Module 10 Reflection: Intro to the Black Freedom Movement
Some other key things I took away from the "No Easy Walk" film was that songs played a major role in the meetings and gatherings. A lady spoke about how there were only two to three speakers, but the remainder of the time was spent singing in unison.
Dr. King thought it would be a good idea to take some of the younger children and have them protest in the streets rather than their parents. This was believed to be a good idea because a lot of the older people protesting had to pay bills and go to work, so they figured children would be the next best thing. Children did not carry as much responsibility as their parents. The crowds of children started small on the first day, but by the end of the week, on Thursday, around 700 kids had been arrested. On that Friday, over 1,000 kids had missed school to attend the march happening at 16th street church. Police dogs were bought out to stop the march, then fire hoses were bought out. The thing about the fire hoses was that it had enough power to knock bark off the trees, so I can only imagine what it would do to human skin and flesh in close range. By Monday, 2,500 people had been arrested, 2,000 being children. All jails in the city and county had been filled. By this point, officials released agreement had to be made, people were fearing a riot. By staying persistent and fighting for the cause, the black community was able to reach an agreement. A 60-day cool off period had been put in place. After the 60 days local stores had begun taking down signs and desegregate lunch counters and begin a program of employment with at least 3 clerks.
But of course, things were never going to be this simple. The KKK met outside the city that night and spoke their opinions on everything. They later went into the city causing mayhem and bombing the room that Dr. King was supposedly staying in, but by that time, Dr. King had already left. Over the next couple of nights, the black community fought back and set fires to many buildings in the city, which soon sparked riots across the country. The riots gained the attention of the President Kennedy. President Kennedy pushed for a new civil rights bill but was troubled when the March on Washington was announced. Kennedy had fears that more violence would break out. He unsuccessfully tried to stop the march.
The movement that had mobilized a small community set out to mobilize a nation. The March on Washington was a demonstration for jobs and freedom. Thousands traveled to Washington, D.C., black and white, labor leaders and celebrities. Security was set up, food and signs were made by volunteers, everything was carefully planned out. Over 200,000 people had gathered for the symbolic march. The march left Dr. King feeling triumphant after being let down during the Albany campaign. The march left President Kennedy feeling like he had the support of the people to pass the new civil rights bill.
Even though time has passed since these protest, it's still hard as a black person to read these articles. The media tries to show us black and white images to make us think this happened a long time ago, but this was only 60 years ago. Why did we have to fight this hard to be treated with compassion and like any other human being. We were taken from our homeland and bought to America. We were separated from our families because of white people. We did not ask for anything too crazy, just to be given equal rights like the next person, but apparently that was too much to ask for in the eyes of the white people.
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| Thousands of people, black and white, gather at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington in 1963 |
ReplyDeleteHey Jordan I really enjoyed reading your passage. I loved how you talked about how to black people was still fight for freedom . You talked about how leaders and activist played a big role in the civil right movement. You also made good points on how the families was effects by the bomb, and also how people kept taking stands for rights. Also you went into detail about the March on Washington’s.