American Corner Gyumri

The American Civil Rights Movement

3:00pm 12.05.2010

On Wednesday, May 12, the Gyumri American Corner, together with U.S. Embassy Yerevan, organized a public lecture on "The American Civil Rights Movement: An Overview". The guest speaker was USAID/Armenia Democracy & Governance Officer George Zarycky.

Mr. Zarycky began by speaking a bit about the Civil War and how it changed the moral compass of Americans. He mentioned that the Civil War, in a broad sense, was a struggle for dignity and freedom, but in narrow sense it was a struggle for abolishing the Slavery. After the Civil War, African Americans were given equal rights, at least according to the constitution.

Mr. Zarycky divided the remainder of his lecture into three sections: Early Years: starting from 1948 when President Truman expanded Executive Order 8802 by establishing equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services for people of all races, religions, or national origins.

During the second period of 1955–1968, acts of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience produced crisis situations between activists and government authorities. Forms of protest and/or civil disobedience included boycotts such as the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Martin Luther King, Jr., was president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the organization that directed the boycott. The protest made King a national figure. His eloquent appeals to Christian brotherhood and American idealism created a positive impression on people both inside and outside the South.

Finally, Mr. Zarycky explained that several years ago nobody could imagine that the USA could have an African American president. President Obama’s election shows how U.S. has changed during the last years.

Despite these changes, in several cases racial discrimination still exists, not only in U.S. but also in other countries.

The students audience from different local universities asked a wide range of questions.