Civils Rights Movements

In this essay I intend to give a detail analysis of the struggles the black populace of America and South Africa where confronted with when fighting for racial equality. The fight for civil rights could be traced back to 15th century, where as many as 1000 afro-Caribbean people where shipped as slaves to Florida and other southern states of America. It is widely thought that the European imposed the idea of slavery into the people of West Africa thus corrupting a primitive and noble people. It is seldom known that in some African communities, forms of slavery were thought to have existed long before European slavers arrived. The king of an African village or tribe would usually have an underlay of authority-based workforce. His people where protected by established laws and traditions, they where not treated as equals but individuals with limited rights. The arrival of the Europeans led to the start of the Atlantic slave trade, the Atlantic slave trade was means of transporting African slaves to the new world and lasted right up until the 19th century. The number of slavers alleged to have been transported is in the region of 10 million.

At its peak in the late 18th century about 80,000 slaves per year came from West Africa (History of slavery, Susanne Everett)

Up until this point in time, slavery was considered a fact of life and needed little justification to those that opposed. In south, where slavery became immensely

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Civils Rights Movements profitable and expanded rapidly, they wanted to bring over more slaves from Africa, an idea that the North did not agree with. The north was very much anti-slavery and this made co-existing with the southern slavery states extremely difficult. This would some led to the southern states declaring Secession. Shorter after in 1861 the Civil war began between the northern states of America and the southern states otherwise known as the confederate states of America led by Jefferson Davis. For the North the Civil war, was about getting the south to conform and for the south a chance force upon slavery the north, but for those enslaved a chance to be free, if the north prevailed, so as expected the allied themselves with the north. After the abolition of slavery, the newly freed slaves expected some sort of civil liberty to be in place, but soon after the defeated confederate states passed the black codes: Anti miscegenation, A contract of labour( license to work) ad the right the carry arms . Thereby ensuring that equality between the races and the Ku Klux Klan, a hate group who primary objective was to white supremacy after the Civil war they opposed the idea of reconstruction by murdering, assaulting and intimidating freed black slaves. But progress was being made. In 1868 and later in 1869 alterations to the fourth and fifteenth Amendments of the constitution resulted in freed black slaves gaining full American citizenship and the right to vote. In 1876 the southern former confederate states past an anti-African American legislation, later to be know as the Jim Crow laws, they were separate from the black codes, but they also continued to restrict the civil liberties of black Americans. Under these laws black Americans were not permitted to attend the same schools and have access to the same facilities such as Transport, restaurants public baths and healthcare.

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Civils Rights Movements To try and combat the new evil faced by black Americans, academics from all racial backgrounds founded the NAACP and it was led by W.E.B Dubois who had previously been involved with the Niagra movement which had embraced more radical approaches to end discrimination is all aspects of American life. As the years passed more Americans begin to openly disobey the segregation laws that were in place, catalyst to these chains of events could be said was Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat from a white while on a bus. The importance of the Montgomery bus boycotts is not be underestimated in the grand scheme of things as it was the beginning of Black people using direct actions to gain their civil rights, so begin the fight for civil rights. Martin Luther king JR and Malcolm X where two of most pivotal figures in the fight for equality in American. Although the ultimately shared the same dream, they both had different idea on how to obtain it. Martin Luther King JR up bringing was a very different one compared to Malcolm X, despite the black codes was raised in a comfortable middle class home, on the other hand Malcolm X origins where that of poverty and violence, the murder of his father in a fire started by the Ku Klux Klan instilled in him anger and bitterness that would become eventually transform into political views. The early years of both King and Malcolm where ultimately responsible for the way they each reacted to the racism suffered by Afro- Americans. King had a more philosophical approach, believing that with peaceful demonstrations and reasonable arguments, black Americans will eventually achieve equality. Malcolm Xs bitterness and pessimism was present, in his belief that White Americans had no moral conscience therefore making equality impossible.

