From Selma to Stonewall, the civil rights and LGBTQ movement forever changed American culture by challenging the entrenched systems of injustice and inspiring generations to demand freedom and equality for all. Following the American Civil War, the Reconstruction era began with the aim to rebuild the country by bringing former confederate states back, and counteracting the political, social, and economic legacies of slavery. However, reconstruction efforts were undermined due to white supremacy groups like the Ku Klux Klan, lynchings of African Americans, segregation, disenfranchisement, and share cropping leading to lack of economic freedom. This violation of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment which was supposed to guarantee newly freed slaves …show more content…
By coming together as a community and recognizing their interconnectedness of hardships rather than being divided by different ideological interests, the African American community can strengthen their solidarity across the country, which can effectively fight against racial prejudice in society. Furthermore, in a period of intense persecution known as the Lavender Scare beginning in the 1940s until the 60s, members of the LGBTQ+ community were harassed and discriminated against in everyday society on the grounds of their sexual identity due to fear and stigma against gay people caused by broader societal homophobia. Fueled by the strategies and successes of the civil rights movement, the LGBTQ+ community also began challenging the deeply entrenched systems of oppression. Harvey Milk delivered a speech to inspire hope for the LGBTQ+ community to continue fighting for their place in society and recognized the universality of human rights by expressing, "We are all different. But we all have the same rights, the same hopes, and the same dreams. That's what makes us human" (Milk). Harvey Milk repeats the words “the same” to spread his message of hope uniting a community, and reinforces the main idea to the audience which helps them recognize that despite our differences, sameness can help break down barriers between people and foster a sense of community. This highlights the importance of community by bringing out commonalities that bind the LGBTQ+ community together …show more content…
Black Americans throughout the country faced a lack of representation in politics due to disenfranchisement resulting from prejudicial practices such as literacy tests and poll taxes, which denied them their right to participate in the political process. Along with uniting the community, Malcolm X addressed the need to reconstruct the political system with the aim of putting more Black Americans with genuine interests to better the community in positions of power by emphasizing, "We need to have more politicians who look like we do, black politicians who are going to represent us, not some damn Uncle Tom who's going to represent his own interests" (X). In this statement, Malcolm X uses the allusion of “Uncle Tom”, a subservient slave in the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" who cooperated with White slave owners solely for his own benefit, this conveys the powerful message to his audience that equality can only be achieved through resistance and not conformity. Essentially Malcolm X suggests the need to vote for true Black representatives that are determined to take action for minorities being oppressed rather than Black politicians who are more concerned with white interests or want to gain support of white
At three am on June 28th, 1969, Brooklyn police did a routine raid on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City. They expected the gay and transgender people inside to come quietly, but they did the opposite. This event forever changed the way the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) community fought for rights. The 1969 Stonewall riots prompted the LGBTQ+ community to explore the idea of gay defiance against society, made encounters between the straight and gay communities more prevalent, and opened up the floodgates for the exchange and discussion of ideas on sexuality in the United States.
Following the ending of the Civil War in 1865, America was in an era known as the Reconstruction. The Reconstruction lasted until 1877. Citizens were attempting to rebuild our nation following one of the deadliest war in American History. In this time, the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution were ratified. Although slaves were freed, African Americans still faced intense racial prejudice and discrimination.
In the years 1861-1865, the United States had a Civil War between the North and South. As a result, the North won, and the period after the war was called Reconstruction. It was called Reconstruction because the North’s goal was to Reconstruct the South, but there were many issues in this era. Slavery, and giving Social, Political, and Economic rights to African Americans were one of the most debated issues in this period though. Between the Radical Republicans, who wanted to give full citizenship and rights to African Americans, and Andrew Johnson, who did not want to give African Americans, there were a lot of issues that came about during this time.
After the Civil War ended in 1865, slaves were now free. The thirteenth amendment was created. This amendment would abolish slavery and free all slaves. This led to the Reconstruction Era. This was a period in time when the government tried to help former slaves with their citizenship and their rights.
