Government’s Action Towards Civil Rights Movement
The rise of the civil rights movement in the United States against the black people’s subjugation saw the government make several responses to cool down their revolt. For instance, there were arrests and incarcerations, such as Herndon charged with violating the statute against the insurrection in Georgia’s states for his actions against the unemployed (Zinn 617). The African American community continued agitation for its liberation and kept the government on its toes as it elicited a possible crisis of war and lawlessness. The government saw itself in a place between a rock and a hard surface because of the civil rights abuse against Africans. President Truman became bold and committed to ending civil discrimination (Zinn 618). Therefore, Congress passed laws against voting segregation and lynching, which ended in discrimination against the racial minority in the United States.
Why the Government Felt Threatened by Racial Equality
The entrenched inequalities between the people of color were a problem for the government and American society. Most African Americans lived in dilapidated settlements in slams. The state felt that this minority group’s growing population was a threat to their power and social class. The blacks’ election and appointment in the positions of power would threaten the foundation of segregate ideas that were the defining factor for racial relations in the country (Zinn 621). Indeed, the people of color’s historical foundation in the United States depicted a subject and master’s relationship in a foreign land. Changing this paradigm would create a social, political, and economic imbalance in the country.
Comparing Civil Rights Movement and the Black Lives Matter Movement
The Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-20th century have several things in common. Like protests made in the current struggle for equal treatment of the African Americans today, the Civil Rights Movement leaders fought the moral authority and control over the narrative about their movement in an atmosphere full of vicious hostility (Zinn 620). For instance, southern segregationists attempted to gaslight the country to argue that the blacks under Jim Crow were satisfied with their situation. Notably, the hysteria fortified by white supremacy was meant to antagonize the demands of the Africans social, political, and economic justice and fairness (Clayton 453). Moreover, the two courses represent an agitation against violence for the oppressed through a moderate struggle that embraces dialogue. Martin Luther called for people to embrace love and forgiveness as the truth towards alleviating racial imbalance (Zinn 623). Similarly, the current engagement for black people’s freedom concentrates on a philosophy of non-violence where people express the need for dialogue and racial tolerance.
However, there are differences between the two struggles regarding the way they executed their mandate. The Civil Rights Movement resisted the racism exacerbated by the Jim Crow laws. The Black Lives Matter Movement waged war to control the narrative and the outright negligence of the media about the fate of the African American (Clayton 460). Notably, today’s environment is different as social media and other digital platforms have made it easy for the current campaign to gain momentum. Thus, the agitation for equality of races in the United States and the world is enigmatic, with several efforts by different organs and individuals ending in deaf years (Clayton 472). The effectiveness of gaining prominence and yielding positive results for equality of humanity remains a far reality despite the undisputed need for racial tolerance and fairness.
Works Cited
Clayton, Dewey M. “Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement: A Comparative Analysis of Two Social Movements in the United States”. Journal of Black Studies, vol 49, no. 5, 2018, pp. 448-480. SAGE Publications.
Zinn, Howard. “Or Does It Explode?”. History Is a Weapon; A People’s History of The United States, New Press, 1998, Web.