JETS OF WATER BLAST CIVIL RIGHTS DEMONSTRATORS(Charles Moore’s photograph)
...ies, who can only be kept in their place by the use of such methods. He cannot understand how they have been elevated into respectable society. They are little better than animals and should be treated as such. Others excuse the extreme measures taken in the picture as being justifiable at that time. They accept that the times have changed for the better, but insist that such measures were probably necessary in the sixties. They see the blacks in the past as an ignorant race, that only recently have become socially acceptable. Famous black Americans like Carl Lewis, Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods from the world of sport, Will Smith, Denzil Washington or Halle Berry from the film industry and Diana Ross, Barry White, Whitney Houston or Puff Daddy have all led to this change of attitude. People like those in the picture, however, fought hard and long for the rights of the Afro-Americans and the majority received no recognition for their troubles. If these men and women in the Civil Rights movement hadn’t put pressure on the establishment, we would still see different schools for blacks and whites, segregated shopping areas and public transport and discrimination in the workplace. Although the white authorities used force against them, the Civil Rights movement remained largely a peaceful movement. For this reason they triumphed over the bigotry and racial hatred common in post-war America. It is especially effective, that we are unable to look at the faces of the people in the picture. They remain anonymous and as such represent the entire black population in their fight for freedom. Unfortunately, violence still exists between police and blacks. The ghettoe...