect themselves as they were easy targets for the opposing side.
The problem of segregation along race were rive in the air. The African Americans were not allowed to sit in buses. This led them to boycott buses for more than one year. In this period, a civil rights movement known as Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was formed and led by Martin Luther King. This group gained more power and influence when the Black elites from around the country south organized non violent protest in the streets from their set-ins (meetings held in secret). This saw the Supreme Court judge Boynton V. in Virginia 1960, outlaw social segregation in the country. This decision followed a series of brutality and murder.
Although the black Americans had gained tremendously in the education and segregation front, there were still ineligible to vote in the national elections. After the Second World War, they pushed for voting rights especially in the 60’s. But they were faced by harsh Whites intolerance and a series of murder and humiliation. Indeed a number of people lost their lives while still fighting for the voting rights. After two failed attempts to legislate voting for the African Americans, King led an 87-km march from Selma to Montgomery. Three activists lost their lives during the Selma demonstrations, but in August 1965, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.
The militancy movement saw the black people in the United States gain in many ways. It is due to this movement that they African Americans gained access to education. Social segregation was outlawed and the blacks were given voting rights. All this was the product of the active militancy movement.
