Segregated. Separated. Discriminated. Isolated. That was the life of an African American from 1865 to 1964 and it was unbearable. I mean, the weight of the world was crushing us and the hate that we had to face everyday was debilitating. Society did not want us to succeed. And this was just after we had been enslaved, where we were kidnapped from our home lands and caged like animals. Where we were sold off at auctions and forced to be subservient to the White Man and think of ourselves as less than. African Americans were effectively dehumanized.
Moreover, even after we had fought and been released from our physical chains, we were still enslaved. We had just transitioned into metaphorical bondage. And this was because even after a hundred years after slavery had ended, we were still separated from society, treated as inferior, and being discriminated against just because of the color of our skin. In other words, according to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we were still “sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.”
Then, C. Nelson, a private investigator, explained how slavery is related to segregation.
“They were both used to suppress people of color and inhibit them, they were both control mechanisms to keep a whole race of people down,” Nelson said.
Along with that, by continuing to reinforce segregation we, as Americans, were rejecting one of the most core principles of our country, “that all men are created equal.” And yet, we tried to justify our actions by claiming that White and African Americans were “separate but equal.” But that entire statement in itself is a contradiction because if two things had to be separated, then they were never thought of as equal in the first place. True equality is achieved when we group different things together and treat all people the same regardless of skin color.
Next, Traci Branch, a Workforce Planning Specialist for the United States Postal Service (USPS), conveyed how she thought that America had rejected the principle that “all men are created equal.”
“Society rejected the statement ‘all men are created equal’ by denying the basic human rights such as freedom, justice, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to African Americans, and people of color, as well as other marginalized communities,” Branch said.
Another thing Dr. King noticed was that America was in a state of emergency. Again, African Americans were being crippled by segregation, disheartened by hateful prejudice, and above all, just trying to exist in a society where the system was designed to work against them. They were also deprived of basic, everyday necessities and the services of numerous institutions, and were instead given the scraps. But Dr. King and countless others would not stand for this and they would not rest until they saw justice.
Nelson also communicated why she thought that immediate action needed to be taken in order to protest against segregation.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and numerous other individuals realized that the time was now and urgent action had to be taken in order to somewhat heal this broken system and change people’s hearts. Their goal was to break down the literal divide between White and African Americans and unify them together as one, as people, as human beings, as brothers and sisters. Furthermore, Dr. King’s dream was that his children would one day live in a nation where they would not be “judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” and this dream was then turned into action.
But it is also important to mention some of the specific individuals and groups that helped Dr. King reached such success and furthered the cause of the Civil Rights Movement. For instance, the idea for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Dr. King made his famous “I Have a Dream” speech was initially conceived by A. Philip Randolph in 1941. And he later became the official director of the march that did take place in 1963.
In addition to that, Randolph’s protégé, Bayard Rustin, was also a chief organizer of the March on Washington and greatly helped orchestrate it by managing the logistical side of the event. He was also a chief architect of the Civil Rights Movement as a whole and was actually the one to introduce Dr. King to this idea. However, Rustin was not given the recognition he deserved because of his identity as a gay man and others looked to discredit him, while both movements were inherently similar in actuality.
Plus, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was organized by Roy Wilkins from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), James Farmer from the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), John Lewis from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Whitney Young from the Urban League, and of course, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
What’s more is that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made it a point to emphasize that while he knew how much we were suffering and how deep our hurt and anger ran, we could still not succumb to violence. He stressed how integral peaceful protest was to achieving racial equality and how violence would only work to degrade the movement. And the Civil Rights Movement in turn became intertwined with peace, tranquility, and non – violent resistance.
Nelson expressed why she thought that peaceful protests were important as well.
Additionally, Dr. King highlighted that another key component of the Civil Rights movement was faith. He essentially claimed that even after we have done all that we can do to stop this injustice and the future still looks uncertain, then the only thing that we can rely on is not man, but a higher power. Still, if you don’t even have that, then at least have hope because that is the one of driving forces of this movement. Have hope that conditions will improve and that better days are yet to come. And that wait proved worthwhile because better days are here.
The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 and it outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Voting Rights Act passed in 1965 was designed to enforce the 15th Amendment and eliminate barriers that prevented African Americans from voting. These were major milestones for the country that marked the start of progress and the beginning of a new era.
Branch also illustrated how the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 fundamentally impacted society.
These bills were able to create a nation where White and African Americans can use the same bathrooms, drinking fountains, train cars, libraries, etc. And, more importantly, these pieces of legislation constructed a country where White and African American children can go to school together, and African Americans can sit in the seats in the front of the bus and exercise their right to vote freely.
Lastly, Branch expressed how Dr. Martin Luther King’s efforts have impacted our lives today.
“Martin Luther King’s efforts are still impacting our lives today because most of the civil rights that we exercise are products of the Civil Rights Movement, in which he was one of the most prominent leaders and organizers,” Branch said.
However, while the United States of America has made great progress since 1964, we still have a long way to go to elevate our country to be a true “oasis of freedom and justice” like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of our country to be like. We still can not forget that racism and police brutality still exists and remains a pertinent issue in society. But we also can not forget what our ancestors fought for in the past and all the greatness they were able to achieve. So, we owe it to them to keep fighting today when we still see these fundamental rights and liberties being denied and ultimately prevail victorious.
