Who are some of the biggest civil rights activists?
These people are some of the most important in history:
These people are some of the most important in history:
- Malcolm X was born in 1925, he grew up to be a Muslim minister and a human rights activist. Malcolm wanted to grow up to be a lawyer, but when a teacher told him it was unrealistic, he decided to drop out of school, and become a civil rights activist.in 1946 Malcolm and his friend were arrested for burglary. He served seven years in jail then was let out on parole.While Malcolm was in jail, he decided to further his schooling, and convert to the Muslim religion, during this time, he decided to change his last name from Little to X. Malcolm soon became appointed as a Muslim minister. With all these changes, he created a lot of controversy and the media became attracted to him.The government did not trust Malcolm or the group NOI(Nation of Islams.) and the decided to place bugs and wires within the group to monitor their activities. in 1958 Malcolm got married to Betty Shabazz. in 1964 Malcolm decided that it was time to end his relations with the NOI group after the disappointment brought about by Muhammad. This led him to create his own religious group, the Muslim Mystique. Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and when he returned, instead of preaching to one race, he carries back a message for all races. "Human rights are something you were born with. Human rights are your God-given rights. Human rights are the rights that are recognized by all nations of this earth."-Malcolm X When Malcolm left the NOI he was considered a big target for assassination. These were all luckily failed attempts, and his family escaped many plots of assassination.
- Charles Morgan Jr. was born in 1930 in Kentucky. He moved to Alabama and attended the university of Alabama.He became a civil rights attorney. After the 16th Street Baptist church bombing, Morgan delivered a speech blaming local leaders for not doing their part. His standing up for racial diversity led to him and his family receiving death threats. in 1964 he developed the Southern Regional Office for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Atlanta. Morgan agreed and promoted the “one man one vote” cause. Morgans next case was to defend Julian Bond. He was to take a seat in the house of representatives, but because he did not agree with involvement in the vietnam war. Morgan was able to get Bond’s seat back. In 1972, the ACLU named Morgan as the legislative director of its national office in Washington, D.C. At a party in Washington, D.C., a man from New York said that he would not vote for Jimmy Carter for president because of his southern accent, so Morgan replied "That's bigotry, and that makes you a bigot." Aryeh Neier, the ACLU's executive director, spoke to Morgan shortly after, and criticized Morgan's taking a public position on a candidate for public office. Morgan resigned from his duty in April 1976. After this,Morgan continued in private practice. He went on to represent tobacco companies in the smoking ban case.Morgan died at 78 in the year 2009.
- Susan B. Anthony was born on February 15th 1820, in Adams Massachusetts.She was the second oldest child in a family of seven children. Her and her siblings were raised as quakers, they believed in a simple life of equality. She learned to read at age three and attended grade school. Once, a teacher refused to teach her long division because she was a girl.After that, they knew that she would not be getting a proper education, so they decided to homeschool her. Once Anthony was old enough, she was sent to a Quaker boarding school in Philadelphia. Before the civil war, Antony knew that she should fight for civil rights. She dedicated her life to the cause.Her accomplishments help lead the way to the nineteenth amendment in 1920. This granted womens suffrage. Anthony founded the National Woman's Suffrage Association in 1869. She also Founded the International Council of Women in 1888 and the International Woman Suffrage Council in 1904 which brought international attention to suffrage. Susan died March 13th 1906.
- Martin Luther King Jr.. was born on January 15th 1929, he was born Michael, but later changed his name. Martin graduated high school at age 15 and received a B.A degree from Morehouse college. He was elected president of his Pennsylvania college, after studying theology and was awarded the bachelor's degree. His class was also predominantly white. After this, he applied to Boston university to receive a doctorate in the subject. In 1954, Martin Luther King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He joined the NAACP, and soon enough was elected leader of the group. During the bus boycott, instigated by Rosa Parks, King was arrested and his home was bombed. In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity, but applied to people being discriminated against everywhere. Within a span of ten years, King traveled over six million miles, speaking over twenty five hundred times. His best, and most acquitted to speech, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal...” he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963.At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize, he donated all him money to the civil rights movement. At the age of thirty-five, Martin Luther King, Jr., was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize.
- John Lewis was born February 20th 1940, in a city just outside Troy Alabama. John knew from an early age he wanted to be educated, but of course thats was illegal at the time. He was inspired by the actions of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. The only thing for him to do, was to join the civil rights movement. Lewis obtained his education through the Pike County Training School. He then studied at the American Baptist Theological Seminary and at Fisk University. He was able to gain great leadership skills during this time. Lewis was arrested and put in jail many times to try to help desegregate the downtown area of the city. Afterwards, he participated in the Freedom Rides sponsored by the Congress of Racial Equality or CORE. Lewis became chairman of the SNCC during one of its most important times. Lewis opened freedom schools and started what is now known as the freedom summer. this was a campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African American voters as possible in Mississippi. He was one of the thirteen original freedom riders. there were seven whites and six blacks who were determined to ride from Washington, DC, to New Orleans in an integrated fashion.By 1963, he was recognized as one of the "Big Six" leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. At 21 years old, John Lewis was the first of the Freedom Riders to be assaulted while in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Lewis first ran for office in 1977, when a spot opened up in Georgia's 5th congressional district. Lewis is still alive today.
- Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1913 on February 4th. Rosa Parks is best known for what she did in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1st in 1955. On this day she refused to take her bus drivers orders, to give up her seat, which was in the colored section to a white man. This led to Parks’ being arrested for civil disobedience. She was elected secretary in the NAACP in 1943 (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and she has been quoted saying that she was the only woman in the montgomery chapter. Before the bus incident, the same bus driver that told Parks to move, had once made her get off the bus to enter through the rear door,(Alabama law for colored) and drove away leaving Parks to walk home in the rain.When she realized it was the same driver who was going to make her move, she said “When that white driver stepped back toward us, when he waved his hand and ordered us up and out of our seats, I felt a determination cover my body like a quilt on a winter night."- Rosa Parks This incident ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In protest, all negro’s were advised not to use public transportation the day after the Parks Trial and lasted for 381 days, until segregation was gone on the busses in Montgomery. Parks passed away in 2005, but as the “First Lady of Civil Rights” her legacy lives on today.