The Civil Rights Movement Armed Self-Defense - 789 Words

I. Introduction and Context The Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s to the 1960s was a period that significantly changed America forever. African-Americans did not have the same rights as white men, and were faced with segregation and discrimination. Under the Jim Crow Laws, blacks did not have equal access to public facilities and were treated as lower beings than whites. After many years of pain and struggle, all the while remaining silent, blacks finally decided to stand up for themselves and refuse to be compliant. Many acts of civil disobedience took place during this time, some were peaceful, while some were violent. An example of a civil disobedience from the Civil Rights Movement was Robert Williams’ protest to integrate facilities, where he uses armed self-defense, so that blacks were able to have equal access as whites. This was an effective form of protest because without the arms to protect themselves, the African-Americans wanting their voices to be heard would be suppressed by the brutality of racist white men. Civil disobedience is the act of resisting unjust laws; it is commonly, though not always, nonviolent. In his interview on Civil Disobedience, Howard Zinn explains, â€Å"Direct action means acting directly on the object of your protest or the source of your grievance†¦ another form of direct action is nonviolent (that is, avoiding violence against human beings) action† (Zinn). Zinn explains that there are different forms of civil disobedience. One couldShow MoreRelatedUnderstanding The Origins Of Black Resistance1501 Words   |  7 Pagesillustrates that armed self-defense as a form of black resistance dates back to the colonial era. Whereas historian Jacquelyn Dowd Hall has urged historians to look to Reconstruction to understand the origins of black resistance, Cobb begins even earlier with the emergence of American slavery. As a former member of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), Cobb uses both his own experiences to highlight the complex relationship between nonviolent activism and armed self-defense at the grassrootsRead More`` This Nonviolent Stuff ll Get You Killed By Charles E Cobb Jr.2170 Words   |  9 PagesKilled: How Guns Made The Civil Rights Movement Possible. New York: Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Group. 2014 The book that I will be discussing is â€Å"This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed†, written by Charles E Cobb Jr. Cobb wrote this book to discuss the importance of the armed self-defense movement. Cobb wrote specifically on this subject because in talking about the civil rights movement, many only discuss the nonviolent activists and their role. The armed self-defense also played a pivotalRead MorePresentation Speech : Prelude Of The Civil Rights Movement 1950s1211 Words   |  5 PagesPresentation Speech: Slide 1: Prelude to the Civil Rights Movement 1950s First, to see how we have gotten to the point of where society is at today, we need to know where we have come from. We can trace the roots of the civil rights movement back to the late 1940s and 1950s, starting with World War 2. During the war, the military was kept segregated, which kept white supremacy prominent. For example, blacks had separate drafts which limited into what branch they could serve. The Air Corps and NavyRead MoreThe Impact Of The Black Panther Party 1156 Words   |  5 PagesSmith J. Buergel Civil Rights 5/11/16 The impact of â€Å"The Black Panther Party† â€Å"We knew, as a revolutionary vanguard, repression would be the reaction of our oppressors, but we recognized that the task of the revolutionist is difficult and his life is short. We were prepared then, as we are now, to give our all in the interest of oppressed people† (Baggins). Radical and provocative, the 60’s was an era of complete political and social upheaval. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had bannedRead MoreAt The Dark End Of The Street1496 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"At the Dark End of the Street,† is a novel that takes back to the terrifying experience Recy Taylor had in Abbeville, Alabama. Taylor was gang-raped by six white men in the 1940s. This scene immediately shows readers the civil rights movement during the 20th century and how important it was in understanding what was happening. Danielle McGuire is the author of â€Å"At the Dark End of the Street,† which was published in 2010. However, â€Å"This Nonviolent Stuff’ ll Get You Killed,† is a novel that focusesRead MoreRadio Free Dixie1505 Words   |  7 Pagesroots of the movement had been planted long before by Mr. Robert F. Williams. In Timothy Tyson’s book: Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power, Tyson details the life of a remarkable man who had the audacity not only to challenge racial injustice in America but also to contest the rarely disputed strategies of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Establishment. Tyson uses Williams life to illustrate his central thesis: how both the Civil Rights Movement and BlackRead MoreThe Black Panther Party Essay1064 Words   |  5 Pagesera of complete political and social upheaval. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had banned the discrimination of people based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, the execution of this act were initially proven weak. Unlike other national organizations or campaigns against the U.S. government, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense remains the only organization to take a militant stance, frequently seen campaigning armed and proudly wielding weapons. Huey P. Newton and Bobby SealeRead MoreThe Black Panthers1465 Words   |  6 PagesPanther Party for Self Defense) was a Black Nationalist organization in the United States that formed in the late 1960s and became nationally renowned. (Wikipedia:The Free Encyclopedia, 1997). The Black Panther Party was founded in 1966 by party members Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in the city of Oakland, California. The party was established to help further the movement for African American liberation, which was growing rapidly throughout the sixties because of the civil rights movement and the workRead MoreThe Civil Rights Movement vs. The Black Liberation Movement Essay1103 Words   |  5 Pages On The Duty of Civil Disobedience, written by Henry David Thoreau, explains that civil disobedience is the act of standing for your beliefs even though they are against the law. Thoreau goes on to say that the government (because it is ruled by the majority) is not always right for everyone especially the individual and the minority. Over the course of American history, there have been many different groups formed for the purpose of civil disobedience. The two that I am going to focus onRead MoreDr. Martin Luther King Jr.1096 Words   |  5 Pagesand died August 22, 1989. He was an African-American political and urban activist who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929 and died April 4, 1968. He was an African-American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. There have been several questions about the methods and strategies of each of these pr otesters. Some questioned whether or not MLK worked for the government