The fight for equality is not over. In fact, there are many examples of how the battle for equal rights continues to rage on in 2022. While much progress has been made with regard to ending discrimination against African Americans and other minorities, there are still people working tirelessly to ensure their voices are heard, and their rights are protected. We all know about Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Harriet Tubman, but what about so many others who have risked everything to change the world and make it a better place? Although there are many notable figures who have paved the way for today’s activists, most people don’t know much about them or their contributions. These brave men and women fought tirelessly to end discrimination against blacks and other minorities, combat injustice and inequality, advance education, support the rights of organized labor, and promote societal transformation. Their work continues to inspire us all today.
Civil rights are the basic rights to which all humans are entitled. The term refers to both the society-wide expectations of how people should be treated and the actual rights granted to individuals by society’s laws. The concept of civil rights is interrelated with the concept of equality. However, there is a difference between the two terms. Equality is the state or condition of being equal, while rights are the freedoms that an individual should possess as a member of a society. The rights that people in a given society are entitled to, and the manner in which they are treated by the government, vary from one society to another. The rights and the manner in which people are treated depend on the type of government in the society and the nature of the society itself. The rights that are guaranteed in one society may not be applicable in another. The rights and the manner in which people are treated also evolve over time as the society changes and develops.
John Henrik Clarke
John Henry Clark was born on January 1, 1915, in Union Springs, Alabama, and he moved with his family to Harlem, New York, in 1933 during the Great Migration. This period in U.S. history refers to the years 1910 to 1970, during which African Americans migrated from the south to the north in search of better jobs and conditions. After working at a local library and studying at Columbia University, he changed his surname to Clarke and added an “e” to his surname, making it “Clarke.”
Clarke’s literary and pedagogical career flourished during the Great Depression years. His participation in study circles such as the Harlem History Club and the Harlem Writers’ Workshop helped make this happen. His mentors included people such as Arturo Alfonso Schomburg. He joined the United States Army Air Forces as an NCO, eventually attaining the rank of master sergeant.
Clarke made significant contributions to African history and studies as a scholar and lecturer at institutions in Africa and the United States, including Hunter College in New York. He is credited with creating the Department of Black and Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, where he taught from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was a prominent intellectual during the Black Power Movement, when he helped to promote African-American studies and the position Africans have in world history. He questioned the views of academic historians and made a significant contribution to changing how African history was studied and taught. He also published six scholarly books. His writing included a number of scholarly articles as well as short stories. His anthologies also included writing by African Americans, as well as his own.
Angela Davis
Angela Davis was a scholar, educator, and activist. She devoted her life to fighting against racism and the oppression of black people. She worked with the Black Panther Party, where she assisted in the free breakfast program for children. Davis was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy in the death of a judge in California. She was tried and acquitted. Davis became the first black woman to be hired by the University of California at Los Angeles, and she served there as a professor of philosophy. She was also awarded the Medal of Liberation by the Cuban Council of Artists and Writers. Davis is the author of several books and articles.
Julian Bond
Julian Bond was a writer, historian, professor, and an active political figure, who devoted his life to the fight against racism and segregation. He co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s and became its communications director. Bond served as president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and was appointed to the NAACP board of directors in 1999. He was the chairman emeritus of the NAACP. Bond authored several books and articles, and he was the editor of the Oxford Companion to African American Literature. He passed away in 2015 at the age of 75.
Huey P. Newton
Huey P. Newton was a political activist who was born in February 1942. He co-founded the Black Panther Party (BPP) in 1966. The BPP used militant methods to protest against police brutality, racial discrimination, and poverty in the African American community. Garvey was charged with murder in 1968 but was cleared of all charges in 1979. He was shot and killed in 1989 at the age of 47.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and activist who was born in January 1929. He led the non-violent civil rights movement, which involved peaceful protests and demonstrations. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination. He is remembered as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, and his birthday is celebrated as a federal holiday in the U.S. King was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39 by James Earl Ray while he was standing on the balcony of his hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.
Assata Shakur
Assata Shakur was a human rights activist and writer who was born in July 1947. She co-founded the Black Liberation Army (BLA). The BLA was a militant organization that fought against racism, police brutality, and economic inequality. Shakur was charged with the murder of two police officers in the 1970s but was acquitted in two separate trials. She escaped from prison in 1979 and went into hiding. Shakur was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list in 2005, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is offering a reward of $1 million for information leading to her arrest.
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist who was born in February 1913. She was the first black woman to be arrested for challenging racial segregation on public transportation. Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama and was arrested. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a year-long protest that led to the desegregation of the bus system. Parks worked as an activist throughout her life, becoming a member of the NAACP at the age of 15 and serving as the organization’s vice president from 1957 to 1965. She was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 1996 and died in 2005 at the age of 92.
Conclusion
The civil rights movement was a broad effort by African Americans to end racial discrimination and gain equal rights as citizens, including the right to vote. The movement began in the mid-19th century and continued to gain strength in the 20th century, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. During this time, African Americans protested racial discrimination in many states. They challenged segregation in public schools, voting rights discrimination, and job discrimination. They also worked to end racial discrimination in housing and the criminal justice system. The movement was successful in some areas, but there is still more progress that