When we think of Civil Rights, one of the first things we think of are the leaders of the movement. Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, and countless others: these individuals were the faces of civil rights. Without them taking the weight of their entire race on their backs, civil rights as we know it may never have taken the strides it has. More than almost any other period in history, the era of Civil Rights and Black Arts proves just how much power and influence an individual can hold as they spread their beliefs to others.
1961 Freedom Riders protested the lack of enforcement of Supreme Court decisions that were supposed to desegregate interstate buses. The rides prompted frequent mob violence by white supremacists.
Excerpt from Martin Luthor King’s "Letter from Birmingham Jail"(1964)
“In your statement you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But is this a logical assertion? Isn’t this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery?”
April 13, 1964 Malcolm X visits Mecca, and returns greatly personally transformed.
Excerpt from "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" (1965)
"Since I learned the truth in Mecca, my dearest friends have come to include all kinds-some Christians, Jews, Bhuddists, Hindus, agnostics, and even atheists!"
1965-73 Vietnam War
Excerpt from Martin Luther King’s "Beyond Vietnam" (1967)
“At the heart of their concerns, this query has often loomed large and loud: ‘Why are you speaking about the war, Dr. King? Why are you joining the voices of dissent?’ ‘Peace and civil rights don’t mix,’ they say... And when I hear them, though I often understand the source of their concern, I am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment, or my calling.”
1965 Malcolm X assassinated & autobiography published
Excerpt from Malcolm X's "Speech at Ford Auditorium" (1965)
“But they were fearful that if they [The Nation of Islam] didn't do something that perhaps many of those who were in the mosque would leave it and follow a different direction. So they had to start doing a take-off on me, plus, they had to try and silence me because of what they know that I know."
1965 Amiri Baraka moves to Harlem and helps define the Black Arts movement.
Excerpt from Amiri Baraka’s "Ka ‘Ba" (1967)
“We are beautiful people
with african imaginations
full of masks and dances and swelling chants
with african eyes, and noses, and arms,
though we sprawl in grey chains in a place
full of winters, when what we want is the sun.”
1966 James Meredith attempts the March Against Fear, but after he was wounded by an assassination attempt, major civil rights organizations continued the March in his stead.
Excerpt from James Meredith's "I Can't Fight Alone" (1963)
"In this situation, each Negro has no choice but to give his best attention and deepest effort to the solution of our problem. He must feel proud of himself."
1966- Black Panthers founded, NOW founded, Black Power adopted by CORE and SNCC
Excerpt from Nikki Giovanni’s "Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why" (1973)
“I was born in the congo
I walked to the fertile crescent and built the sphinx
I designed a pyramid so tough that a star
that only glows every one hundred years falls
into the center giving divine perfect light
I am bad”
1968- Martin Luther King assassinated.
Excerpt from June Jordan’s "In Memoriam: Martin Luther King Jr."
“honey people murder mercy U.S.A.
the milkland turn to monsters teach
to kill to violate pull down destroy
the weakly freedom growing fruit
from being born”
