No Name in the Street

Baldwin describes his own experience within the civil rights struggle of the 1950s and the 1960s. The civil rights movement emerged in the 1950s when Black Americans organized to battle racial discrimination, segregation, and disenfranchisement. Even though enslavement was officially abolished after the American Civil War, Black people continued to face racism and racial violence, especially under the Jim Crow legislation in the South. By the 1950s, Black people throughout the country mobilized to demand equality in jobs, voting rights, and desegregation. The movement developed a strategy of nonviolent resistance, with practices like marches, sit-ins, and boycotts. The 1963 March on Washington is a pivotal event in the history of this movement. During the demonstration, Americans of all races gathered in the capital to protest inequality and Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Black nationalism advocacy was also part of the movement, represented by Muslim minister and civil rights activist Malcolm X. Black nationalism promoted the empowerment of the Black community and emphasized Black identity and independence. As a leader, Malcolm X advocated for the right of Black Americans to resist and fight against racial violence by any means.