Fighting for Civil Rights

What do civil rights mean? It is the civilian rights we have. Let’s go back to the past when it was segregation, where blacks and whites had a wall between them. That was a bad time. Now, when we look at it, we say how cruel it was and how horrible it was. But if you lived as a white back then, what would be your mind? You would probably think segregation was a good time. Today I will be talking about Ruby Bridges, Sylvia Mendez, and Martin Luther King Jr. These people fought for the Civil Rights Movement and shaped what is called today.

Ruby Bridges is a black person who went to a white-only school, William Frantz Elementary, at age 4. At that time, if blacks went to this school, it had some nasty side effects. This is because many parents were against integration, creating a harsh environment. On the first day of school, Ruby was crowded by a bunch of angry parents. My first support for Ruby Bridges is when she kept going to the white school. If I was Ruby, I would leave, the first day. Ruby would have done the same thing. She knew though, that she could rise above the rest and go to the white school. She stood up and shaped so much of the integrated schools today. Without her, this world would be so much different. Second, Ruby had an integrationist teacher. Although it was a one-man race in Ruby’s classroom, she had a friendly environment to work with. This contributed to at least 30% of her thoughts for staying in the white school. If the teacher wanted the schools to be segregated, Ruby’s probability of quitting would raise by a huge margin. Finally, Ruby took all these insults like she was a sponge soaking up water. One lady decided to make a coffin of Ruby, which translates to “You’re going to be poisoned”. It started a fire full of fears. Ruby was so scared and really didn’t want to go to the white school. But she knew what was right. Keep going to the white school, because Ruby deserved it. Ruby Bridges is such an inspiration for today and really defined the Civil Rights movement.

Sylvia Mendez is a Hispanic lady who was segregated from the white school for three years. Her family fought for Sylvia and her siblings’ education. Sylvia’s family went through so much to get this result. First, she was bullied on her first day of going to the white school One white kid said Sylvia belonged in the Mexican school. Sylvia, and all the other Mexicans did not deserve to be treated poorly. Sylvia and her family fought so much to get this far. Second, Sylvia’s family had so many people on their side. Then non-integrationists became outnumbered. Sylvia’s family didn’t just get the people. They earned the people. Sylvia’s family went to everybody they could to get an answer to why the schools are segregated. There was no good result until the court case happened. The court person said things that were anything but true about the Hispanics. Sylvia Mendez was an inspiration for the Civil Rights Movement and really fought for today. She even went on to win an award!

Martin Luther King Jr. Was a powerful Civil Rights activist who gave his heart-touching “I Have a Dream” speech in front of so many people. Martin Luther King Jr. was sent to Birmingham Jail and wrote the famous “Letters from Birmingham Jail”. But sadly, Martin got shot by James Earl Ray in April 4, 1968. This, of course, was a tragic death for everybody worldwide. Martin put a bomb in segregation and destroyed it. First, he had white friends. Martin was taking big risks by having white friends. Why is that, you may ask? It is a result many people really hating blacks and whites together and might harm a black and a white that are together. The bad people could even kill people or bomb houses. That’s not all. Secondly, Martin’s “I Have a Dream” speech was sincere to the heart. He impacted everyone not just because of the words, but how he read those words. Martin first read the words by paper but realized that his speech was more than a few pages of paper. He threw the paper away and read by the heart. Martin expressed himself, and every single bit of himself. Martin didn’t hesitate to say how he supported desegregating the community. Martin was a brave man. He didn’t care about how people would judge him. All he cared about was the community, and how the community lived. 

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