The Romanticization of the
Civil Rights Movement is
Damaging Our Society
What We Learn
With the implimentation of Black History Month every student learns the basics of the civil rights movement. It is a great start for small children, but the lesson plan seems to be the same for all students of all ages.
White and black people were segregated and told that separate but equal was still equal
The Ku Klux Klan (or the KKK) was a group of white supremacists who terrorized black people in the name of Christianity.
Martin Luther King' was assassinated on his hotel balcony on April 4, 1968.
White and black people were segregated and told that separate but equal was still equal
What We Forget
The gruesome parts of the civil rights movement are generally not mentioned in public classrooms. This could be for many reasons, but they are not nearly as important as the ignorance that they cause.
It was common for black people (especially black men) to be lynched, and for crowds of white people to watch and show support.
Malcolm X believed in black supremacy and did not agree with the peaceful protests of the civil rights movement. He felt that it would take much more than that to bring true change.
The fight for an end to racism, discrimination, and hate, is not over.
It was common for black people (especially black men) to be lynched, and for crowds of white people to watch and show support.
What Does This Mean?
By leaving out information when teaching on the civil rights movement we leave room for misinterpretation. We bottle up the movement into a sweet story that promotes peace and equality, but negelects to mention the pain, greif, and struggle that went with it.
That is why, in today's fight for peace and equality,the majority doesn't understand the problems nor expect the violence and intensive protests used to combat them. As black people are being dicriminated against the uneducated masses expect them to peacefully protest wrong doings and properly appeal to the law and government to find help and justice. The truth is that nothing was ever accomplished in America with solely peaceful protests.
The best way to overcome this is to educate. Show people the many riots, fights, beatings, and deaths it took to get to where we are now. Show the disrimination and hate that black people have been and are still facing. Only then will people be able to truly understand current events and join the discussion.