"Angel One"
just realized that one of the essays is missing entirely...not good at all
The Civil Rights movement and the Feminist movements of the 20th century were similar in many aspects. It seemed that one could not have succeeded without the other, despite that neither group was out to promote the other to any extent. Nonetheless, in the 20th century both groups would begin to receive rights that had hitherto been reserved for white males only.
Firstly, the African Americans were by far receiving less than women were on a whole. They had actually been granted voting rights, something that women did not have yet, which White southerners went to great lengths to deny to them. With the Grandfather clause, literacy tests and fear methods, African Americans had a hard time of it if they wished to exercise their right to vote. In the late 1950’s early 60’s, groups like CORE and SNCC rose up to fight for their rights. Also, the NAACP struck out against the Jim Crow laws which held the African Americans down for over half a century.
The first major victory came in the overturning of Plessy -vs- Ferguson, a Supreme Court case from 1896 which stated that African Americans and whites would be “separate but equal”. As separate was in essence not equal, the ruling had been fundamentally flawed. It was overturned in the ruling of Brown -vs- Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. For the first time, African Americans in the south were allowed to attend the same schools as whites.
Two leaders of the fight for African American rights were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. Fighting for the same cause, their methods were drastically different. King promoted peaceful demonstrations, even in the face of violence. He believed that images of white brutality would spark sympathy from Americans, and eventually their cause would win through. Malcom X stated that they would not use violence outright, but if faced with violence they would not back down from it. Through grass roots campaigns and peaceful demonstrations such as sit ins, rallies marches and the like, African Americans finally received the rights which had been denied to them for centuries.
The Feminist movement received similar victories throughout the century, starting with gaining the right to vote in 1920. The first feminist movement seemed to die off after this achievement. In the 1920’s following World War One, a majority of women seemingly wished to give up womanly ideals, and act like men. This trend was shown in the fashions of the time. During World War II this seemed to be pushed further due to the demands of the total war economy we had headed up. Women were taking jobs previously held by men, and were further distancing themselves from the stereotypical stay at home mother. After the war however this movement died out mostly as well. The American ideology turned to one of strong family values, and almost all women returned home to raise children and keep the house clean.
In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, younger women were fed up with the way they were supposed to conduct themselves. They once again started pushing for the right to work the same jobs as males did, and not be confined to the kitchen.
The Civil Rights movement and the Feminist movements of the 20th century were similar in many aspects. It seemed that one could not have succeeded without the other, despite that neither group was out to promote the other to any extent. Nonetheless, in the 20th century both groups would begin to receive rights that had hitherto been reserved for white males only.
Firstly, the African Americans were by far receiving less than women were on a whole. They had actually been granted voting rights, something that women did not have yet, which White southerners went to great lengths to deny to them. With the Grandfather clause, literacy tests and fear methods, African Americans had a hard time of it if they wished to exercise their right to vote. In the late 1950’s early 60’s, groups like CORE and SNCC rose up to fight for their rights. Also, the NAACP struck out against the Jim Crow laws which held the African Americans down for over half a century.
The first major victory came in the overturning of Plessy -vs- Ferguson, a Supreme Court case from 1896 which stated that African Americans and whites would be “separate but equal”. As separate was in essence not equal, the ruling had been fundamentally flawed. It was overturned in the ruling of Brown -vs- Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. For the first time, African Americans in the south were allowed to attend the same schools as whites.
Two leaders of the fight for African American rights were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. Fighting for the same cause, their methods were drastically different. King promoted peaceful demonstrations, even in the face of violence. He believed that images of white brutality would spark sympathy from Americans, and eventually their cause would win through. Malcom X stated that they would not use violence outright, but if faced with violence they would not back down from it. Through grass roots campaigns and peaceful demonstrations such as sit ins, rallies marches and the like, African Americans finally received the rights which had been denied to them for centuries.
The Feminist movement received similar victories throughout the century, starting with gaining the right to vote in 1920. The first feminist movement seemed to die off after this achievement. In the 1920’s following World War One, a majority of women seemingly wished to give up womanly ideals, and act like men. This trend was shown in the fashions of the time. During World War II this seemed to be pushed further due to the demands of the total war economy we had headed up. Women were taking jobs previously held by men, and were further distancing themselves from the stereotypical stay at home mother. After the war however this movement died out mostly as well. The American ideology turned to one of strong family values, and almost all women returned home to raise children and keep the house clean.
In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, younger women were fed up with the way they were supposed to conduct themselves. They once again started pushing for the right to work the same jobs as males did, and not be confined to the kitchen.
posted by ozporn at 12:21 AM
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