awakenings, as seen in the film of the civil rights movements

awakenings, as seen in the film of the civil rights movements

Eyes on the prize awakenings is a documentary that opens with the earliest beginnings of the civil rights movements as the US emerged from the Second World War. Army of the black men returned home from overseas, a place where they were trained to become officers and poses other positions of authority. These black men were relegated to second class citizens. When they returned home, they were so determined to possess the power on their own, even with the resistance of the white am Americans. There was a lot of segregation, and the system was full of discrimination and prejudice. This essay will focus on the awakenings, as seen in the film of the civil rights movements, as it happened from 1954 to 1956.

The segregation was seen in the daily lives of the African Americans by being denied equal access to public facilities and ensuring that the Africans and the whites lived apart. Most African Americans lived in rural areas, and so it was straightforward to keep them in bondage. The blacks and whites used to live near the farms. The geographical isolation made contact between the neighbors not to be frequent. The blacks were excluded from seats on public transportation, and also denied apart from those who worked as servants. More so, the Africans occupied different sections in the auditoriums and theatres. The schools and churches were also segregated. The African Americans were disfranchised by segregation. Practices that were done in the south were used deliberately to prevent the black cozens from registering to vote and also prevent them from voting. It was based on a series of laws and constitutions of the United States of America after the reconstruction era.

The lynching of the Emmett Till became a catalyst in the national movement for the civic rights because Till’s family, together with the national newspapers and organizations of civil rights, used Till’s death to start a blow against terrorism and racial injustice. Tills’ mother insisted on the opening of the casket at Till’s funeral that was attended by around fifty thousand people and more. Pictures of the coffin are illustrated below.

The magazine of the jet chronicled all this. When people saw till’s photo with his mother earlier, and that of his mutilated corpse, they were horrified, and this became the catalyst for the civil rights movement bourgeoning.

The media coverage educated the nation, especially about the events on Mississippi and Montgomery. Without the media, the civil movement would have acted like a bird without feathers. For instance, when all the white people in Mississippi jury acquainted Bryant and Milam, in a brief trial, in the Sumner town, the media enables this news to travel all over the world. More so, the press covered an event of Montgomery bus where a lady refused to offer her seat on the bus for a man who was white. This is how the media prayed and educative role in showing the events that were brutal to the African Americans.  The means that were available for the disenfranchised blacks in America to fight to segregate was by starting nonviolent resistance campaigns. These campaigns secured new protections in the federation law for all Americans to be granted human rights. There was a reconstruction amendment after the American civil war, and the US constitution issued the African Americans the right to vote and hold political office. Slavery was also abolished.

Fight for the end of segregation and injustice by the people, which was in the Jim Crow system, took a long time. The people were able to summon courage through the formation of grassroots organizations. They were able to use local churches to form these organizations. For instance, the bus boycott at Montgomery got organized after the case of Rosa Parks. A young preacher known as martin Luther king was steering the meetings at his church. The leaders of the movement are the ones who aided the people in summoning courage. These included the king and Rosa parks. Martin Luther King was helped by grassroots nature, local organizers, and leadership to foster courage and strength to the people.

Eyes on the prize are a definite story of civil rights. It recounts fights to end discrimination as well as segregation. It is a story of young and around, northern and southern to eradicate a world where the blacks and whites could not attend the same school, vote the same election, or ride on the same bus. The prize is the ability to have equality and to end segregation and discrimination of black Americans. It is an aim to give equal participation in society.

The lessons learned from this essay align with the American government, especially on the side of the elections. In the early years of the United States, the action of voting was headed by the state government. This voting was limited to only the white men who owned the land. Direct elections were, in most cases, held in the United States House representatives and the legislature of the states. This is a kind of segregation because it means that if a person was not white, then they could not be allowed to vote.

These kinds of experiences are vital in enhancing civic education because one can learn about political practices as well as the rights of people and their duties. Through the knowledge acquired in this essay, a student can learn how people’s rights can be denied through segregation a more so understand the affairs og a government.  This civic career enables a person to have the spirit of resilience, growth mindset, which equips the students with the ability to master challenges in life together with encouraging continuous learning. Civic education is also very paramount in fostering knowledge about the system of government and its operations.

In summary, this paper has discussed the civil rights movements in the period of awakening. In this period, there was a lot of segregation, injustice, and discrimination towards African Americans. African Americans decided not to be quiet but to fight for their rights through peaceful campaigns. The killings of the innocent African Americans is what awakened people to fight for the equality of every American. Thie movie of the eyes on the prize shows how the African Americans stood to fight for their rights and attain the reward of their freedom.

Works cited.

Levy, P. B. (2019). The Civil Rights Movement: A Reference Guide. ABC-CLIO.