Imagine if THEY weren't BRAVE...where would we be?

The Civil Rights Movement is one of my favorite topics to learn about. To see college students like myself in the 60's singlehandedly change the world so people like me can be in school and not have to endure racisim and segregation is powerful. Sometimes I feel like we are letting those that came before us down because we are lazy. By no means do we live in a utopian society where racism and discrimination fails to exist. If you look at the difference in wages between women and men alone you will understand that discrimination is alive and well. Blacks all over the United States came togeher to fight the injustice of racism and segregation. Imagine if THEY weren't brave....where would we be now? Would we still be in shackles or chains, would our men still be getting lynched, or would we still be forced to live in a segregated society? I shutter to think these thoughts, however whenever I watch brave individuals partake in revolutionary movements such as the Civil Rights Movement, I am empowered. It also makes me appreciate the time I live in now. I can go to school with other people who are not black but white, I can vote in important elections, I can even have dinner at a restaurant without being kicked out because of the color of my skin.  These are things many black people take advantage of. We undermine the reality of the African Americans that came before us who were abused or killed for the sake of an education; The blacks that were hosed down and beaten down so they can vote or sit down at lunch counters. These are things that my generation take advantage of because some of us don't even know our history. We don't know the struggle it took for Booker T. Washington to receive an education at Hampton University or the hardship Ida B. Wells faced trying to end Lynchings in the South. We don't appreciate the hard work and effort endured by the people who walked or carpooled for over a year during the Bus Boycotts or the countless amount of blacks jailed because they were fighting for rights rightfully deserved to them. As an African American the struggle did not end during the Civil Rights movement, Its a constant struggle for us. To live your life without even picking up a book about your own history is disheartening. Once again, my question is where would we be if THEY weren't brave?