Struggle+Intensifies

During the civil rights movement African Americans struggled for racial equality http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/civilrights-55-65/sit-ins.html. In the south, public facilities were segregated. Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) created the sit-in that was a form of protest which protesters sat themselves and refused to move. Moreover it forced business owners to decide between serving a protester or risking disruption and a loss of business. Sit-ins were like a trend, it started in one place and maneuvered. Students were involved in sit-ins, which gained support of SCLC. By the end of 1960s about 70,000 students had participated in sit-ins and 3,600 served time in jail.



In 1961, Congress of Racial Equality also organized and carried out Freedom Rides http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/civilrights-55-65/freeride. The first Freedom Ride departed in Washington, DC on May 4, 1961. While in Anniston, Alabama, the bus was tortured by a heavily armed white mob. They then tried to blow the bus up by slashing the tires and throwing a firebomb into the bus trying, to harm everyone on it. Photos of the smoldering bus in Anniston horrified the country and intensified Birmingham and Montgomery. The first Freedom Ride died out in Jackson, but about 300 freedom riders continued the protest throughout the summer. After this incident Kennedy issued a ruling that prohibited segregation in interstate transportation – trains, planes, and, buses. It didn’t get better for a while, but, as time progressed some noticed the effects of the Freedom Rides.



In April, 1936 http://watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/civilrights-55-65/birming.html many African Americans in Birmingham fought for equal rights. King and Rev. Fred planned boycotts, and attempted to integrate local churches. However, the both of them began to nonviolently protest. King was also put in jail when he chose to disobey court orders. Within a week or so, after King’s release, he decided to let young people join his campaign. Somehow, authorities didn’t approve of that and they had begun to use high-pressured fire hoses to keep King and other African Americans from marching. In the end, the Birmingham March was a success.

LaShaun Monisha Georgette