Martin Luther King Jr. fought against inequality and single-handedly led the Civil Rights movement. One thing he fought against was the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws were a series of laws passed that separated the whites from the blacks. These laws were one of many reasons for the cCivil rRights movement that. This movement was all about fighting for equality. Fighting against stereotypes in that time such as, Hispanics only do manual labor, and new ones today such as millennials can not live without devices, these stereotypes make our history. The Jim Crow laws and pictures in media, is one of many segregation issues minorities have fought to stop for many years. People like Martin Luther King Jr. worked very hard to stop the stereotypes of the 1900s. These rights impacted minorities history but, even minorities struggle with stereotypes today.
The Jim Crow laws affected black people all over the country. “In U.S. history, any of the laws that enforced racial segregation in the South between the end of Reconstruction in 1877 and the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s.”(Urofsky, 2018). OneSome examples of these laws was are how black people were required to could only ride in the back of the bus. African Americans They would have to sit in separate waiting rooms and buy tickets at separate windows. Children could not go to the same school, Whites and Blacksblacks would learn separately. Last, iIf you wanted to enroll in a militia, whites and blacks would be enrolled separately, would not serve together, and would be lead by white militiaman.
These laws impacted blacks in many ways. They would often live less prosperous lives and could only hang out with their kind. Blacks had no rights at all. They were forced to follow these laws. These laws lead to the civil rights movement. A big part of the civil rights movement was lead by Martin Luther King Jr. the laws affected his early childhood a lot. He lost one of his best friends in his neighborhood do to segregation. This is one of many reasons why he became passionate about the civil rights movement.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. He grew up on Auburn Avenue and was exposed to segregation at a young age. One of his best friends was not allowed to play with him because of their race. Martin Luther King Jr. lead the civil Rights Movement in the 1940s. He walked marches and gave many speeches about racial equality. He fought for equality until the day he died in 1968. Thanks to Martin Luther King Jr. he broke many old stereotypes.
There are many old stereotypes. Including anti- Italianism and anti- Irish. Anti- Italianism is hostility toward Italian people and Italian culture. It uses stereotypes about Italian people, a popular one being that most Italians are naturally violent, or somehow associated with the Mafia. (Anti- Italianism) Another stereotype is anti- Irish. Anti- Irish is In the past the Irish have been unfairly stereotyped as “thick Paddies”, “alcoholics”, “terrorists”, etc, and whilst some Irish people may have looked upon this as a bit of banter, others object, viewing it as a form of racism. (twopunchman2016) these stereotypes hurt entire races like how blacks were hurt in the 1920s.
Another stereotype would be how Hispanics were considered unintelligent and only work manual labor. Blacks were also considered coons or picannyies. These are both derogatory terms that are offensive to black people.
There are many modern stereotypes as well. A lot of them have to do with how you look or feel like you have to be skinny to look pretty. Others are about how people can’t live without devices. Examples of this are how millennials can’t live without their phones and how they can not socialize because of it. These modern stereotypes are just like the ones in the 1920s. The stereotypes separate people.
Every generation will have its own stereotypes. It’s important to fight against them like martin Luther King did. People like Martin Luther King Jr. worked very hard to stop the stereotypes of the 1900s. These rights impacted minorities history but, even minorities struggle with stereotypes today.
Work Cited
- Editors, History.com. “Civil Rights Movement.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement.
- Urofsky, Melvin I. “Jim Crow Law.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 Aug. 2018, www.britannica.com/event/Jim-Crow-law.
- Carson, Clayborne, and David L. Lewis. “Martin Luther King, Jr.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 16 Jan. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Luther-King-Jr
- “Jim Crow Laws.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/malu/learn/education/jim_crow_laws.htm.
- Editors, History.com. “Segregation in the United States.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 Nov. 2018,www.history.com/topics/black-history/segregation-united-states.
- Carson, Clayborne. “American Civil Rights Movement.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/event/American-civil-rights-movement.
- SparkNotes, SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/biography/mlk/summary/. “Hibernophobia.” Urban Dictionary, www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Hibernophobia
