7e. Impact

The impact of the civil rights movement was immense.  After years of intense nonviolent resistance, many Jim Crow laws were struck down in court. Most significantly, the U.S. government passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Both of these Acts delegitimized segregation and discrimination towards Blacks in America. 

Of course, we know that racism towards Blacks in the U.S. is far from eliminated – the Black Lives Matter movement which began in 2013 is evidence of the ongoing conflict and the peace movement response that exists today. Nevertheless, the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century was a pivotal movement in advancing human rights.

The protests of the civil rights movement also helped to reinforce the idea that strategic nonviolent action is a viable, realistic, and successful tactic to counter diverse forms of violence. And thus continues to be a model followed by contemporary movements, such as the one against apartheid in South Africa. 

As you have likely already identified, there are striking commonalities between Gandhi’s movement of noncooperation in India and the American Civil Rights movement. Some common features include:

•  ends and means must be consistent;
•  nonviolence must be maintained internally and externally;
•  movement is against an unjust system, not against individuals;
•  suffering is a creative and powerful force;
•  nonviolence has the potential to transform opponents;
•  non-cooperation is a moral obligation.

 

Stop and Ask

What are the aims/goals, methods/tactics, ideology/philosophy, and symbols of this movement?

© Course Author and University of Waterloo