Civil Rights

The Harlem Renaissance was the movement of African American culture through different forms of art. Through “jazz” to the” blues,” one can get a sense of emotions African Americans had during this time period. During the 1920’s and even up to now, there hasn’t been too much to thoroughly define the Harlem Renaissance movement, but it’s been used to express the African American experience.
The Civil Rights Movement is the time period between 1955-1968 in which African Americans worked to stop racial discrimination and “restore suffrage” in the South. The movement was known not in aspects of the law and society, but for the basic freedom of African Americans and their rights as human beings. The Civil rights movement did its best to accomplish its goals and a lot of goals were accomplished. The movement brought about many changes in all aspects of our culture. But, the movement is not over. There are still civil rights that are being violated and it seems that the fight for civil rights will be a continuous endeavor. We cannot change every individual’s perspectives and thoughts which is why the fight for civil rights is ongoing.
Important event that occurred in Money, Mississippi, was the murder case of Emmitt Till in 1955. The way they killed this young boy was unnecessarily brutal. Killing a little boy for making a comment to a white girl is very extreme even if the boy was African-American. This murder was done by two white men, Roy Bryant and his half brother J.W. Milam who thought it was actually enjoyable. Emmitt Till’s mother wanted the nation to see his beaten, disfigured face and had an open casket funeral service. This service created a significant boost to the civil rights movement. Over 50,000 people viewed this funeral and many realized the severity of this case and opened people’s eyes more so on what was going on. I had briefly covered this subject in history class but not in detail. I have not seen Emmitt Till’s picture until this class and it definitely angers me to see what happened to him.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee SNCC was founded in 1960 in North Carolina. The students came together to be involved in early sit in movements, freedom rides, and were also involved in the Mississippi Freedom summer. At first, the philosophy of the SNCC seemed to be founded on the notion of non violent demonstrations and exercises. The group also practiced on Christian influences and worked with black and white members for civil rights. However, by the mid-1960’s the committee drifted from their early views and started to become influenced by Marxism and Black Nationalism ideas. The group moved from non violent tactics to militancy and more aggressive procedures. The notion of black power came about with the SNCC, but was opposed by Martin Luther King. The group was no longer in existence by the 1970’s.
I think the personal philosophy will indefinitely come from life experience. The importance, however, lies in the fact that we must still be open to different tactics and perspectives. Malcolm may have been influenced a lot by violence and hardship that he faced and witnessed since a young age, while Martin may have been brought up with a different understand and learning of life. However, the two were such a significant character of the time and even now due to their open ideas of different perspectives. The two may never have practiced the other philosophies, but they understood the need for both kinds of philosophies. It is what life is about. You cannot have violence without peace and peace without violence. It’s a matter of balance in life, a balance that we cannot live without. I think that Malcolm and Martin understood this, accepted it, and embraced the philosophies of one another, without having to practice it.

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761566483/Harlem_Renaissance.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_civil_rights_movement
http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/sncc/a/sncc.htm