Despite some Americans’ accepting and welcoming attitude, many Americans had a difficult time accommodating to the idea of integration. Due to the countless years of discrimination and dehumanization against minority races, Caucasian citizens of the states struggled to remain cordial and friendly towards their new equals. The two class system American society created caused the Caucasians to believe they were superior to the minority races due to their lighter skin tone. This ultimately caused Caucasians to relentlessly fight for their title of superior, even though integration was inevitable. Although the tensions between the races spread all throughout America, the issue of resistance was clearly more evident in communities in the South compared to the North. As displayed in the Civil War, the Southern states had continuously opposed any government actions to permit rights to African Americans, even after slavery had been abolished for decades. When integration began spreading, Southerners desperately tried to resist the transition and refused to respect or tolerate the members of the Black race considering they deemed themselves superior. During The Civil Rights Movement, many southern Americans struggled to acclimate to integration as a result of the normalization of discriminating African Americans that had transpired for several decades prior to the 1960s. This struggle resulted in both positive and negative effects on society that have continued to affect African Americans for many years after the movement has come to an end. The toxic societal norms of this era ultimately led to the resistance that some Americans portrayed when segregation began spreading around the states, especially in the South. Even to this day African Americans continue to find adversity being accepted by individuals of the white race as a result of the tremendous societal corruption between races dating back for centuries.
Prior to the Civil Rights movement, segregation had been a dilemma America had been facing for several years, and had become the country’s overall normal standards. It had taken white American citizens centuries to realize the equality of all races, which was especially disregarded during the early times of slavery. Most early settlers were depicted to believe the Africans were beneath them, “British settlers regarded Africans as ‘black’—a term symbolizing darkness and evil, and themselves as ‘white’—which symbolized purity or divinity. Cultural chauvinism also placed Africans at a disadvantage: The British regarded themselves as Christian and ‘civilized,’ while Africans were ‘heathen’ and ‘barbarian.’ Moreover, as Africans assumed increasing responsibility for menial labor in the colonies, British settlers came to associate such work with Africans.” (Crowther 802). The depicted words and phrases white settlers would use against the Africans and other minorities first began the shift in status between the different races. Since the majority of civilized people in America were from Central Europe, they were primarily caucasian, and therefore started to degrade any non-whites, such as Africans and the Native Americans that originally lived in North America. This harsh attitude was only the beginning of a tedious journey of discrimination for American minorities. Although the early settlers were capturing Africans as slaves to work for them, the behavior had changed only slightly approaching the 20th century. White people were still considered superior, but the status of the discriminated minorities had only improved by barely a sliver over all this time. Even though slavery was abolished by the 1890s, new laws were introduced to discriminate African-Americans, “The 1890’s were especially harsh for African Americans, as repressive new Jim Crow Laws were passed. These laws resulted in the segregation of every societal institution in the South. The U.S. Supreme Court endorsed legal segregation with Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. In this decision the Court upheld the constitutionality of permitting public carriers, in this case the railroads, to remand African Americans to a separate section of the train or separate cars, away from white passengers.” (Jewell 27). During this time period, African Americans that had been set free from slavery now were faced with even more discriminations in their everyday life. Passing the Jim Crow Laws was another way to secure white supremacy in America now that slavery had been abolished and deemed illegal. Even though these laws were mostly endorsed in the Southern states, African Americans in the Northern states were not completely accepted into society and were still heavily discriminated. The harsh societal conditions revolving around segregation had punished American minorities for centuries, which ultimately resulted in the Civil Rights Movement fighting for equal rights for every race.
