Masaryk university faculty of education

The end of the “life” of the Jim Crow

3.1. The beginning of the end

The beginning of the fight for the civil rights has its roots in the World War II where the troops had begun to be slowly integrated. President Truman undertook first significant steps towards the integration and equality. He created Committee on Civil Rights and he supported the laws that restricted lynching and poll taxes. Truman also commanded to integrate the navy service. As Woodward claims the relationships between soldiers have improved during the Korean War. (135-138) President Eisenhower did not follow the integrating tendencies of his predecessor with words: “I don’t believe that you can change the hearts of men with laws or decisions.” (Woodward 139)

The real reversal in the history was made by the Supreme Court in five cases known as Brown v. Board of Education. The segregation at schools was declared unconstitutional in 1954. The plaintiff insisted that the conditions for children at schools are not equal and therefore schools violate the Fourteenth Amendment. The plan for desegregation of the schools has been prepared and with following years put in to practice. (“History of Brown v. Board of Education”)

The following efforts to integrate the rest of the parts of the life followed soon. As described above; Rosa Parks started resistance in Montgomery that is widely known as the Montgomery Boycott. Busses were empty from the fifth of December and lasted unbelievable 381 days. The Black people boycotted busses and walked or organized their own transportation in the city during these days. They were 381 days that had to be complicated for many people but it was also the time necessary for white people to admit the Black people’s rights. (“The Montgomery Bus Boycott”, montgomeryboycott.com)

2. Peak of the fight

During Montgomery Boycott the abilities of a young pastor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. became evident. He is seen as an icon in the fight for the civil rights of the Black people. King worked for NAACP and his speech encouraged people in many meetings of the activists. As a “leader” of people he had to face many attacks on him and his family. “During the days of boycott, King was arrested, his home was bombed and he was subjected to personal abuse.” (“Martin Luther King, Jr. – Biography”, nobelprize.org) His most famous speech is probably from the Washington march on 28^th of March:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!...

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. (“Martin Luther King, Jr.: I Have a Dream”, americanrhetoric.com)

King was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 35. This magnificent leader, speaker and a father of four children was in 1968 assassinated on his balcony in Tennessee at the age of 39. Even though he died very young, he left for the civil rights movement strong spiritual legacy. (“Martin Luther King, Jr. – Biography”, nobelprize.org)

Another feature of the resistance was so-called sit-ins. Everything started in Greensboro in 1960 where four Black students entered the white launch counter and refused to leave. The four students were friends from the university and they were prepared for this action at workshops, so the violent reaction would not surprise them. The first day of sit-ins the students describe as peaceful. The situation seemed to the people in the restaurant so strange that they were nervous and did not know how to react. (“Eyes on the Prize; We Ain’t Afraid of Your Jails”)

Sit-ins have spread very quickly into other businesses, cities and states and for almost two weeks there have not been any incidents. On 27^th of February the violence came from the white people and more than 80 students were arrested. (“Eyes on the Prize; We Ain’t Afraid of Your Jails”) As the wave of the protests got stronger, more than 70 000 people participated in sit-ins by July. Some of the restaurants rather closed than to serve the Black customers. Some of them desegregated their businesses under this pressure. (“Greensboro Chronology”, sitinmovement.org)

Freedom rides took a great part in the progress towards integration, too. During the summer 1961 there were student volunteers that travelled through the South with one purpose. They tested whether the integration laws were or not respected in vehicles. (History.com Staff, “Freedom Rides”)

The reaction of the people to the changes was not friendly at all. Few of them had understanding and helped to the Black people as for example Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, later found assassinated. There was also a group of people that had an opposite approach. Robert D. Marcus and David Burner state that there were numbers of people that disappeared or died under unclear circumstances. The number of arrested people exceeded 10 000 people, “35 black churches were burned and thirty homes and other buildings were bombed”. (302)

Civil Rights Acts

The struggle of thousands people has very slowly but surely headed towards huge changes in the society. It did not take long time and the set of Civil Rights Acts was progressively passed. In 1964 the Twenty-fourth Amendment was enacted that made poll taxes unconstitutional. In the same year on second of July the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by President Johnson. This Act abolished segregation and prohibited discrimination of colored people. The peak of this period was the Voting Rights Act enacted in 1965. It helped to the Black people to vote without obstacles and discrimination and confirmed the importance of the Fifteenth Amendment. (“Timeline: Civil Rights Era”, pbs.org)

The fight for the freedom is was over after this decision, of course. The development of the thinking and way of life of people that were used to live in separation for more than 50 years cannot be changed in one year. The following years the new laws were being enacted and people slowly started to accept a multicultural society. This process was not comprehensive and did not take place smoothly in many places but the changes in the way of lives were significant.

Conclusion

The aim of this thesis is to show to the reader the difficulties of the life under the Jim Crow pressure. This dark time in the history seems to be over. As the last two pages reveal, the fight for the civil rights reached a great success which ensured to the colored people fully-fledged life without any restriction.

The second half of the 20^th century was in the spirit of the multiculturalism. The terms “Melting pot” and “Salad bowl” are very well known and characterize current modern society. The rights guaranteed by the state have to be superintended all the time. The question is whether this “long-ago Jim Crow thing” can return. 50 years from the Voting Rights Act people ask this question. Is it possible that current multicultural society will fall again and the Civil Rights Acts will be abolished?

There is no simple or definite answer. The history shows and proves that changes of people’s mind take a lot of time. The South was in the process of the constant change since the Civil war has begun. For the last 50 years the change is in the favor of tolerance and integration. Some people can still carry the rebellious opinions but the majority accepted the reality.

In 2013 the Shelby County v. Holder case was the fourth Section of the Voting Rights Act from 1965 declared unconstitutional. This Section required a permission of the state jurisdiction before a state makes any change in the voting law of the state. It is believed that the law is old enough and it is not current. Such a long time after the passing of the Voting Rights Act was sufficient to change people and their attitudes and it is believed that this action is no longer necessary. (“Shelby County v. Holder”)

The sad fact is that the Section 5 had got a significant role in the voting of the colored people. In the 21^st century there are other minorities that are endangered, for example Hispanic minority. The direction of state’s activity is questionable.

These are the parts of people’s lives where it is vital to know the history that is described in this thesis. As the famous quotation from George Santayana, an American writer and philosopher, said: “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (brainyquote)

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