Anti-Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement was a constant power struggle between the people for equality and the people against equality. There were numerous ignorant people who were afraid of the change that was making its way through the South, so they did anything they could to differ it.

There were many events that occurred which showed the disapproval of the Civil Rights Movement. Any prominent figure who stood up for civil rights automatically had a target on their back. Many were assassinated before they could see justice such as Medgar Evers, the secretary of the NAACP, Malcom X, human rights activist, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the face and voice of the movement. There were also court cases which portrayed the discontent of the movement. The case of NYT v. Sullivan is a perfect example. Sullivan was trying to not only destroy King’s effort to integrate public facilities and encourage African Americans to vote, but also tried to stop the New York Times from publishing the Civil Rights Movement in the papers, directly restricting the freedom of the press. Ultimately, the New York Times won the case and could report freely of the civil rights campaign going on in the South. There was also people of power in the south who held a strong opposition for equality for African-American citizens. One being George Wallace, the governor of Alabama. When elected, he promised, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” He is best known for what is called “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.” Wallace attempted to stop two African-American students from attending school at the University of Alabama. He refused to move for so long that President Kennedy had to call in the National Guard which he ordered to get Wallace out of the doorway. After being reluctant for a few minutes, he finally stepped to the side. Another Southern leader out to put and end to the Civil Rights Movement was Eugene “Bull” Connor, the Commissioner of Public Safety in Montgomery, AL. It was very well known that his ideologies and orders were in direct opposition to the movement. When the Freedom Riders were heading into Montgomery and being faced by giant mobs of people, Connor refused to provide them with any type of police protection. He also sent dogs onto protestors and had the police spray them with high pressured fire hoses in hopes of getting them to disperse.

As it can be seen, the movement faced many obstacles along the way; whether it was a person, a group or even legislation, it was not an easy battle for the civil rights activist.