Theory on Adaptation to Prejudice and Discrimination
community in which they had been involved for two centuries and especially in the sixty years before the Civil Rights Movement- made them
ideal political activists Hine and Thompson, 1998: 267.
This period also become the first step for them to get freedom. Cashmore states:
On December, 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, refused to give up her seat to white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her action was
to prompt changes of monumental proportions in the condition of blacks in the Use. It provided the impetus for the most influential social movement
in the history of North American race and ethnic relations. That was the beginning of Civil Rights Movement in United States. Her attitude brought
protest from black community in that time. Almost people in the world who concern to racial discrimination that Black people faced in the past
know Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. He became leader of black community and could mobilize grassroots black protest and was made to mount a
sustained campaign of black protest 2004: 81.
As time passed, some black women were found their way to get freedom. One by one began to appear and to show their skill and power. There were some who
successes in business, politics, the arts etc. History written some Black women who had been fighting for so long to
change the racism face of America. Women were also leaders, playing key roles in initiating protests, mapping out strategies, and mobilizing
necessary resources. They were Ella Baker, Rosa Parks, Daisy Bates and Diane Nash Bevel. These women and others had kept the issue at the
forefront of the American consciousness and conscience. Finally, their effort was success. The federal government started to catch up, passing the
Civil rights act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Hine and Thompson, 1998: 283.
From the history above, it can be known that it was only a matter of time
until African America was accepted by Americans. Black women showed their ability even though was not direct. Those black women like Ella Baker and Rosa
were just some names from million names of African American women who had been struggle. Their successes in some aspect like business, politics, professions
and arts leads Americans to realize that they also have a power.