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Civils Rights Movements Malcolm X had a some what Marist view on non violence and integration he believed it was a trick by white Americans to keep Afro-Americans down. He despised the white man and encouraged his followers to stand up and revolt against them, he believed that only violence could change their circumstances and openly promoted violence against their oppressors. In contrast Martin Luther King believed that non violence and strong leadership as the key to securing equality. Malcolm Xs speeches were delivered in a radical tone, which could provoke his listeners to hate white Americans. He was direct style was able to engage everybody. In caparison Martin Luther Kings speeches given with the premise of encouraging racial harmony, he didnt incite his followers to hate white Americans.Martin Luther King and Malcolm X will be remembered as leader who strived to make a difference; they both had equally important roles without either of which, America might have not embraced civil rights. In the mid to late 17th century, South Africa was colonized by the English and Dutch. Thereafter followed a strenuous power struggle until the Afrikaner National Party was able to gain a strong majority. The Apartheid regimen was the Nationals Party strategy to cement their control over South Africas economic and social system. The initial idea of apartheid was to build a stable South Africa, the idea was to have the different ethnic groups of South Africa governed by there own people. The apartheid laws where established through political and judicial system and enforced by the South African police. Much like the Jim Crow laws, the laws under Apartheid restricted the civil liberties of blacks in South Africa. In 1976 the government in South Africa came to the decision that Afrikaans should be taught in school throughout South African at the time Afrikaans was only used white people and the government in South Africa.

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Civils Rights Movements After years of inequality under the apartheid this change was more than the black people could take, so they took action. On the 16 June thousands of schoolchildren started to protest against the new law. The South African police known for their no nonsense and violent stance when upholding the laws of Apartheid, used gas to try disperse the protesting school children but when this tactic failed they then started firing live ammunition into the crowd. In retaliation the children starting throwing stones at the police. This became know as the Soweto uprising which lasted for 3 days. The South African government claimed that 95 people had lost their lives during the riots, but the reality was that some 500 people had died. This wasnt the 1st time the South African police had acting in such a barbaric way against anti apartheid protesters. Previously in March 1960 some 180 black Africans were injured and 69 killed when South African police opened fire on 300 demonstrators, who were protesting against the pass laws restricting the freedom of movement throughout South Africa for blacks, at the township of Sharpeville. A similar protest outside a police station in Vanderbijlpark, ended with another person being killed and soon after at Langa, police charged and fired tear gas at protesters, shooting three and injuring several more. The Sharpeville Massacre, as the event later become known, signalled the start of armed resistance in South Africa, much like Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycotts had done during the civil rights movement in the united states and provoked worldwide disapproval of South Africa's Apartheid policies. The uprising of Soweto and the way it was dealt with by the government brought the problems in South Africa under the Apartheid to the world's attention.

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Civils Rights Movements Sanctions where put in place against South Africa, which meant they refused to sell goods to the country or buy goods from it. Other nations refused to play South Africa at international sports such as cricket. As well as theses sad events contributions by black Africans help to bring the wrongs of the Apartheid to the attention of the world. Until his arrest and imprisonment in 1962 Nelson Mandela was at the forefront of the battle to end Apartheid the South Africa. But it was the death of Steve Biko caused by the brutality of the South African Police that once again brought into question the Apartheid system. At the time, he was the leader of the black consciousness movement, an Anti Apartheid movement much like the Black Panthers, they stood to empower and mobilize the blacks of South Africa. He was arrested and interrogated by officers, where he suffered major he injuries, while still in police custody. Despite being in desperate need for medical attention, he was left naked on the floor of his prison cell, he subsequently died on route to a hospital in Pretoria.The South African government claimed that Steve Bikos death was caused by a hunger strike and claimed their innocence, but an autopsy carried out under the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, found that Bikos death was actually caused my an brain lesion caused by the application of force to the head. South Africa now became a pariah, sanctions and embargos made it impossible for South Africa to trade, making apartheid itself expense to maintain. Western nations felt that apartheid could no longer be tolerated, and actively begin to speak out against it. The apartheid laws ended effect in 1990 with immediate and in 1994, the first democratic elections took place in South Africa where Nelson Mandela was elected president of the republic. The struggle of civil liberties have among races has been a long one, with

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Civils Rights Movements many giving their lives to the cause. Figures like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, nelson Mandela and Steve Biko to mention a few were and are still inspiration to millions of people. And lets not forget the many more millions of all races though stood together to fight and beat oppressive and unjust political regimes.

Bibliography http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.hist.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_under_apartheid http://africanhistory.about.com/od/apartheid/Apartheid.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_Civil_Rights_Movement_

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