The Civil Rights Movement was a significant time in American history because it lead to the expansion of black rights in America. The movement started in the 1950's and carried on throughout the 1960's, over 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. When African Americans returned from WWII, they were not greeted with the same respect and grace as the white soldiers. They were mistreated and could not find work because of the color of their skin. This mistreatment and the Jim Crow laws sparked the Civil Rights Movement. Jim Crow laws were laws enacted throughout the south that segregated whites and blacks. After years of being mistreated, African Americans decided to stand up and speak out against the discriminatory Jim Crow laws in an effort to gain equal rights as their fellow white citizens. From the Civil Rights movement sprung influential men like Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. These men helped expand black rights in America both socially and economically.  From this came the literary works The Ballot or The Bullet, "The World House", and "African Americans and Civil Rights: Remembering Segregation" by Paul Finkelman. The Ballot or The Bullet was a speech given by Malcolm X in 1964; in this speech he called African-Americans to revolt against white supremacy to gain the rights they deserve. Finkelman discussed the effect of the Jim Crow laws on the African-American citizens of America, giving context to both Malcolm X's and Martin Luther King Jr's works. "The World House" was a chapter in a Martin Luther King Jr's final book  Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? in which he discusses the global effect of segregation and poverty of the world. By looking at King's "The World House" we see that segregation and poverty were  global problems for people of color which is contrary to the ideas of Malcolm X and Paul Finkelman who wrote only of segregation in America. 

The most prominent of the global problems was labeled Apartheid. It was the segregation of European whites and native South African blacks. White men from Europe moved down and colonized the area to industrialize South Africa. In doing this, they pushed the natives into slums and took over the best land for themselves. Over 3.5 million people were moved out of their homes and placed in the slums surrounding the white area of the colony. Non-whites had to carry documentation stating they were not white and even those of mixed parents were considered colored and were discriminated against. This segregation led to social and economic inequalities that were much greater than those faced by African Americans. Even those these issues were greater than those in America, they were overlooked by one of the most influential black activists, Malcolm X. 

Malcolm X spoke about the oppression of African Americans in America and how they need to stand up to gain equal rights. The only problem with this idea is that he only spoke on a local scale while this was a global problem, "we find that black, brown, red, and yellow people in Africa and Asia are getting their independence. They're not getting it by singing "We Shall Overcome." No, they're getting it through nationalism. It is nationalism that brought about the independence of the people in Asia. Every nation in Asia gained its independence through the philosophy of nationalism."(Malcolm X ), he was mistaken in this comment. People in those regions were being oppressed the same if not worse than those in America. King states the idea of segregation being a global problem in his novel, "Racism is no mere an American phenomenon. Its vicious grasp knows no geographical boundaries." (King 287).  King is stating that the movement in America will lead to similar movements across the world in other oppressed areas. Before that could happen, African Americans had to overcome the Jim Crow laws, which are further discussed by Paul Finkelman. 

Paul Finkelman wrote an essay titled "African Americans and Civil Rights: Remembering Segregation" in which he discussed the discrimination of blacks in America and the effects of the Jim Crow laws in America. He discussed the effects of these laws on both society and economy of black Americans, the Jim Crow laws kept blacks from getting certain jobs and living in certain areas. Finkelman just briefly discusses global segregation,

 "After World War II blacks and their white allies began a campaign to end segregation in America. The fight took place in the courts, the legislatures, and the streets. The struggle began in earnest as veterans returned from a war against fascism and racial oppression abroad to confront the lack of democracy and pervasive racial oppression at home." (Finkelman).

 Martin Luther King Jr.  also references the global war against racism. He felt that war was an unnecessary part of the fight against racism, "We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means." (King 294).  King always had a peaceful approach to the war on racism and strongly disagreed with violence in any aspect. He felt violence was unnecessary in succeeding any goal, "Therefore I suggest that the philosophy of nonviolence become immediately a subject for study and for serious experimentation in every field of human conflict." (King 294). 

Martin Luther King Jr's "The World House" expands the argument of ending segregation from a national to a global scale during the Civil Rights Movement. He recognized the effect of segregation on a global scale and stated that for one nation to be peaceful and equal, they all must be equal, "Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly." (King 292). He brings up many valid points that are not included in Malcolm X's speech or Paul Finkelman's essay. King discusses the negativity of war, technology and greed can have on the world and how they play into segregation. In his work he states that colored people suffer on behalf of the success of the white men at the top, "In country after country we see white men building empires on the sweat and suffering of colored people." (King 288). He continues on to discuss the several other countries and regions that still practice slave labor, for example, Portugal, Rhodesia, and South West Africa. The Apartheid was a problem of equality that took place in South Africa during the same time period. Unlike the Jim Crow laws, the Apartheid,  lasted until 1991. After a long and hard fought battle of Nelson Mandela as well as other black activists came to an end, a new constitution was written in which the colored people of South Africa gained their rights. 

The Apartheid affected colored people all over South Africa much like the Jim Crow laws affected colored people across the United States. They were not given the same opportunities as  the white citizens in these regions, in fact they were completely separate from the white citizens. The term "separate but equal" was created in the United States but in fact the black facilities were not equal with the white facilities. Martin Luther King Jr recognized this global problem and advocated a world change while people like Malcolm X focused solely on Americans. King's work "The World House" provided a new understanding of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States; it brought up the fact that segregation was and still is a global problem rather than just local. Malcolm X and Paul Finkelman did not acknowledge the impact segregation had on the world. They both failed to see the actual big picture and only wrote and spoke about the segregation of African-Americans in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. gave much greater insight on the cultural events of that era and his work The World House reveals more information about the research sources of Malcolm X and Paul Finkelman. 

