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The traditional image of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States is one that spans over a decade and has its roots in the deep south, in places like Montgomery and Memphis. However, in lieu of new information, a theory has developed that widens the movement’s scope both chronologically and geographically. First coined by Jacqueline Dowd Hall, many Historians have embraced the idea of a Long Civil Rights Movement. This thesis argues that all post-war civil rights movements developed over an extended period. It also breaks away from the traditional view that the civil rights movements predominantly reside in the 1960s and 1970s. The theory also looks beyond the geography of the deep south (e.g. Montgomery and Selma) and perpetuates the idea of a nationwide civil rights movement. This theory also allows for a deeper insight into activism, supporting the existence of grassroots movements by allowing for more than one narrative.
The existence of a long civil rights movement allows for flexible parameters regarding its timeframe. Some even believe there were efforts regarding civil rights as far back as the late 1800s. A wall of resistance did not just appear in the 1960s, there were in fact widespread anti-racism movements during the 1930s and 1940s. Although these were not fully developed, they aimed to overthrow segregation. These could be referred to as organized local political activism. Korstad and Lichenstein place the beginning of the movement in the early 1940s. Black workers joined Unions(these had a membership of around ½ a million) and the NAACP, whose membership rose from 50,000 to 450,000. According to Berman, McCoy, and Ruetten, a similar movement emerged during the late 1940s. These were challenges by white liberals against white supremacy and marked the second world war and the Truman years as important periods of change. It provided new opportunities to ask for reform.
Although the thesis regards the movement as long and continuous, there were still phases within its narrative. The classical phase, named by Bayard Rustin, begins with the Brown Vs Board of Education case in 1954 and ends with the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. There were increased efforts to get rid of segregation and the emergence of non-violent action through bus boycotts in Montgomery(1955), Louisiana(1953), and Florida(1956). Grassroots groups in areas, like Mississippi, took direct, non-violent action. The MFDP taught people how power worked at different levels, how to lobby and protest and how to build organizations. They also set up Freedom schools that encouraged political thinking in young people, and federal groups that encouraged lobbying. Something that historians often gloss over is the effect of the Cold War on the movement. Anti-communist feelings destroyed the old left, made liberals go on the defensive, and allowed conservatives to thrive. McCarthyism suppressed any movement that looked vaguely communist and got rid of various civil rights conferences. However, it also helped the civil rights movement. During this period, there was a decline in rights and greater civil rights activity – riots over the Vietnam War, student rebellion, and black militancy. Fear of communism made way for the civil rights movements as the sole protest movement of the period. Then came the 1960s and 70s, the so-called movement of movements, where movements were largely nationalized. Despite these phases forming a bigger picture, the movement still heavily relies on the literature of the 50s and 60s.
The thesis of the Long Civil Rights Movement better reflects the reality of African American struggles. There is often a disconnect between the true extent of civil rights movements and what people believe them to be. The existence of such a movement considers the idea of a never-ending struggle for freedom, the movement was merely an unfinished piece of work, one which was far from being over yet. Limiting the extent of civil rights to just the classical phase of the movement leads to an underestimation of the progress made by activists and the sheer number of obstacles African Americans needed to overcome. We should look at the fight for Civil Rights as a continuous struggle, rather than at specific points in time. It is typically easier to compress the moment into a few key points or phases and figures like Martin Luther King Jr. The narrative of the civil rights movement relies on public memory, images of the movement often only appear around the time of Martin Luther King Junior day or Black History Month. His I have a dream speech remains to be a powerful image of civil rights and has become his one-defined action in the movement. His other actions have fallen into the background. The commitment Martin Luther King Jr made to civil rights should not be reduced to mere speech. This thesis presents this tokenization and allows lesser-known movements to come to light. Intersectionality is an important part of the long civil rights movement, movements were inspired by the actions of civil rights activists. For example, the Black Power movement is typically described in a negative light. The activists involved in the movement were frequently assumed to be thugs and suppressed by the corrupt FBI, police, and the US state. There was some distinction between the Black Power movement and the civil rights movement, both largely had the same goals but achieved them by different means, and the black power movement also was less well known. The movement challenged the existing rhetoric of sexism, violence, crime, and anger and encouraged more African Americans to engage in politics. It aimed to have black elected officials and a high voting turnout. Black nationalist groups were respectful towards other minority groups, built multi-racial alliances, and had white investors. However, they were not race-neutral and promoted both control of their own community and black liberation. The long civil rights movement showcases this multiplicity of movements.
The Long Civil Rights moment is also a result of increased interest in African American rights. It is reflective of a time of greater awareness. White academics are no longer complicit with the racist narrative that underpins much of the literature documenting African American struggle. In the past, academics often veered away from difficult issues: FBI corruption, decolonization, anti-imperialistic values, and pan-Africanism. Historiography often featured negative representations of African Americans. Even the work of historians, who attempted to show sympathy toward Black suffering, frequently had problematic undertones. On a societal level, as well as the resistance to change from white elites, there has always been a group of color-blind conservatives who supported but didn’t truly understand the civil rights movement and frequently undermined the complexities and dynamics of it. These people acknowledged the existence of racism but failed to acknowledge the problems that still remained. They instead focused on racial reconstruction rather than the granting of rights. The historiography of today now aims to take racism in older texts into context when writing new theses. This is regularly referred to as the civil rights movement of scholarship. Academics wrote with a greater sense of respectability, using more sensitive language and changing the approach to difficult issues. Anti-racist ideas have only come to the forefront in lieu of new information. Work has been done to ensure that both dramatic movements and everyday struggles were documented as activism. In recent years, there has been increased exposure of unsung heroes of the civil rights movement, as part of an expansion of key figures. There has also been greater compassion towards Black suffering through the campaigns triggered by the deaths of Black citizens at the hands of white policemen. This compassion has led to literature aiming to grant justice for racial trauma. This literature tends to vilify the white population as monsters or provide white audiences with questions that provoke self-reflection. The Long Civil rights movement plays into this narrative of repair.
In conclusion, many Historians support the idea of a long civil rights movement because it reflects the progress in both academia and society as a whole. It also shows the progress that has been made in race relations. We have gone from a time of widespread racism to one where academics write and discuss race and racial issues in a more sensitive manner through changes to the language used and general changes in attitudes and approaches. Wider society no longer has laws of segregation and attitudes of inferiority and negativity towards African Americans, although still existent, have significantly lessened. Furthermore, the thesis allows for the creation of a bigger picture of the civil rights movement, one that reflects the African American struggle and the recognition of both everyday and large-scale activism. By ignoring the work done by activists outside the classical phase of the 1950s and 60s, you limit the greater effect that the civil rights movement had and the high number of obstacles there were to overcome. The true effects of the civil rights movements could be seen in the everyday actions of the smaller movements, which intersected with the overall aims of the larger movement.
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