Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The civil rights act of 1964 essay
Civil rights movement in the USA
The civil rights act of 1964 essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The civil rights act of 1964 essay
Have we won the battle of Civil Rights?
As Americans we believe that we all are treated the same, but is that really the truth? As a heterosexual white female I personally have never faced the brunt of being judged for whom I am, but as a friend with people of different races and homosexuals I have seen and heard of how “equal” we really are. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Since this law has been passed many things have changed but I firmly believe we have not one the fight against civil rights. When hearing the words civil rights many people automatically think of racism but if you read the Civil Rights Act of 1964 it does not just state race but it also clearly states religion, sex, of national origin. So where are we in the fight of civil rights?
In the ideal of civil rights when it comes to being judged by race Americans have made huge steps in the right direction, but we still have miles and miles to go. A large source of the racism present in our society stems from one's pride in his or her own race. Many people, especially those associated with racist groups; find it necessary to put down other ethnic groups in an attempt to strengthen their own. This train of thought usually results in extreme hatred of other races and an overall sense of bigotry. Reasoning in this manner causes too many consider associating with racist groups. Many people believe that we have far left the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) in the past, but in my research I have learned sadly that is not the case there are eight active KKK tribes in Oklahoma alone. The KKK is just as violent as ever in Mississippi there is believed to have been twelve murders committed by the KKK in t...
... middle of paper ...
...unlawfully detained and questioned by federal agents. A prime example of this is the Boston Bombings where several men were detained for long periods of time just fitting the quote one quote look of the men who were responsible, also many Muslims were threatened and harmed after the bombing just because they have chose to worship and believe the way they believe. Does this sound like a truly equal country to you?
The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law.” ― Aristotle; for the previous reasons I firmly believe that we are far from the point where everyone is treated as an equal. I do however have faith and hope that one day we can live in a country where people aren’t judged the color of our skin, the people we love, or the religion we chose to follow but until we reach that point we will still be fighting the fight of civil right.
A few years ago, my mother told me something thought provoking: we had once lived on the same block as the leader of the local Ku Klux Klan chapter. That had been in Charlotte, North Carolina, around 1994. The Ku Klux Klan, according to Blaine Varney in Lynching in the 1890’s, used to “…set out on nightly ‘terror rides’ to harass ‘uppity Negroes’….” They are far more infamous, however, for their “lynching”—nightly “terror rides” that included murder—of African Americans. Varney tells us lynching levels reached their pinnacle in 1892, with 161 recorded murders that year. In modern times, most Americans would agree that the Klan, along with any form of white supremacy, has no place in society—and pointing out its survival is a good way to imply that we, as a people, are still not perfect.
Hooded Americanism: The First Century of the Ku Klux Klan: 1865 to the Present by David Chalmers records the history of the Ku Klux Klan quite bluntly, all the way from its creation following the civil war, to the early 1960’s. The author starts the book quite strongly by discussing in detail many acts of violence and displays of hatred throughout the United States. He makes a point to show that the Klan rode robustly throughout all of the country, not just in the southern states. The first several chapters of the book focus on the Klan’s creation in 1865. He goes on to discuss the attitude of many Americans following the United State’s Civil War and how the war shaped a new nation. The bulk of the book is used to go through many of the states, and express the Klan’s political influence on both the local and state governments. The author starts with Texas and Oklahoma, and goes through the history of the Klan geographically, finishing with New Jersey and Washington. The author stresses that the KKK did not just commit acts of violence towards minorities, but also carried political power. He continues to discuss the impact of the Klan on Civil Rights movements in the 1960’s, and various other important political controversies between the 1920’s and 1970’s. Towards the middle of the book, David M. Chalmers focuses on portraying the feelings of governments and state legislatures, as well as normal citizens towards the Klan. To do this more effectively, the author uses excerpts and quotes from editorials and newspapers, along with several dozen pictures. The conclusion of the book was used mainly as an overview of all of the major incidents and deaths involving the Klan, and how their persistence has allowed them to still exist today despite a lack of resources and support.
(Niblack 192-193) Although Klan groups were most present between 1865 and 1965, and most active in Indiana in the 1920’s, isolated pockets of Klansmen remain today. Unfortunately, prejudices, fear, intolerance, racism, labeling, discrimination, feelings of superiority, white supremacy, and judging of others all continue to exist in our world. The attitude of John Lewis Niblack and other Indiana residents like him is what helps to keep organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan dormant in our state. Why can we not just live in peace and harmony with one another and respect each other's differences?
Since its inception, there has always been a subsection of the American people that think that sharing a country with people different than them is unacceptable. Whether it was the 5 tribes of Native Americans relocated in the Trail of Tears, or the prejudice against irish immigrants during the turn of the century, white anglo-saxon protestants have always tried to ‘stick together’ and keep others unlike them out. With the end of the civil war and an end to slavery, this nativism present within the American people manifested itself once more. While the journey taken by African-American citizens was long and unnecessarily arduous, the backlash against them has waxed and waned as time passes. During the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan was at it’s peak,
Although the United States have come a long way from slavery, we still have a long way to go where people can begin to feel no prejudices, which will probably never happen. Unfortunately, racism still exist and is still a major issue in culture and politics, it has taken a back seat to intellect and
In this world today, hate is becoming increasingly more abundant, especially as it concerns race. Whether it be an unarmed black man shot by a white police officer or the use of racial slurs towards someone, it seems like racism is all around us. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, it shows a little girl named Scout using racial slurs. Racism is so culturally accepted in the town that it’s okay to use racial slurs such as the N-Word that even Atticus, a lawyer representing a black man falsely accused of rape, uses it a couple of times. Earlier this year, the Ku Klux Klan, a group of white supremacists, held a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and proved that racism isn’t a thing of the past.
