The youth of America acted as an incendiary behind the Civil Rights Movement by establishing an equal rights legal and social stance, backed by the federal government, and through publicly defying segregation in the South with sit-ins and freedom rides.
The notorious “I Have a Dream Speech,” crafted and delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963, served as the message to which African Americans would use as a motivation as they tried to reshape the future of their tortured culture. Alluded to several times throughout his speech, Martin Luther King Jr. used children as a symbol for the future of America. They represented the idea of a remodeled tomorrow through by being the incendiary America needed to defeat Jim Crow and segregation in the South. “I have a dream that my four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.” (King, Jr., I Have a Dream) This dream was the inspiration behind the Civil Rights movement to which youth played an intricate role in changing the way blacks were viewed in America, especially in the South.
The Little Rock Nine, or a group of nine black students from Arkansas who stood up for their right to an equal education, the Freedom Riders, or groups of young blacks and whites who revolted against the idea of segregation on buses, and the sit-in protestors, or coalitions of African Americans who would protest against the existence of segregated public facilities in the south to promote equal rights, are all events leading to the greater turning point in American history during the Civil Rights Movement. Each exemplify the role the youth of America played by manipulating the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court to fight for a country where all men are considered to be created equal.
The Little Rock Nine, or a group of nine black students from Arkansas who stood up for their right to an equal education, the Freedom Riders, or groups of young blacks and whites who revolted against the idea of segregation on buses, and the sit-in protestors, or coalitions of African Americans who would protest against the existence of segregated public facilities in the south to promote equal rights, are all events leading to the greater turning point in American history during the Civil Rights Movement. Each exemplify the role the youth of America played by manipulating the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court to fight for a country where all men are considered to be created equal.