AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHT MOVEMENT

At a first glance, the quote from the Bible that opens this essay may seem out of place. The quote
refers to a moment, when Jesus, in the Bible, is confronted with identity crisis in the community,
where he lived and worked. In the light of this concern, on the way to Caesarea Philippi, Jesus
questioned His disciples about whom society believes He is. Various conflicting answers from
the disciples indicate a misrepresentation of Jesus identity in the community. By coating this line
I am making here is that the treatment of the African-American life and character. In fact,
identity crisis has been a concern for African-Americans; these include slave narratives, personal
histories, and spiritual or secular autobiographical texts. On December 1, 1955, the modern civil
rights movement began when Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, was arrested for
refusing to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama. A new minister in town,
Martin Luther King, Jr., organized a bus boycott by the community, which eventually led to the
desegregation of the bus line and launched protests across the South. In 1960, spontaneous sit-ins
by students began at lunch counters throughout the South, and in 1961, "Freedom Riders"
boarded inter-state buses to test and break down segregated accommodations. And this is not the
actual start of the movement before this also African American was facing problems like slavery,
racism and all. These protests were peaceful, but they were met with violent, and often, brutal
force -- televised images that helped win support from sympathetic whites in the North. In 1963,
television viewers saw thousands of African-Americans and whites march on Washington, DC to
end racial discrimination. It was there that Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous "I Have
a Dream" speech. All this was happening and people were ready to join and wanted results to
come out through this movement. And the conflict between African American can be clearly seen
by the literature work of that time. A study of black protest poems from the early part of the
twentieth century through the late sixties can provide insight into the issues African Americans
faced during that time and the ways they responded to them. Rights were violated on a consistent
basis, purely because of the color of that persons skin. Unfortunately many of the changes that
the movement fought for brought on a violent opposition from many white southerners and that
led to the violent deaths of some of the famous leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. It also led
to two pretty distinct groups of black activists. One group was rather violent, and one believed in
peaceful nonviolent resistance. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the leader of the Civil Rights
Movement and he preached strict nonviolent resistance. This meant that protesters would violate
laws and traditions which were racist and discriminatory, but wouldnt resist any action by the
police or government or both. This led to young peaceful African Americans being sprayed with
water hoses, and punched and kicked as they simply walked in a peaceful protest. It also led to
the establishments that practiced segregation, or at the college buildings where black Americans
were unable to enroll, not because they werent intelligent enough, but because they happened to
be born with dark skin pigmentation. It can also provide insight into the self-conception of the
"protestor." The poems offered here do not illustrate the full range of African American protest
poetry written from 1917 to 1968, but they do offer a rich field of comparison through which to
chart changes in the voice of black protest as the political, social, and psychological position of

African Americans changed through the century. One of the examples is THE SONG OF THE
SMOKE the poem written by W. E. B. Du Bois .The poem is understood as "an affirmation of
black pride," but Du Bois's ultimate acceptance of the need to call for black pride was the
culmination of a difficult process. The lines of the poem are like I am the Smoke King I am
black! through these lines poet want to say that he is proud to be black and every other black
person should be proud of being black. Basically song of the rain is the celebration of blackness.
List the attributes of blackness celebrated in the poem and suggest how each attribute contributes
to a positive image. And this is the mode of inspiration for the African American to fight back
and do not let other people to make fun of them. And the main motive of the poet is to make
black people to be proud of them which is the most important thing that make the African
American civil right movement successful is the believe of the African American people in them.