Hello and welcome to my final think and create post. I had a hard time trying to figure out what to make of this one but I was hit by inspiration (and a ticking clock) to educate myself more about one of the key players of the civil rights movement, Diane Nash. There aren’t a lot of women who are thought of as key players of this time, but boy did Nash play a big part. Now, instead of just having you read about this amazing woman on my blog post, I have made a short little book using book creator about her and her accomplishments!

Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

The SNCC was formed in 1960 to help younger African-american people participate in the civil rights movement. They participated in events like the Lunch Counter Sit-Ins, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and, lead by Diane Nash, the Freedom Rides. They worked side by side with other Civil Rights Organizations, including the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC).

Lunch Counter Sit-Ins

The Greensboro Four were a group of four young black men who staged the first lunch counter sit in at Greensboro. Spurred on by the murder of Emmet Till,  and inspired by the non violent tactics of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), they were protesting segregation in the south. The movement spread across the south, with many arrests, but made an important impact, making establishments in the south change their segregation policies.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

The CORE, founded in 1942 at the University of Chicago, embraced a non-violent approach to fighting racial segregation, and worked with many other civil rights groups. CORE was a big player in the Civil Rights movement, and started many initiatives, including the Freedom Rides, and the Freedom Summer of voter registration.

Freedom Rides

In 1961, CORE organized a group of African American people and white people to participate in the freedom rides, where they would test the ruling that there could be no segregation on interstate bus travel. They travelled in two buses, journeying from Washington, DC to New Orleans. Reactions were terrible. One of the buses, when travelling through Alabama, was firebombed. On the other bus was similarly attacked and passengers beaten. Discouraged, and with no one willing to take them any further, the SNCC took over and revived the effort, even getting government protection for a short leg. In Montgomery, though, they were again beaten when local police did not protect them. This prompted the government to get the national guard involved, but all riders were arrested when they arrived at their final destination. Finally, Kennedy created new legislation to stop segregation on interstate busses.

And that’s my post! I hope you take the time to click on some of those external links, and go deeper in your understanding of the civil rights movement, because its still relevant today, and educating yourself on these issues can help us stop prevent them from happening today.