The Civil Rights Movements of the 1950’w/1960’s in America utilized strategies such as: sit in strikes, non-violent resistance, and young dominion over civil rights protest which boosted self-esteem and promoted pride nationwide. Sit in strikes were exceptionally popular during the late 50’s all the way throughout the 1960’s. There were incidents such as the sit in protest at the diner that first occurred in the south was the start of a movement that then spread out to many cities who would then organize and participate in their own sit in strikes. Of course, police would then come in and take them away, but the protesters would not budge and would continue getting their point across. Other incidents consisted of nonviolent resistance when the march in Birmingham occurred. African Americans were ready to march to their freedom peacefully by just walking. This was an exceptional way to get their point across, it was evident to the entire population that a great way to spread news was through television. Therefore, whenever non-violent protests took place, they would be televised and police officers were filmed beating up civilians and mistreating them, which would inevitably touch the hearts of the viewers at home.
Police officers and southerners did not like the movement and would utilize water hoses and whatever they found to be less violent since the march was being broadcasted nationally. Another famous incident which occurred during this movement was when Rosa Parks stood up to a white individual who insisted her to sit on the side of the bus which was for blacks only. Rosa Parks refused, since there weren’t any more seats available.
A less known incident was Emmett Till’s death. Emmett Till, a young African American, was killed in Money, Mississippi. The young man was visiting and was told not to look straight at a white woman, otherwise the chance of consequences would exist. It was stated that Emmett Till did just that, and hollered at a white woman. During this era, it was sought to be disrespectful of an African American person to idolize individuals of white pigmentation. Emmett Till was kidnapped straight out of his home and disembodied and shot by two Mississippi locals. Till’s mother asked for his body to be publicized, in order to demonstrate to the public the gruesome death of a kid who merely looked at a white woman. During the civil rights movement, African Americans did not protest but simply let their bodies be taken because they wanted to go to jail to prove a point. This would inevitably cause the jails to fill up, which would then hinder the jail infrastructure. They realized that if the police were being brutal and violent, those at home watching on tv would then start to feel empathy and connect emotionally with the blacks, since they were being wronged by society and since they had done nothing and weren’t resisting.
Overall, the use of Martin Luther’s king non-violent protest had a successful effect on the Civil rights movement and influenced an uprising in civil rights.
Something interesting that we looked at in class and I wanted to mention was the profound impact this had on other movements. Not only that, but it brought the attention of the nation to these sit-ins due to media. The sit-ins were so well covered that knowledge of these movements spread across the nation faster than ever.
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