高英第七册Unit8TextIICivilrightsmovement.docVIP

Civil rights movement Alice Walker Historically, the civil rights movement was a concentrated period of time around the world of approximately twenty years (1960-1980) in which there was much worldwide civil unrest and popular rebellion. The process of moving toward equality under the law was long and tenuous in many countries, and most of these movements did not achieve or fully achieve their objectives. In its later years, the civil rights movement took a sharp turn to the radical left in many cases. Civil Rights Movement in the United States During the Civil Rights Movement, ordinary men and women challenged the nation to apply its founding values of justice, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to all citizens, regardless of skin color.? From throughout the South women, men, and children of different social classes, educational levels, races, and religions united in a national effort to practice the principles of democracy, nonviolence, and civic action. In a relatively stable political system, after a status had been reached where every citizen has the same rights by law, practical issues of discrimination remain. Even if every person is treated equally by the state, there may not be equality because of discrimination within society, such as in the workplace, which may hinder civil liberties in everyday life. During the second half of the 20th century, Western societies introduced legislation that tried to remove discrimination on the basis of race, gender or disability. The Civil Rights Movement in the United States refers in part to a set of noted events and reform movements in that country aimed at abolishing public and private acts of racial discrimination and racism against African Americans between 1954 to 1968, particularly in the southern United States. It is sometimes referred to as the Second Reconstruction era. Later, groups like the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords, the Weathermen and the Brown Berets turned to more harsh tactics to make