Young Writers Society

Rules: 500-750 words
No ... insulting something or another.
I was forced into writing this in a week, I hate it... It's due Tuesday.... so I need help fast... sort of.


The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded in 1960, and it only lasted until 1966. The purpose of the SNCC was to fight white oppression through peace, even though it had caused unfair treatment and harshness. The main goal was to achieve peace through nonviolent tactics; their main agenda was protesting the Vietnam War and, along with the help of white liberals, they worked hard to gain Civil Rights, through a different path than the one Dr. Martian Luther King Jr. had started. One of the major issues in their Civil Rights movement was voting which was brought up in the Mississippi Summer Project. The SNCC has had a very important impact on American culture.

The organization began when a group of black students, attending North Carolina‘s A&T University, sat at tables that were reserved for whites only and were refused service at a restaurant, which caused a chain eruption of sit-ins. Two months later at Shaw University in Raleigh to help manage sit-ins, support leaders, and make their activities known. During this time, many sit-ins and nonviolent actions were strictly upheld, mostly for public demonstrations, and this pushed the SNCC towards their goal with Black Power as their philosophy, brought up by Stokely Carmichael, who was president of the SNCC at the time. Black Power meant "the coming together of black people to fight for their liberation by any means necessary."

In the spring and winter of 1963-1964 the SNCC was busy planning the Mississippi Summer Project, which called for many to overcome racism. Their three main goals were: registering voters, operating Freedom schools, and organizing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). Freedom days were held once every three weeks to try and get blacks registered to vote while trying to overcome threats. The Freedom schools were established to teach illiterate children how to read and write and about their right to freedom. While trying to gain members for the MFDP three men associated with them vanished and were later found shot. The SNCC reacted by going to Atlanta City to find elected members of the U.S. They fought to prove they were entitled to a seat but the Democratic Party wasn’t convinced. Although they left defeated, they had their pride.

The SNCC tried to gain support for their non-violent actions by white liberals. At first the relationship between the blacks and the whites was friendly, but as time progressed it became clear of the differences in treatment. Money became scarce and black members felt as if they were risking their lives for their purpose while white liberals were getting away too easily without any dangers. Clearly there was a more favor towards the white members; their actions were same as the blacks, but were treated differently. During protests white members were less likely to be beaten while black members usually died.


In 1966 the SNCC decided to come out against the Vietnam War due to pressure. One thing they wanted was to encourage America to stop fighting in the war. Earlier, in 1965, the SNCC began to feel how hard the boot of white oppression had walked over African-Americans. The SNCC observed that Vietnamese citizens were poor and non-white, just like them, and the SNCC had felt that the United States had shown disrespect towards both groups of people: perhaps to any and everybody who wasn’t like them. The SNCC then challenged the United States government intentions; believing that if it was truly a democratic society, then why weren’t African-American’s receiving the same privileges and rights as others? This quote, said by Michael Simmons, a member of the SNCC, gives insight on why the U.S. thought it had power. “The problem with African Americans challenging U.S. foreign policy has always been that whites in this society, including white progressives have always challenged us in the sense that we should not link those issues (civil rights and peace).”

The SNCC was claimed inactive around Carmichael. The SNCC stood up for equality rights for everyone and by forming nonviolent protests practiced tolerance. The killings of members of the SNCC only pushed them forward. The peaceful protesting shouldn’t have triggered anger. Though the SNCC ended young their impact was great upon American Culture, they were proud in all they did. If they were here today, they still would be.