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Essay / Civil Rights Movement - 1334
Since African Americans were brought to America as slaves, racism and segregation have increased significantly. By the 1950s, times had become even tougher for this race, with racism reaching an unprecedented level. This was not only a problem, but it had reduced black rights to few, if any. African Americans felt they had a responsibility to fight peacefully and obtain the rights they believed were owed to them. The thought of civil disobedience exhibited by many of these people gave rise to the civil rights movement. A movement supposed to have the effect of bringing more than just rights to African-Americans, but also to raise the responsibility of black people throughout the country. Their responsibility had now changed and now had to learn to assimilate with the white people around them. The civil rights movement began in 1954 with the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which struck down the doctrine of "separate but equal." ". The Brown v. Board of Education was the beginning of a long series of cases that began to transform American democracy. African Americans quickly realized that they had to do something if they wanted to regain their rights. They understood that they all had a responsibility to fight against the government's decision of de jure segregation. Many understood that they must take the path of civil disobedience as described by Martin Luther King Jr., but the rise of black nationalism caused many people across the country to forget that they had a responsibility as people. Activist groups and leaders such as the Black Panther Party and Malcolm ...traveled on the road to integration when they first set foot on the American continent, but they had now earned their right to be treated equally with their white brothers. From sit-ins to riots and rebellions, the African-American race has flaunted its rights to free speech and gained the new right to be treated equally with others around it. Works Cited Foner, Eric and John A. Garraty, eds. “Civil Rights Movement.” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 1991. Web. February 25, 2014. .College, Tougaloo. “Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement.” Bruce Hartford, 1998. The Web. February 25, 2014. .Davis, Jack E. “Civil Rights Movement: An Overview.” » Np, and Web. February 25. 2014. .