The Civil Rights movement was a very hard time for many blacks in the United States. African Americans had to fight for their rights. They fought to be able to sit on a bus in the seat of their choice, sit at a lunch counter, go to a decent public bathroom, integrate schools, and most importantly the right to vote. We can learn many things from this era in American history. The blacks knew what they wanted, fought back in a non-violent way, and never gave up. This strategy worked because today blacks can do all these things and even more. If we put this strategy to work today, we could accomplish anything.
One thing one should learn from the Civil Rights movement is that violence is not necessary. African Americans have received the rights they wanted with peaceful demonstrations. An example of this happened in 1960. Joseph McNeil, a black college student, sat at a lunch counter with three of his friends until they were served. They were not served, so the students came to the counter every day. A New York Times article was printed on the story and inspired black and white students across the country to participate in such protests. The protests did not have immediate results, but because of these protests African Americans can sit and be served at any lunch counter today. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his "Letter From a Birmingham City Jail," "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.".
Another thing we should learn from the Civil Rights movement is to never give up. African Americans never gave up, and they succeeded. When one protest didn't seem to get a reaction, they tried different ones until they did. Many things were tried throughout the movement. In 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man and got arrested. Later the court decided that bus segregation was unconstitutional.