civil rights.docx Essays (1215 words) - Counterculture Of The 1960s

Jarrod Davis May 19, 2016 Sociology 101 Civil Rights TheCivil Rights Movementwas an era dedicated to activism for equal rights and treatment of African Americans in the United States. During this period, people rallied for social, legal, political and cultural changes to prohibit discrimination and end segregation. Throughout the 1950s, the civil rights movement would spark and unify the entire African American race for equality of all people. While African Americans were fighting for their rights, there were steady amounts of white supremacist and slave owners that resisted the movement. The resistance had many faces ranging from social violence to political manipulation. In places like Greensboro, North Carolina, there was a resistance formed by the name of "progressive mystique." The progressive mystique allowed communities, such as Greensboro, to maintain a progressive liberal and conservative discriminatory racial direction. The progressive mystique incorporated the concepts of unity, hospitability to new ideas, civility, and "com munity responsibility towards the Negro." In the 20th century, Greensboro, North Carolina was recognized for its progressive outlooks, especially in industrial development, education and race relations. As a progressive city, Greensboro allowed its blacks some educational and intellectual freedom. This open exchange of ideas gave blacks a sense of power and ultimately led to gatherings with an agenda. At these gatherings, blacks began to demand: better job opportunities, decent housing, and quality equipment for schools. The ability for blacks to speak freely on their opinions is an example of the progressive mystique, and the philosophy of hospitability to new ideas. As a result of this freedom, Greensboro's blacks would play key roles in the Civil Rights Movements, especially the non-violent portion. The Greensboro Confederate Party and the sit-ins both lead to radical shifts in the social order. However, a paradox existed within the Greensboro community. The community struggled to maintain civil relations among races w hile simultaneously implementing drastic social change (integration). The type of white resistance that occurred in Greensboro in response to the social change was known as "progressive mystique". Through the educational and economic conditions of Greensboro, we are able to observe how progressive mystique played a role within the community. Economically, blacks living in Greensboro maintained a higher quality of life than blacks in other states. However, economical opportunities were still limited particularly within large corporations and businesses' where clerical and sales positions were sought after. When the American Friends Service Committee attempted to "seek merit employment" it experienced resistance and tension. Even blacks with college degrees were denied sales positions and told the only positions of employment available, to them, were those of a maid or waitress. Most of the "merit employment" within Greensboro took place in small businesses. For example in a local printing company and a tiny factory, blacks and whites worked side by side. Some whites in this community felt a "responsibility towards the Negro," supporting the policy of progressive mystique by hiring them as employees in small business. Small businesses and private enterprises in Greensboro compensated for the lack of integration in large r retail companies, allowing Greensboro to be recognized for its progressive liberal racial stance.Due to Greensboro's progressive ideologies, following the Supreme Court's Decision on Brown vs. the Board of education, black citizens of Greensboro held high hopes for desegregation. In the area of education, Greensboro's blacks featured one of the highest means of education and one of the highest literacy rates in the South. However, in agreement with the ideologies of progressive mystique board members only intended to control integration, not support it. Since the whole community was not united behind the concept of desegregation, board members tried to develop loop holes to prevent any form of social disruption that might hurt the city's image and create instability. Two examples of progressive mystique are the Pupil Assignment Act and the Pearsall Plan. The Pupil Assignment Act gave control of education to the school boards. The purpose of the act was to ensure that the state was not involved in any state-wide desegregation pursuit. The Pearsall Plan was a clause permitting a school district to close its schools by public referendum if desegregation occurred and a constitutional amendment granting state tuition aid for white students in those districts to attend private schools. These