StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Introduction to Florida History - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Introduction to Florida History.
Civil rights movements climaxed in 1960s and dominated the social and political arena in Florida. Racial disorder had gained momentum, in attempts to end racial segregation and achieve black rights…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.2% of users find it useful
Introduction to Florida History
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Introduction to Florida History"

Download file to see previous pages

Martin Luther King, under Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) commenced an immense campaign to lend support to local civil rights movements. The objective of Dr. King was twofold: that in addition to ending local desegregation, the media attention given to the city would gather support nationally for the 1964 Civil Rights Act which had then stalled in congress. What happened is that, in 1963, under the leadership of Robert Hayling an advisor to the city’s branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people (NAACP) started the campaign to pressure to end segregation in St.

Augustine. They organized demonstrations; sit-ins and pickets against segregated businesses. Perfect opportunity to air their grievance was presented in 1963 as the city was preparing its 400th year anniversary. Municipal officials intended to showcase only “acceptable” history, of which segregation was deeply inculcated. City leaders left blacks from the celebration preparations, jolting the local NAACP chapter to write to President Lyndon Johnson asking him to cancel his planned visit because no blacks were involved, and the city leadership had refused to form a biracial committee.

As a result, White supremacists led by Ku Klux Klan (KKK) responded with violence against them. The major confrontation resulted from Haylings opposition to the federal funding to the city’s celebration. The white supremacists were angered, and violence resulted. Gunshots were fired at Dr. Haylings’ home, with armed white ruffians shooting at black neighborhood, which led to the death of one of the armed whites and charge of four blacks for the murder. There was an escalation of the racial disharmony that culminated the arrest and indictment of Haylings by a grand jury which blamed him and other activists for the racial crisis that was being witnessed then.

As a result, SCLC decided to conduct seminars to give a workshop on non-violent protest. As all this was happening in 1963-1964, national media attention had been turned on St. Augustine. This media attention made old city more vulnerable to racial crisis as both the civil rights and white supremacists turned their guns there. Dr. King personally took charge of the demonstrations in May 1964, arriving together with his assistant Rev. Ralph Abernathy and other civil rights leaders. Their arrival gave momentum to the civil right movement and exploited the media attention that was directed at the city. St. Augustine was turned into a racial battleground.

SCLC sent nationwide calls for volunteers to join in the protest. SCLC demonstrations infuriated the whites after they interrupted the lucrative tourist businesses, and, therefore, the scale of violence and unrest increased. These scenes were being televised to a shocked nation. SCLC leadership rejected calls by a grand jury to leave the city, on grounds that SCLC had disrupted the racial harmony. However, they agreed to leave after Florida Governor C. Farris Bryan, had promised to form the biracial committee in 30th June 1964.

In addition to the media coverage, this racial unrest was perfectly timed to coincide with the demonstrations that were taking place in other U.S cities. The senate was also debating the motion to end the filibustering by the southerners. At the same time, black right lawyers began winning courtroom battles, with Judge Bryan Simpson ruling severally in favor of civil rights activists, encouraging black lawyers to bring cases against the white supremacists. His decision culminated in the injunctions and orders that brought the community under control.

Therefore, Dr. King used the media atten

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Introduction to Florida History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1462311-week
(Introduction to Florida History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/history/1462311-week.
“Introduction to Florida History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1462311-week.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Introduction to Florida History

Week 2: First Settlers - Assignments- Introduction to Florida History

One of the accomplishments made by the Spanish missionaries included the Introduction to Florida History Introduction to Florida History What did the Spanish missionaries accomplish in Florida?... Florida: A Short history.... florida was the first frontier of Europe in the North American continent, with its permanent settlement by Europeans dating back to more than four centuries.... Augustine had been established in florida by the sixteenth century....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

W 3 Discussion Board: Andrew Jackson - Introduction to Florida History

Jackson continued to do this, seizing the Spanish Fort of Saint Marks after which he marched on Pensacola and demanded history and Political Science October 12 What role did General Andrew Jackson Old Hickory play against the Spanish and the British?... Florida: A short history.... With the outbreak of war between the United States and Great Britain Jackson and his Tennessee troops forced the surrender of the British held fortifications at Pensacola and then continued to win… During this time British and US forces moved through florida with impunity from areas of florida claimed by the Spanish....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

W 3: British and Spanish Rule - Introduction to Florida History 2

The harsh treaty terms forced on the Moskoki tribes by Jackson sent W 3: British and Spanish Rule - Introduction to Florida History 2 October 21 Jackson was responsible for many Indian massacres and raids during that time in Florida.... om/facts/history/seminole/wars.... Jackson was responsible for many Indian massacres and raids during that time in florida.... The harsh treaty terms forced on the Moskoki tribes by Jackson sent them seeking refuge in the thousand in florida, later being the Seminole tribe....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Week 4 - Application Assignment: Statehood of Florida- Introduction to Florida History

The Freedmen's bureau was established in March 1865 and their mission was to supply food, black educational institutions, medical aid, housing and legal assistance (history.... Florida: A short history.... history.... history.... history.... The South's defeat in the civil war impacted the lives of African American's in florida and the South in a number of ways.... With no money or homes there… The Freedmen's bureau was established in March 1865 and their mission was to supply food, black educational institutions, medical aid, housing and legal Week 4 - Application Assignment: hood of florida October 26 The South's defeat in the civil war impacted thelives of African American's in florida and the South in a number of ways....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

W 6 -: Tough Times-Introduction to Florida History

Jesse Hunter, an African American had indeed escaped from a nearby prison work detail.... Though the movie actually placed blame on… white lover of Fannie Taylor, showing that beat her and later she chose to blame a black man, that facts of the case make it much more likely that it was indeed Jesse hunter, escaped, and in need of money who attacked Fannie....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

W 5 Discussion Board: Early 1900's 2-Introduction to Florida History

His extension of the line from Homestead to Key West was seen as one of the greatest railroad achievements in US history (Mitchell, 2012, p103).... A main attraction of the Belleview was a six-hole golf course which was fast becoming popular and florida's first hotel golf course.... ith his known engineering ability and fortune obtained before he began in florida he was able to recognize and realize the advantages that a railroad connecting New York with Key West would provide....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

W 7 : Tin Can Tourist - Introduction to Florida History

Florida: A short history.... Realistically there weren't enough jobs for the steady influx of indigents and ‘tin-can' tourists and though florida attempted to regulate who could enter the State in an attempt to decrease these populations that was un-American and impractical.... Taxing those in the highest income bracket, private individuals, and implementing a sur- tax on certain luxury items and designating the funds from these taxes to a specific relief fund for these individuals may have stemmed some of those who found themselves in florida as homeless individuals unable to find work....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

We as Citizens: Introduction to Florida History

ecause of these events Cuban's have made a lasting and distinct impression on parts of florida with their culture and heritage, bringing with them important traditions and expanding and starting families while taking advantage of the American civil liberties available to them though demonstrating and remembering to pass on their cultural traditions.... They have heavily influenced the economy in areas of South florida and have become an important contribution to the overall development and social progress among immigrants in these areas....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us