When promoting a cause, the best way to present one’s self is with both aggression, assertiveness, and while keeping ones integrity.
Shirley Chisholm was an assertive politician full of integrity, respect and passion. Her perseverance led her to become the first African American Woman to be in the US Congress. “You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” –Shirley Chisholm
People with disabilities were deemed unfit to participate in regular society. The harmful stereotyping resulted in a social and economic devision that, like many other minorities, left people with handicaps in financial hardship for years.
Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine, walked without escort on her first day at an all white public school on September 4, 1957. She was viewed as inadequate to the rest of society and shamed for the color of her skin, and many were against the social movement of integration at public schools. With protesters screaming in her face to intimidate her, she kept her dignity and calmness and merely walked through and around the mob. This simple act made her an overnight heroine to the whole world.
With causes and programs for civil rights blossoming, there were many different approaches to the different cases, but all great triumphs demonstrated aggression, assertiveness, and integrity. With the two super powers head to head in the Vietnam war, the US put it's most expendable people at the front of the line- African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. gave an inspiring and eye opening speech about the injustice called "Time to Break Silence" WWI's wounded veterans were expecting gratitude when they arrived to the home land, but instead found themselves neglected by society, for they were now handicaps. Confused, and mistreated the "heroes" of our nation were shut out of society. In the 1920's many states were allowed to sterilize "feebleminded, insane, depressed, mentally handicapped, epileptic and other." without consent. For years they were neglected until in the 1960's when the civil rights movement began to take shape and people with disabilities, alongside other minorities, demanded equal treatment, and equal opportunity. The black panthers were among one of the groups of activates that were taking matters into their own hands and aggressively demanding their rights. Their tactic was violence for they thought the non-violent act movement of Martin Luther King Jr. was going to be unsuccessful. They yearned for a "revolutionary war" and even though they were an African American party, they considered to be fighting for all mistreated minorities in 1960's America. The black panthers were protectors of the minorities, the violence they used to protect the citizens who's rights were stolen was justifiable and a crucial part in the civil rights movement.
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The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 gave Native Americans money during the great depression so they could improve their land and make their own livelihood. Most Native Americans agreed to the act, but the Navajo Indians rejected it. The Navajos came up with their own independent governmental plans, but it was rejected. The Navajos were in fact aggressive and persistent in their rise to an independent governmental system, the Navajo had Congress compose the Navajo Tribal Council. Native Americans also created the Native American Indian Movement (AIM), and did a symbolic protest in 1969 at the abandoned prison Alcatraz. Claiming it was rightfully theirs "by right of discovery" the protest lasted 19 months. AIM members were also famous for their protest at Wounded Knee, South Dakota where they took control of the town and demanded the government honor its past treaties. The stand resulted in two deaths and many wounded on both AIM and FBI side, and didn't progress the Native Americans rights movement.
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The United States has come a long way in civil rights, and there is still so much more to go. By learning from the past and recognizing the most successful ways of progression, we can then apply those methods to our modern approaches at gaining civil rights. There are many movements happening in our modern society like women's rights, gay rights, and a lot has shifted to the more economic side of equality rather than political. The gay rights movement has been assertive and kept it's integrity through and through. It is a powerful movement that is sweeping the nation. By using aggression, assertiveness and integrity approaches to civil rights can be achieved.