WOMEN IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT When I think about the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, the first person that comes to mind is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whom for me and many others was the embodiment of the Civil Rights Movement. My knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s has been limited to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. I don’t think that this limitation has anything to do with information not being documented, but for the fact that society tends to place an individual, particularly a male, upon a platform and focus upon that one person as being the significant leader of the cause. I do not necessarily disagree with this approach, but unfortunately, many people become excluded and unrecognized for their contributions for the same cause. Just as many have the conception that the Civil Rights Movement in itself began in the 1960’s. On the contrary, that was far from the beginning of the fight for freedom by African Americans. The fight for freedom and equality began when the first slaves were shipped to this country, there was always a will to be free and a struggle to obtain that freedom. For the purposes of this discussion, I will focus on another group that may have been somewhat overlooked within the Civil Rights Movement. The women in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s, who were not only contributors, but supported, worked extremely hard, and dedicated their lives in the fight for equal rights in this country. Without the women that were involved in Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King would not have been able to accomplish as much as he did. African American women played a more significant leadership role in the Civil Rights Movement than what chroniclers typically acknowledge. (Lisa Crumrine Klionsky, News UC Davis). Besides the more visible black male leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, both black and white women pla...
