Place and form of power

Places and formes of power

Intro : in politics, and social sciences, power is ability to influence the beahvior of people. In order to live tegheder, members of a community accept rules, regutions, laws.this helps to create social cohesion but can also lead to conflict and tensions. To illustrate this notion, I choose to speak about segregation in the 60s in rhe USA. WE can say that at this time, the sousthern states of the USA use their power badly and created big inequality between blacks and whites people in the USA.

How did civil rights activists use non-violent protest to bring change to the United States?

I/ establishment of a racist power and inequalities between whites and blacks in the USA

In 1865, after the civil war, slavery was abolished in the United States. Sadely some people did not undrestand that black people deserved equal rights and opportunities. after that, states passed laws which restricted the rights and freedoms of black who living in the USA ( espetialy the south which was the states with the most of slave).

Like we see in the document : « the jim craw laws » ; in the seventies, most southern states adopted laws known as black codes or jim craw laws. Which it’s a way to seperated blacks and whites and create a legal form of segregation .

The name jim craw is based on a white actor which covered his face with charcoral and then sing and dance in a silly way. This character name was Jim craw and this name hase a racist signification based on  on a bad caricatural vision of blacks people.

So between the 1860s and the 1960s the Jim craw laws and segregation where found all over the south and many northern states. They add many rules in education : there was blacks and whites public school but the school provided for whites childrens was nicer. In marriage and family : states had laws that banned marriage and relationship between whites and blacks people. Public accomodation : Many of the laws where written to keep the races separate and public spaces where the most visible area for interaction: there is always a space for colored people and a space for white people and a lot of « white only » signs where seen all over the usa.

So we can see that the power of white people take a really big place in usa at this time and they took away a lot of rights to black jute because of their skin color.

II/ peaceful protest against power and advanced consciences

start to the sixties, blacks and also some whites no longer wanted this segregationist society so they start to protest, peacefully to change the form of power and create equality.

For exemple, we saw in a document a group of activist call « the freedom riders » : they were inspired by Rosa Parks and they decied to challenge the segregation in the south. Rather than boycott the buses, They integrate their bus an travelthrought the deep south there where seven whites and six blacks sat side by side, so they where breaking a law.their goal was to changesegregated interstate travelalong with everyone’s life forever.

In a lot of city, people and kux kux klan members wait for them,ready to attack and kill these unarmed people with a lot of violence. The buses where burned and a lot of freedom riders finish beaten or incarcered.

We also saw in the document « the little rock crisis » a girl, Carlotta, a black student who decided to participate at the integration of blacks students in a whites high school, in little rock, Arkansas. The integration of those blacks student created a huge controversy, the white parents protested violently in high school and did not want blacks in their school. but the state has forced for integration and despite difficult months these new students have ended up being accepted by everyone.

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