EOTO #4 Reaction:

The Civil Rights era was a clamorous period of time in America's history. After the trial of Brown V. The Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas, a boom of court cases regarding the 1st and 14th Amendments began. Peaceful protests started to become a staple in the Civil Rights Movement and overtook the previous methods of protesting. 

There were many topics and events that were discussed today regarding the hindrance and advancement of Black progress. One of the most common themes was the assassination of Civil Rights Movement speakers and leaders. 

The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. sparked a surge of protests. MLK was one of the most prominent Civil Rights movement leaders and acted as a voice of both peace and reason. So losing him dealt an extensive amount of damage to the movement. MLK's killer, James Earl Ray, was given a 99 year sentence and died in prison. 

RFK was another Civil Rights movement leader that fell victim to an assassin's hand. The Democratic Presidential candidate was shot hours before winning the Democratic primary in California in 1968. 

Another death that brought pain to the Black community and the Civil Rights Movement was the death of Malcolm X. Malcolm X grew up as a troublemaker who eventually joined the Nation of Islam, which was a Civil Rights group that had a heavy emphasis on violence. Malcolm X criticized MLK for his support and commitment to violent protests. He believed that violence was the only way to solve the problem and that simply speaking out would not do. So as another major player in the movement, his assassination in 1965 caused even more turmoil. 

The Civil Rights era was filled with very high-highs and very low-lows. Despite the pain that all of the assassinations caused, the work that the leaders did when they were alive was not for nothing and ultimately led to major improvements for the Black community.