The Pledge of Allegiance, created over a century ago, contains one of the most problematic statements in society: “liberty and justice for all”. Despite the remote attempts of the government to alleviate the obstacles that Richard Wright, an advocate of civil rights, endured in 1937, Michelle Alexander, another advocate of civil rights, in 2012 unveils that up to this day the obstacles are nearly the same. In essence, disregarding the 125 years of difference the situation has not changed radically, thus allowing the challenges of inequality to remain under the table. In particular ways, the United States is moderately becoming more racially just and ethical, with actions taken by the government such as affirmative action and the abolition of
Civil rights are the rights to personal liberty and are provided by the law. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights promises everybody civil rights. But many people, including lots of black people, have been denied their civil rights. Black people, and also some white people who help them, have struggled for these rights for a long time. Many people have helped and many kinds of groups have been formed to help win equal rights for everyone. Things are a lot better used to be, but the struggle is not over.
The Civil Rights Movement had a lot going on between 1954 and 1964. While there were some successful aspects of the movement, there were some failures as well. The mixture of successes and failures led to the extension of the movement and eventually a more equal American society.
Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation in the United States was commonly practiced in many of the Southern and Border States. This segregation while supposed to be separate but equal, was hardly that. Blacks in the South were discriminated against repeatedly while laws did nothing to protect their individual rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ridded the nation of this legal segregation and cleared a path towards equality and integration. The passage of this Act, while forever altering the relationship between blacks and whites, remains as one of history’s greatest political battles.
African Americans have a history of struggles because of racism and prejudices. Ever since the end of the Civil War, they struggled to benefit from their full rights that the Constitution promised. The fourteenth Amendment, which defined national citizenship, was passed in 1866. Even though African Americans were promised citizenship, they were still treated as if they were unequal. The South had an extremely difficult time accepting African Americans as equals, and did anything they could to prevent the desegregation of all races. During the Reconstruction Era, there were plans to end segregation; however, past prejudices and personal beliefs elongated the process.
Many people argue that our past racial history is gone and that America is beginning to fulfill the concept of a post-racial America. For instances, there are no longer many major instances of African Americans being treated as a lower class as opposed to other skins. “The election of Obama proved, as nothing else could have, that it [racism] no longer does [exist]” (McWhorter). Barack Obama, our current president, is the first African American to be elected into office. However, people are still judgemental and bigoted towards other races and treat them with very little respect. You often hear Hispanic or Latino Americans being colloquially referred to as Mexicans. You also see people getting stopped and taken aside at airports to participate in supposedly random searches just because they are Muslim. Even the very same African Americans that we have been attempting to treat as equals for so long are still getting treated unfairly. “Only 14 percent of drug users are black, but blacks constitute 37 percent of those arrested for drug crimes...are...
In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of the Brown v. the Board of Education. This was a very historical moment because their ruling eliminated, the "separate but equal " doctrine. Their ruling called for school integration, although most school were very slow in complying if they complied at all. The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Color People, viewed this ruling as a success. The schools lack of the obedience toward this ruling, made it necessary for black activism to make the federal government implement the ruling, and possibly help close the racial gap that existed in places other than public schools. During one of the boycotts for equality, a leader emerged that would never be forgotten. Dr. Martin Luther King, who was leader of the Montgomery bus boycott, quickly became the spokesperson for racial equality. He believed that the civil rights movement would have more success if the black people would use non violent tactics. Some say he was adopting the style of Ghandi. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, SCLC, was formed by King and other activist in 1957. They were a group of black ministers and activist who agreed to try and possibly help others see the effects of a non violent movement. Also following the strategies set by the SCLC, a group known as the SNCC or the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, began a string of sit-in and campaigns as the black population continued it's fight for equality. It was the undying efforts of the two groups that paved the way for the march on Washington. This march which drew a crowd of at least 200,000, was the place that Dr. King, gave his famous "dream speech." Both the SNCC, and the SCLC were victims of lots of threats and attempted attacks, yet they continued to pursue freedom in a non violent fashion. However near the late 60's they had another problem on their hands. There was a group of activist known as the Black Panthers who were not so eager to adopt the non-violent rule. The believed that the civil rights movement pushed by Dr. King and is non-violent campaign, which was meant to give blacks the right to vote and eliminate segregation, was not solving problems faced in poor black communities. This Black Panther group, stabled the term "black power", which was used a sort of uplifting for the black self esteem.
...So the question still remains, has American society really come that far in race relations and where do we go from here? Martin Espada answers the question by illustrating the intense level of racism experienced by a minority living in modern society. The civil rights movement did make positive changes for the African-American community on various different political and social levels. However, racism needs to be broken down to its smallest components, which are the individuals who support and teach racist attitudes. The family itself is the basic unity of society. Therefore, the only way racism will be completely eliminated on a social level is if it is stopped on the individual level. Treating racism as a social phenomenon will provide short-term solutions, but will not treat the virus of hatred perpetuating its continued existence in our society today.
...mproved, especially as a result of the Civil Rights Movement, racial inequalities still remain; from income to IQ levels, to the number of the incarcerated and life expectancies. While Americans like to think of our country as the equal land of opportunity, clearly it is not. Racism continues to remain "our American Obsession" (Loewen 139).