About the Elements and Artists of the Civil Rights Movement

The most important element of the Civil Rights Movement was to create equality between blacks and whites in the United States. The Civil Rights Movement had two specific elements or phases. The first was a peace element in which blacks and their supporting whites worked for equality through peace, such as Martin Luther King Jr. who used the support of black churches and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. These activists and organizations worked in the public around citizens to help raise awareness and change public interest toward a change in the treatment of blacks. The NAACP and the SNLC worked to peacefully end segregation in the courts and legislation instead of the general public. Another element of the Civil Rights Movement was the radical element. People from organizations such as the Black Panthers and the SNCC eventually were getting killed and people lost faith in the peaceful movement and resulted to a blame game. One of the most prominent leaders of this was Malcolm X who spoke about creating an all black state and criticizing capitalism. They also kicked whites out of their union groups to become all black groups. Due to this radical element, the Civil Rights Movement became a fight for Civil Rights and gained much needed attention which pushed the issue forward. For artists, the period represented a huge struggle against the odds for equality and desegregation.