The Reconstruction era was a period in the United States that took place after the Civil War, from approximately 1865 to 1877. During this time, the federal government sought to incorporate both the Confederate states and newly freed black people into American society. This process was marked by a series of political and social changes, including the passing of the Reconstruction Amendments, which abolished slavery, granted citizenship rights, and voting rights to black Americans. Additionally, the Freedmen's Bureau was established to aid newly freed black people in areas such as education, housing, and land ownership. The era was also marked by the rise of racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, which aimed to maintain white supremacy and
“March On Selma,” an image shot around the ending of the Civil Rights Movements by an unknown author, seems to depict a scene of violence, and an underlying feeling of Maliciousness. The photo focuses on one woman who was pulled away from the protesters seemingly and is being bit by a German Shephard police dog. The police don’t even try to restrain the dog from biting into her, let alone pull the dog away from her, which shows the truly brutal nature of most of the police force. Many of the people in the background are looking on disapprovingly of the police’s actions and intentions, and many shoot them dirty looks and glares. A large amount of the students & adults protesting here are there as a result of the thirty-two teachers who were
The Stonewall Riots of 1969 in New York City’s Greenwich Village are remembered as a significant event in the struggle for LGBTQIA+ liberation in the United States and around the world. The Riots, often referred to as a rebellion by activists today, started when police officers, including four undercover officers, raided the Stonewall Inn and were met with resistance by the customers, many of whom were cross-dressing or presented as gender-conforming. Passersby witnessed the violent arrests and the people’s resistance. They joined the group of rioters in the ensuing hours of broken store windows, police car windows, and physical violence between the police and the predominantly LGBTQIA+ Stonewall customers. The heavy police violence and surveillance
The American civil war led to the reunion of the South and the North. But, its consequences led the Republicans to take the lead of reconstructing what the war had destroyed especially in the South because it contained larger numbers of newly freed slaves. Just after the civil war, America entered into what was called as the reconstruction era. Reconstruction refers to when “the federal government established the terms on which rebellious Southern states would be integrated back into the Union” (Watts 246). As a further matter, it also meant “the process of helping the 4 million freed slaves after the civil war [to] make the transition to freedom” (DeFord and Schwarz 96).
The Reconstruction Era occurred in 1865, it was was a period after the Civil War in which America was focused on rebuilding the broken South. In 1867, the Radical reconstruction gave former slaves a voice in government. During this era, formers slaves gained a platform in the government, with some blacks as Congressmen. However, not everyone supported the idea of Reconstruction. Less than a decade after the Reconstruction period, a small group composed of democratic ex-confederate veterans, white farmers and white southerners sympathetic to white supremacy joined forces together to form the Ku Klux Klan.
Reconstruction caused prejudice and inequality. To elaborate, the creation of the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Codes were both in the time period of reconstruction, which caused chaos and violence throughout the Union. One of the goals of reconstruction was to repair the economy in the South, because it depended on slavery, which was now illegal, due to the thirteenth amendment. The South’s economic system now depended on Sharecropping, which caused former slaves to be in constant debt and was unjust to the black society. The reconstruction time period, was a time of dispute between the Union.
Reconstruction era, which was followed by post-civil war, was meant to unite the states back together, reconstruct properties, and most importantly, abolish slavery in the South. Although the factors such as amendments legally freed former slaves, yet WRITE THESIS After the end of civil war in 1865, Reconstruction era, which was controlled by President Abraham Lincoln, appeared to quickly coalesce the Northern and Southern states. reconstruction amendments, which were approved between 1865 and 1870, played a huge role on giving legal rights to blacks and former slaves. 13th amendment constitutionally abolished slavery in 1865 and followed up by that, 14th and 15th amendment admitted equal citizenship, protection, and rights of suffrage despite the one’s race or skin color. Former slaves were no longer belongings of their owners.
The reconstruction period was a failure because African Americans, mainly males, were not treated with equality although the constitution said that the they were free and had the right to vote, be educated and had the right to liberty, life and the pursuit to happiness. Organizations, like the KKK, were created to harm freed slaves and their families. Laws were created such as the Black Codes restricting former slaves from their rights. African Americans endured a lot of violence over the years. “In Grayson, Texas, a white man and two friends murdered three former slaves because the wanted to ‘ thin the niggers out and drive them to their hole’”.
This started the era of Reconstruction. Reconstruction went from 1865-1877 and was the period when Congress passed laws designed to rebuild the country and bring the southern states back into the union. it also tried to bring rights to African Americans the issue with this goal was that things did get fixed for a little while like African Americans had voting rights and they had abolished slavery. However, Reconstruction was not successful because it failed to protect the social, economic, and political rights of African Americans.
Introduction The history of gay activism is vast, encompassing the collective fight for liberation by individuals, groups, and communities. While the work of past activists has played a central role in spearheading the fight for liberation and advancing social justice movements, it is necessary that their stories do not fall prey to the artifice of historical amnesia. From the outset of his political career, Harvey Milk was a steadfast contributor to the 2SLGBTQIA+ rights movement. In an age where Milk’s identity was heavily stigmatized, his commitment towards disrupting systems of oppression and affirming the rights of the queer community was paramount towards effecting positive change in the United States.
After a fifty mile fight, Selma to Montgomery, African Americans finally reached the finish line, and voting was achievable for all. It was not easy though. After 250 years of slavery the civil war made everyone free. The reconstruction followed, in efforts to make things equal for everyone, but Plessy v. Ferguson was a setback. It started the “separate but equal” concept, and life was segregated for 60 years.