Thursday, February 5, 2009
Sit-In Movement
In class on Monday, we were discussing the different people who were involved in the Civil Rights Movement and the Sit-In Movement was mentioned. This reminded me of the history class that I took last semester. I was in History 1493, and this class covered material from the Industrial Revolution to the present. Near the end of the semester we talked a little about the 1960s and Civil Rights. One lecture, in particular, stuck with me; it was when we were discussing the Sit-In Movement in Greensboro, North Carolina. Four students went to a diner on February 1, 1960 and went and sat at the white counter knowing that they wouldn’t be served. This action was the beginning of about 70,000 other sit-ins throughout the South. My teacher said that during one of the sit-ins an older white woman walked by the boys and said, “It’s about time.” When I heard that, I got chills. I love hearing about people taking a stand and hearing that there were white people who cared. I wish that we could have talked more about the civil rights movements, but it was the end of the semester so we were not able to go into a lot of detail. I enjoy learning about the 1960s and how people took a stand for what was right. When I hear about people having problems with people of a different race, it drives me crazy. I do believe that racism has decreased since the 1960s, but it is still out there. It hurts me to think that people judge others by the color of their skin. I agree with Martin Luther King Jr. when he says, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” I, too, dream that color will never be an issue.
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Clara Luper, a central figure in the civil rights movement in Oklahoma was speaking on campus earlier today.
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting to read! I also took history 1493 last semester and i remember talking about the civil rights. I thought that it was the most interesting part of the whole semester. I really learned alot about what sit-ins were and what it was like for the people to participate in them. Thats so funny, because I also got chills when the white woman told the boys "It's about time." That is just so inspiring to me. Things like that are what made the civil rights movement work as well as it did. It made a difference because today we are so much better off and there is less racism than there was. I just hope we keep moving in a positive direction like we are!
ReplyDeleteNow this is why our class is so important because in our other history classes you only touch civil rights movements for a quick second. Many people don't know what has happened in the past and how many whites cared about what was going on and wanted to help out. I had a similar reaction when I heard that white people stood up for blacks and walked the streets with them. It really killed the stereotype that all of the white people thought of us as on the bottom on the food chain. I've never heard of people saying that they have had problems with the other race but people do blame much of whatever the problem is on the fact that the other race doesn't understand them or want to understand the issue at hand. Yes racism is still well and alive but it has gotten so much better. I think MLK would be proud of our progress, and o he has to be rejoicing that we have a black president.
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