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There was isolation between the Anglo-Saxon Americans and African Americans, which would prevent unity and equality between the two. The Jim Crow laws served as one of the primary reasons for the spark of the Civil Rights movement in the United States.
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The Jim Crow laws are state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern part of the United States of America. There were separate schools, hospitals, and other public places that were designated for blacks, which were usually of lesser quality compared to the white ones. It was hard for the people in America to maintain unity and equality. Life was much more difficult for the African Americans because of their many restrictions.
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The day of mourning and protest conference was held at the Australian Hall in Sydney. The conference was held on the 150th anniversary of Australia day. The moved resolution of the conference was to appeal to Australian people for a new policy for full citizenship and equality within the community for all aboriginal Australian's. This event was important in the aboriginal civil rights movement because it kicked things into motion by being one of the first largely publicised civil rights events.
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The Brown vs Board of Education was a consolidation of cases from five jurisdictions which fought for the desegregation of schools in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware. The final decision was that the separation of blacks and whites violated the 14th Amendment of the American Constitution, which guaranteed the rights for all citizens regardless of ethnicity.
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The Court ruled that the idea of being “separate and equal” for public schools for blacks and whites was an infringement of civil rights. Because of this, there was integration of whites with coloured people in public facilities. This also sparked the civil rights movements in the United States.
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On the 1st December 1955 a black woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white man, for which she was arrested and fined. This caused a subsequential boycott of the use of buses by black people in Montgomery, Alabama from the 5th December 1955 to the 20th December 1956. A main leader of the boycott was a young Pastor named Martin Luther King Jr and his role in this made him a prominent national leader of the American civil rights movement in the wake of the action.
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The Freedom Riders were a a group of civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southen U.S in 1961 and following years to challenge the states ignorance to the ruling by the U.S Supreme court stating that segregation of colours on buses was unconstitutional, this ignorance was made evident by the lack of action taken to enforce these decisions.
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The petition aimed to change laws for the peace, order, and good government for the people of every race. Aboriginal natives should be counted and recognised as people, which challenged section 127 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth. The indigenous Australians should also have the same lifestyle as the white Australians, requiring them to be adequately fed, clothed, and housed to remain in the country.
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This petition raised awareness and drew attention about the disabilities, political, social and economic factors that Aborigines suffered under. This petition for Aboriginal advancement urged the whites to integrate the Aboriginal people to society.
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Nine African American students enrolled into an all-white High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. During their first day of school, the US Army’s 101st Airborne division escorted the black students while there were protests and other interventions to prevent the African American students’ entry into the school. After the Brown vs Board of Education decision, the US Supreme Court authorised public schools to integrate with one another.
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Although the ‘Little Rock Nine’ were constantly abused and harassed, this was a large leap into the desegregation of blacks in the United States.
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In 1962 there was an act to give aboriginal people the right to enrol and vote. The act was passed on the 21st May, 1962, and the date of commencement was 18th June, 1962. This was acted on by the Queen and the house of representatives. This act was to help bring the Aboriginal community with the white. They were now able to vote, they were now able to speak for them selves and further the nation.
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For white civil rights activists in the 1960s, equal pay was the basic marker of acceptance and social inclusion in Australian society. During this period, the Cattle Industry was the largest employer of Aboriginal labour. The Aboriginal drovers were paid less than $3.3 per week, while white drovers were paid 5 times as much. This donation raised awareness about the wage discrimination of the Aboriginals in the Norther Territory, who were the backbone of the industry.
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In order for the whites and Aboriginals to be united, they must first be treated and paid equally for their vigorous labour.
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Martin Luther King's "I have a dream speech" was delivered on the steps of Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. during the March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs. The speech's main message was for equality and freedom in America, for all people, no matter their religion or race. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech became international recognised quickly, driving many other countries to look for equality as well.
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Martin Luther King's speech was incredibly influential in America, with the American civil rights act being signed just one year later in 1964.
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The American Civil Rights Event that most influenced Australia's quest for equality was Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. His speech was a call for equality in his nation. The news of this moving speech was fast spread around the world, where it influenced Australia massively. His speech was proof that around the world other oppressed peoples were fighting for equality and having some success. A large way that this speech influenced Australia is the impact it had on America.
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The speech's impact on America led to the American Civil Right's act being passed. This Speech proved influential enough to contribute to lasting change in America, thus proving to all civil right's activists in Australia that lasting change could be brought about, and encourage activists to engage in peaceful protests like the Student Action of Aboriginal Australian's bus rides. Martin Luther King Jr's speech was the American civil rights movement that most influenced Australia.
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The Civil Rights Act was later expanded to bring disabled Americans, the elderly and women in collegiate athletes under its umbrella. It also paved the way for two major follow-up laws: the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited literacy tests and other discriminatory voting practises, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which banned discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of property. Though the struggle against racism would continue, legal segregation had been brought to its knees.
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In Feb 1965, there was a bus which was called Student Action For Aborigines (SAFA), it was set up by students of the University of Sydney. This bus was set up for freedom rides, these freedom rides went through western New South Wales towns in February 1965 drew attention to the racism in these towns.
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Aboriginal student Charles Perkins was, by the end of the journey, a national figure in the fight for Aboriginal rights. Charles Perkins was elected president for SAFA in 1964 a University of Sydney protest against racial segregation in the United States had brought comments from members of the public urging students to look to their own nation if they wanted to draw attention to racial discrimination.
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In 1967 the Australian constitution was altered due to the passing of the referendum which was put to remove all derogatory label's of aboriginal Australian's in the constitution. The constitution also fully recognised aboriginal Australian's as Australian citizens. The Constitution marked the end of the long road to equality for aboriginal Australian's. The referendum was passed signifying that the majority of white Australian's believed that equality was required.
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During the 1960s the fight for civil rights were excelling with events such as Brown vs Board of Education decision, the assassination of Martin Luther King and many more. The assassination took place on the 4th April, 1968. James Earl Ray was responsible for shooting the leader of the civil rights movement in his hotel which caused a spark to inspire other discriminated races worldwide to fight for equality.
