Have we made no progress in the area of Civil Rights? Or are the complaints made today a sign we have indeed made real progress?
So little progress has been made in the area of Civil Rights over the years. Or has it? The injustices of the past were very great indeed. How do they compare to the injustices of today? In the past, blacks and activists fighting for social change were lynched or shot, or fire hosed and dogs were sicked on them. Police beat them with clubs. Today, we are told that "hurtful words" are just as dangerous.
Have we made no progress at all? Or at the complaints of today (compared to the injustices of the past) a sign that progress has indeed been made? Maybe "safe space" is a sign that we have made progress after all!
Caution: Triggers!
1854: First all-Black college formed, Ashmun Institute, in Pennsylvania. For most blacks, separate black-only colleges were the only choice for higher education. The same was largely true for women as well.
1863: Slavery Abolished. Despite this, and the initial progress made during reconstruction, life for blacks in the South improves only marginally, if at all. The KKK, lynchings, Jim Crow laws, and poll taxes prevent blacks from having basic civil rights for decades.
1870: Richard Greener is the first black man to graduate from Harvard. Sadly only a few blacks were admitted every year into Harvard, until 1963, and enrollment did not take off until 1973.
1881: All-black Spelman College founded. Number of all-black colleges increases.
1925: Klan membership reaches its peak. KKK marches on Washington DC.
1954: Blacks were not allowed to use white drinking fountains or bathrooms or even restaurants, all throughout the South, much less be admitted to white schools.
The following are events that occurred in my lifetime:
1963: Governor George Wallace blocks the doors of the University of Alabama to prevent black students from entering. He later runs for President.
1964: The National Guard is called out to protect students during integration of secondary schools in Little Rock, Arkansas. White residents throw objects and taunt students on the way to school.
1968: Martin Luther King assassinated. Riots break out all over America.
2015: Students demand "safe space" from thoughts and ideas that might upset them. I need a "safe space" from this angry lady! This is the trigger I warned you about!
Progress, eh?