The Civil Rights Movement was sparked by many African Americans and those who supported equal rights, and had caused controversy all throughout America during this era. During the integration of schools, Americans were forced to integrate their society as a whole, “As construed by the Supreme Court, the equal protection clause required not simply that further efforts at official segregation cease, but that local school districts actively undertake the difficult task of transforming segregated schools into integrated ones. Federal district courts, the lowest level of courts in the federal judicial system, were charged with initial attempts to accomplish desegregation. In pursuit of this goal, the Supreme Court found that federal courts need not remain color-blind in fashioning remedies for segregated school districts.” (Hall 303). Americans soon realized they would have to adapt to new societal circumstances than they had to in the past. For several centuries, white citizens held a self-given title of superiority and believed any other races were beneath them and were not near equal to them. It was not until these minorities started realizing their power, that they demanded to obtain equal rights to the white caucasians who had done them harm for all their lives. Since white Americans were acclimated to the normal status of being superior, they resisted this societal change due to the support of the African Americans for equal rights. Even though the Northern states were already more accepting than the Southern states, African Americans in the North still received negative and discriminatory attitudes from Caucasians. The South had attempted endless schemes to try to derail or avoid integration, “In early 1959 Governor J. Lindsey Almond, Jr., stated that all efforts to maintain segregation had been “exhausted” and some integration would soon be “inevitable.” The state repealed its compulsory-attendance laws, arguing it could not force students to attend integrated schools, and funds for tuition grants to private schools were increased. Efforts to resist the integration of Virginia’s student population continued at the beginning of the 1959-1960 school year. However, black students slowly worked their way into the public schools and the program of ‘massive resistance’ gradually broke down.” (‘Desegregating Education’ 127) The resistance of many Southern states resulted in inevitable integration, even though they tried to ignore and avoid it. The white Southerners had to now acclimate to a new society where everyone was equal, rather than the past where they were the superior race. Even though the majority of America wanted to resist the integration, some of the Caucasian citizens were very accepting and understanding of African Americans, after seeing first hand their harsh discrimination. The resistance of desegregation not only existed in the South, but some of these resisting tactics were used in several Northern states as well. The South was primarily more racist and prejudice towards the African Americans and minorities surrounding them, and refused to think of them as equal to themselves. The overall resistance of integration spread throughout America during the Civil Rights movement due to the bigotry and discriminatory attitude many citizens had towards African Americans.
Overall, the resistance America showed towards integration during the Civil Rights Movement clearly has had long-term effects on society that have been demonstrated throughout history. The contributions made by African Americans in their struggle for civil rights have served as a catalyst for other groups also attempting to overturn discrimination. Other disenfranchised groups who have challenged social inequities include American Indians, women, people with disabilities, and the elderly. Throughout the decades of the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s many of the gains that African Americans registered during the 1950’s and 1960’s have been challenged as unconstitutional, and labeled by some as reverse discrimination.” (Jewell 28). It is evident that the events of integration made an enormous impact on society, as well as inspired other minorities to fight for their own rights. The resistance America showed towards integration was only one obstacle African Americans had to surpass to reach their freedom and be seen as equal. This demonstrates how other groups can realize that whatever is stopping them is only an obstacle, and they can fight for what they believe is right. The Civil Rights Movement was dedicated on providing equality for all races, but there was several bumps in the road that these individuals had to experience before they reached their goal. This impacted society positively and provided a beacon of hope to those who were still being oppressed. There was so much hope and excitement spreading from the integration laws, that some people forget about the negative effects that came out of this experience. “Affirmative action, according to the official government definition, involved action to overcome past or present barriers to equal opportunity. Establishing quotas of minority members or women to be hired or admitted to educational programs, or creating “set-asides,” positions reserved for minority members or women, were two of the most obvious ways of overcoming such barriers, but these met with challenges by white males, who charged that they were suffering from reverse discrimination” (Bankston 219). After integration spread, there were some negative effects despite it being a step forward for society. For example, reverse discrimination is likely a similarity to the resistance shown by Caucasians during the spread of desegregation. When white Americans resisted desegregation, they were fighting to remain as the superior race which was an advantage, similar to when white people have used reverse discrimination, they are most likely trying to use it to their advantage. Reverse racism has been used by some white people to try to blame minorities for discriminating them, as if they are too good to receive the same hate and negative behavior that they give to the minorities. The desegregation of America heavily impacted society in the long run, both positively and negatively after the Civil Rights Movement.
To conclude, the American society went through intense and drastic changes during the Civil Rights Movement, which most Caucasian Americans resisted due to their past ideals and beliefs. Even though it is hard to acclimate to a society far different than what you’re used to, the resistance of integration in America was extremely damaging to the accepting and welcoming society that African Americans hoped to be an equal part of. America has come very far since the Civil Rights Movement, and thankfully have become much more accepting of minorities and have successfully integrated them into our society. Unfortunately, even in 2019 there are still many forms of racism and discrimination in America towards the minorities we have been equal to for over fifty years. This discrimination is portrayed today in police brutality, immigration controversy, stereotypes, and other more general aspects. This resistance is not nearly as strong as how it was during desegregation in the 1960s, but still remains a huge problem in today’s society. My grandmother sadly is not here with us today, but I know if she was she would be extremely disappointed in America and our society to see all of this hate and racism still causing a problem. It is very disheartening to know that many people who fought for their rights to be equal are still partially fighting to be accepted by all after these many years. I may not have witnessed the same prejudice that my grandma did during the Civil Rights Movement, but there is still so much hate in front of me on the news, social media, and in real life that all prove that the resistance against integration is still evident in today’s society.
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