Civil Rights Movement and Its Legacy

1

The Civil Rights Movement and Its Legacy

Introduction:

History.Com says the Civil Rights Movement began in the 1954 when

the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine that

formed the basis for state-sanctioned discrimination, drawing national and

international attention to African Americans’ plight. In the turbulent decade and

a half that followed, civil rights activists used nonviolent protest and civil

disobedience to bring about change, and the federal government made

legislative headway with initiatives such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the

Civil Rights Act of 1968. (“Civil Rights” para. 1)

Writers of the time include an array of writers and activists who were fighting for equal rights

and social justice. Prominent writers include

Novelists:

 James Baldwin (1924-1987)

 Richard Wright (1908-1960)

 Ralph Ellison (1914-1994)

Poets:

 Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000), the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize in

1949

 Nikki Giovanni (1943-)

 Sonia Sanchez (1934-)

Playwrights

 Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) A Raisin in the Sun debuted on Broadway in 1959.

 Amiri Baraka, born Everett LeRoi Jones (1934-2014)

2

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Two of King’s speeches have become very famous. “I Have a Dream” was delivered on August

28, 1963, to over a quarter million people at Lincoln Memorial during the March on

Washington. It begins with a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation. He departed from is

prepared text in the repetition of “I have a dream” and is one of the most famous speeches of

the 20 th

century. “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” a speech in reaction to the Memphis

Sanitation Strike, was delivered on April 3, 1968, at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee,

the day before his assassination.

Reading Assignment:

Both speeches are available in text on the American Rhetoric website. You can also follow the text while

you listen to the Dr. King.

Read/listen to “I Have a Dream”:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

Read/listen to “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkivebeentothemountaintop.htm

Note: If you decide to write about either of these speeches in your assignments, cite the source with paragraph numbers from the text on American Rhetoric.

President Barack Obama

President Obama’s First Presidential Inaugural Address (Jan. 20, 2009) exemplifies that

Americans today are living with the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement.

Read/listen to the Address on American Rhetoric:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama/barackobamainauguraladdress.htm

If you wish, you can watch the speech on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PuHGKnboNY

Note: If you decide to write about this speech in your assignments, cite the source with paragraph numbers from the text on American Rhetoric.

3

Discussion Board:

Barack Obama’s election and re-election show that this country has certainly come a long way

since Dr. King’s era, yet in some ways, things haven’t changed enough. For your new discussion

post, write a short essay of at least 300 words that explains whether or not you think the

promise of the speeches has been realized or not and why. Keep in mind that this new post is a

Gordon Rule assignment, meaning that the quality of your writing as well as the length will be

considered during the evaluation/grading process.

Then, reply to at least 3 of your classmates to get full credit for this assignment. Replies an be

30-40 words.

4

Works Cited

“The Civil Rights Movement.” History.Com. A+E Networks. 2009. Web. 23 Dec. 2014.