Civil liberties Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Civil liberties - Term Paper Example The movement led to the irresistible transformation of the American political, social, and cultural life. Amendments on the prevailing notions concerning the citizenship rights of the blacks, for example, together with a redefinition courts and government’s role in protecting people’s rights, continued to strengthen the human rights of all American citizens, regardless of the color of their skin (Bryant, 2009, p. 1). The word civil-right often conjures people like Martin Luther delivering the soul-stirring â€Å"I have a dream† speech on the nation’s capital. The civil rights movements are believed to have started earlier in the 18th century when the blacks who were enslaved demanded their elementary citizenship rights. From 1955 to 1970, the blacks’ effort to bring their cause to attention met some success. The Congress approved the Civil Rights Act to create a civil rights partition in the Justice Department which would implement voting and other rights. In 1951, Thurgood Marshall and the National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) resolved to fight for the rights of the African American children who were forced to join completely segregated schools yet considered to be equal as those used by the whites. They assumed that the segregation in schools dehumanized the African Americans just as slavery affected them. ... This court ruling sent a message that segregation was intolerable in the country (Spungin, 2007, p. 1). In 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a crowded Alabama city bus and sat near the front. Rosa declined the request to take the back seats and was arrested by the Montgomery police. Rosa’s actions stimulated the black community to support the civil rights movement by arranging boycotts. Their decision as a large group would make the bus companies incur losses and stress the point that segregation in busses was unjust and would not be endured. The protests were not only successful, gathering worldwide sympathy, but also attracted Martin Luther, an eloquent and inspiring leader, a clergy at the Baptist Church. Luther’s emergence as the movement’s leader using non-violent tactics such as those used by Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian nationalist, characterized the entire movement inspiring participation from many blacks as well as whites (Elliott, 2012, p. 1). As the blacks living in the South grew more confident with sympathy from the outside world, their protests increased. In 1960, four black college scholars staged ‘sit-ins’ at restaurants which served whites only. In the face of the arising challenges, the whites responded by arresting, and attacking the Protestants. However, the leaders of the movement refused to be deterred by threats of prison: Luther was jailed more than 12 times, but still fought for the rights of the people. Important People Associated with the Civil Rights Movement (Fairclough, 2011, p. 1) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Luther is one of the significant figures in the Civil Rights movement. Being a college educated preacher, he was an essential character in arranging the bus boycott in