Critical Analysis Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964

Rights Act of 1964 is critical for a number of reasons. This landmark legislation made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, color, religion, or national origin. It prompted change in voter registration and voting requirements, and made it illegal to discriminate in employment and in public places such as schools, parks, transportation, and restaurants—places we often take for granted today” (p. 293). “The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was introduced in November 1963 by President John F. Kennedy and was passed in July 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson” (2014, p. 293). “Thus, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was groundbreaking and revolutionary in many ways. Indeed, there were freedom rides, marches, boycotts, sit-ins, and active advocacy ultimately leading to the change in the laws” (p. 293).

According to France Ntloedbide (2006), “Scholars fail to take into account in their treatment of the origins of African American cultures in the New World.

Small wonder we have been saddled with accounts that maintain that African captives, in the dehumanizing experience of the Middle Passage, lost their cultural heritage and simply became acculturated to Euro-American customs and beliefs” (p. 401). “Cambridge University Press and identifies nearly 26,000 slaving voyages between 1519 and 1867, provides a great deal of evidence on the Africans' resistance to enslavement during the Middle Passage. One in every ten slave transports experienced slave rebellion of some sort, and that as many as one hundred thousand slaves may have lost their lives in them” (2006, p.

407).
“Africa was the birthplace of the human species between 8 million and 5 million years ago. Today, the vast majority of its inhabitants are of indigenous origin. People across the continent are remarkably diverse by just about any measure: They speak a vast number of different languages, practice hundreds of distinct religions, live in a variety of types of dwellings, and engage in a wide range of economic activities” (“African People and Culture, 2015).
Social work with Ethnic group
“Competencies are also understood from a social work education viewpoint as measurable practice behaviors that comprise knowledge, values, and skills that are demonstrated in practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities” (Lum, 2011, p. 18). Iris Carlton-LaNey (1999) states that, “African American pioneer social workers of the Progressive Era (1989-1918) were at once concerned about the private troubles of individuals and the larger public issues that affected them. They also were acutely aware of their relationship to the community residents they served” (p. 311). “Values and principles fundamental to African American social work practice were self-help, mutual aid, race pride, and social debt. The focus on self-help and mutual aid became an institutionalized part of the African American community. African Americans developed a dogged determination to take care of their own” (1999, p. 312). “Many social workers today know very little about their African American clients and fail to see the importance of immersing themselves in African American history and culture. Martin and Martin (1995) contended that social workers must understand that African Americans are “both creatures and creators of history in that history has placed them where they are right now and has shaped their point of view, their identity, and their aspirations” (Iris Carlton- LaNey, 1999, p. 318). “There is much diversity among the African American population in terms of origin, appearance, experiences with oppression, identity, demographic characteristics, residential patterns, social class, interpersonal styles, and patterns of functioning and lifestyle. It is essential to understand each of these aspects of diversity in order to effectively assess, intervene, and become involved in research and practice involving African Americans” (Lum, 2012, p. 275).