“Stand up, stand up for Jesus, Ye soldiers of the cross; Lift high His roy-al ban-er, It must not suf-fer loss: From Vic-t’ry un-to vic-t’ry His ar-my shall He lead, Till ev-ery foe is van-quished, And Christ is Lord in-deed” (Geibel).These words were once sung by members of the Ku Klux Klan during the time of segregation. Segregation is the unequal treatment by others due to their race. People were segregated in many places including schools, churches, and facilities such as parks and restrooms (Britannica). Many people during this time, had the thought that it was natural to be dominant over the “Negro Race.” In some places it was the law and others it was a way it had always been to discriminate in schools, housing, and public transportation (Woodward). Segregation is essentially a natural extension of slavery as it continued to restrict African American people and hold them in bondage over many years.
As segregation in Europe began, segregation by color began as well. The Africian Slave trade began in the 1400’s. The Blacks in America were separated from the mainstream society around the 1600’s. The horrifc conditions they were forced into and the isolation kept them powerless (“Segregation”). Conflicts between the thirteenth and fourteenth amendment also started occurring at this time. A law, which was passed around the same time, basically stated that as long as white men felt superior to other races, they would remain segregated. (Brown 24 25).
A new law that would be passed during this time was segregation between the races. Almost all southern states has these laws. The races were now separated in theaters and amusement parks, hospitals, auditoriums, jails, stockades, convict camps, deaf schools, blind schools, restrooms, and even elevators (Woodward). Many slaves had no right of citizenship, even their own children faced lives of being under the power of someone else. Even religious people somewhat segregated people of different faiths. They believed their beliefs were ungodly. If certain people didn’t follow the majority then they were forced to live apart from the rest of the community. Segregation affected everything about people’s lives. It affected where people could work, where they could live, and where they went to school. Until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation was still legal in the southern parts of the United States. After the law was passed, it became illegal nationwide to practice segregation in public places (“Segregation”).
School integration on a national scale proceeded slowly until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The southern schools were more diverse than the northern schools. In the mid-1970’s, many attempts were made to make the northern schools more integrated. Officials attempted to desegregate the public schools by busing less fortunate children into more wealthy school districts. Many times this attempt was met with violence (“Segregation”). At schools, blacks didn’t get equal educational opportunities. Separating them generated a feeling of not belonging, which affected their hearts and minds. This had a tendency to impair their education and mental development, depriving them of equal benefits. “Separate but equal” was not true, having this segregation is practically ignoring the laws they already had over segregation (Warren 68-69). African Americans were denied admission to the public schools which were attended by white children, causing them to have non-equal treatment. The Supreme Court heard arguments over this in 1953, when many schools tried to become equal but most were denied (Warren 65).
Also occurring during this time was the problem that only white men could own property. African American had to live completely different lives than the white people did. They had to go to different schools, have different colored houses, and use different streets. African Americans were treated very unfairly during this time. There have even been cases where black men get in trouble for even looking at white girls. African Americans were also not allowed to ride in the same train carts as white people, they had separate carts they were forced to ride (Brown 26 27). The rule was the average person had to sit on the train where their race was assigned to. There were certain consequences if they didn’t obey these rules, they would either have to be fined twenty-five dollars or spend twenty days in prison. The railway coach had the right to refuse people from riding based on their race. Another rule that was very active during this time was “nothing in this act shall be construed as applying to nurses attending children of the other race” (Warren 23 24).
The Supreme Court Ruling of 1954 declared segregation in schools was unconstitutional. The process of desegregation went pretty smoothly for Atlanta and Louisville, but in other cities it didn’t go so well. These cities chose to ignore the decision and continue to exclude blacks. The governer of Arkansas would not allow nine African Americans to attend school in Little Rock. President Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock to protect those students and stop the violence (“Segregation”). Even with these laws, people still found ways around them. Homeowners may discriminate by refusing to sell or rent to certain people groups. The way they might do this is by pricing property far beyond the ability of certain buyers or telling them it’s already been sold. These forms of prejudice are hard to prove and sometimes go unnoticed. (“Segregation”).
It wasn’t until the 1950s when the Civil Rights caught fire, that many seeds of the movement were planted while the nation was engaged in World War II. African Americans fought as equals during the war, so they expected equal treatment when they returned. During the Civil Rights, there were many different leaders which each had a tremendous effect. The most important leader during this time was Martin Luther King, Jr. King was a Baptist minister. He emerged as the Chief Leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Other people who had a big effect during this time are the following: Roy Wilkins, who was a longtime director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, A. Philip Randolph ,who led a labor union of African American railroad car porters, Whitney M. Young, who was executive director of the National Urban League from 1961 to 1971.,Ralph Abernathy, who was president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference from 1968 to 1977, Bayard Rustin, who pioneered “freedom ride” protect marcles, and Reverend Jackson, who was the chief spokesperson of minority rights (“Segregation).
In 1955, Rosa Parks, from Montgomery, Alabama, ignited the civil rights movement. Parks refused a white bus driver’s orders to move to the back of the bus she was riding, causing her to get arrested and fined fourteen dollars. African Americans started to boycott the bus, and segregation ended after it went to court. This was a major turning point in the Civil Rights.It was the first time a segregation law had been made invalid through the effects of an average African American (“Segregation”). After this happened, Rosa Parks was elected Secretary of the
Montgomery Advancement of Colored People, and she held this post until 1956. Rosa Parks and her husband, Raymond, later lost their jobs and moved to Detroit. The boycott, nevertheless, continued until the buses were integrated on the twenty-first of December, the 381 day boycott launched King as a national figure (“Parks”).
