Cold War and Civil Rights Movement

The Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement both took place in the decades immediately following World War II. At first glance, it seems that they have nothing else in common. The Cold War was a long phase of militaristic and political tension primarily between the two biggest powers in the world at the time, the United States and the Soviet Union. Then there's the Civil Rights Movement, that cannot really be called a war as only one side was really acting violently. However, there really are some similarities between the two events. One key connection was that one side was labeled as communists, and therefore the enemy, in both situations. In the case of the Cold War, this was clearly true, as the government was more than openly communist, and posed quite the threat to the Western world with its disparate ideas. However, the blacks in America were not actually communist, or at least not disproportionately so. There were some communists in all parts of the country representing all races. Despite this, the black community's hopes of being granted equal rights were seen as communism, in which everyone is essentially equal. The fact that there was so much tension between the U.S. and the communist superpower, USSR, led to even more racism, particularly in the South, as black people were being compared to the Soviets, giving them the appearance of being the enemy. Another connection is the effect the Civil Rights Movement must have had on the USSR's opinion of the U.S. With so much class division and racism, America must have looked weak and vulnerable to the Soviet Union, giving it more confidence to try and overtake the United States. Since the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement were both so prevalent in the U.S. at the same time, it makes sense that they would affect each other.