Here you will learn about the leaders of the civil rights movement
The Civil Rights Movement was an era dedicated to activism for equal
rights and treatment of African Americans in the United States. During
this period, people rallied for social, legal, political and cultural
changes to prohibit discrimination and end segregation.
Martin Luther King jr.
Place of Birth: Atlanta, GA
Born: January 15th, 1929
Died: April 4th, 1968
Martin Luther King, Jr., is known for
his contributions to the American civil rights movement in the 1960s.
His most famous work is his “I Have a Dream” (1963) speech, in which he
spoke of his dream of a United States that is void of segregation and
racism. King also advocated for nonviolent methods of protest. King was
largely responsible for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Civil Rights Act banned
discrimination in the workforce and public accommodations based on race,
color, religion, or national origin. Sadly, on Thursday, April 4, 1968,
King was shot while standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room
at the Lorraine Motel.
Bayard Rustin
Place of Birth: West Chester, PA
Born: March 17th, 1912
Died: August 24th,1987
Bayard Rustin was an American leader
in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay
rights. Rustin worked with A. Philip Randolph on the March on Washington
Movement, in 1941, to press for an end to racial discrimination in
employment. Rustin was an indispensable force behind the Civil Rights
Movement and he was openly gay. Rustin traveled to Ghana, Nigeria and
South Africa, advising leaders on their planned nonviolent civil
disobedience campaigns for liberation and later helped organize the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament's first annual protest march in
England.
Rosa Parks
Place of Birth: Tuskegee, AL
Born: February 4, 1913
Died: October 24, 2005
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an
American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her
pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress
has called her "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the
freedom movement" On Thursday, December 1, 1955, the 42-year-old Rosa
Parks was commuting home from a long day of work at the Montgomery Fair
department store by bus. Black residents of Montgomery often avoided
municipal buses if possible because they found the Negroes-in-back
policy so demeaning. Nonetheless, 70 percent or more riders on a typical
day were Black, and on this day Rosa Parks was one of them.
A. Philip Randolph
Place of Birth: Crescent City, FL
Born: April 15, 1889
Died: May 16, 1979
Asa Philip Randolph was an American labor
unionist, civil rights activist, and socialist politician. In 1925, he
organized and led the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first
predominantly African-American labor union. He directed the March on
Washington movement to end employment discrimination in the defense
industry and a national civil disobedience campaign to ban segregation
in the armed forces. ... The nonviolent protest and mass action effort
inspired the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
Malcom X
Place of Birth: Omaha, NE
Born: May 19, 1925
Died: February 21, 1965
Malcolm X was an American Muslim
minister and human rights activist who was a popular figure during the
civil rights movement. He is best known for his time spent as a vocal
spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X condemned whites, whom he
referred to as the "white devil," for the historical oppression of
blacks. He argued for black power, black self-defense and black economic
autonomy, and encouraged racial pride.
W.E.B. Du Bois
Place of Birth: Great Barrington, MA
Born: February 23, 1868
Died: August 27, 1963
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was
an American sociologist, socialist, historian, civil rights activist,
Pan-Africanist, author, writer and editor. In 1905, Du Bois was a founder
and general secretary of the Niagara Movement, an African American
protest group of scholars and professionals. Du Bois founded and edited
the Moon (1906) and the Horizon (1907-1910) as organs for the Niagara
Movement.
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