Essay On Civil Rights Of 1964

In case study 4, we were asked to identify and research three different laws that has help us or our colleagues. Three different laws stood out to me as being an African American man and a Uniformed Service Member were Civil Rights Act 1964, Affirmative Action Plan and the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Each one of these laws have tried to even the playing fields for African Americans and Service members. As you read through this case, I will go in to detail of each law and relate these laws to my life experiences

Equality is an important staple in which America was founded on. In the years since America’s making, the US has made many advances for equality for women, people of color, rich and poor, and veterans. Specifically, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped people of color, the making of WAAC helped women, and the case of Gideon vs. Wainwright helped less wealthy Americas. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a big step in equality for people of color. This bill made many discriminatory actions illegal.

The 1960s were a time of upheaval and revolution, in this decade America took great leaps towards equality as activists throughout the country protested and demanded their basic American rights. One of these basic rights, one granted to many Americans by the 15th Amendment, a right which many African-Americans did not have. The “poll tax was revived” in southern states to “to prevent African-Americans” from “voting” (thefreedictionary.com). The right to vote is essential, and the poll tax prohibited the average man from voting, as most did not not have enough money to pay the tax. The 24th amendment was an essential event in the 1960s--setting a new benchmark for equality in America, one that included the African Americans.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is considered by some to be one of the most important laws in American history. (The Most Important Cases, Speeches, Laws & Documents in American History) This Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964 and it is a “comprehensive federal statute aimed at reducing discrimination in public accommodations and employment situations.” (Feuerbach Twomey, 2010) Specifically, it aimed at prohibiting “discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), and religion.” (Civil Rights Act of 1964, 2010) Additionally, it also

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the most important piece of legislation passed by Congress in the twentieth century. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the first strong piece of civil rights legislation introduced to Congress since the American Civil War. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed and passed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2nd 1964, after one of the longest running debates in Senate history. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was designed to end segregation and discrimination and to provide the minority population equal protection under the laws of and the Constitution of the United States. The question at hand is whether the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was necessary in order provide this protection.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in employment on grounds of race, creed, religion, national origin, or sex. It withholds federal funds from discriminatory state and local programs. It authorizes the Department of Justice to initiate lawsuits to desegregate public facilities and schools and it outlawed arbitrary discrimination in voter registration and expedited voting rights lawsuits. It also barred discrimination in public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce.

Due to the growing power if the civil rights movement, for example, Brown vs Board of Education and Rosa Parks, the Department of Justice was finally mandated to enforce federal hate crime laws when Congress passed and President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the first federal hate crime statute, the Civil Rights Act in July 2, 1964. The law expanded protection against all types of discrimination. It was finally a criminal offense if you used or threaten to use force to willfully interfere with any person because of race, color, religion, or national origin.4 The act prohibited racial discrimination in voting, employment, and education. It also outlawed racial segregation in all public places and most private businesses. President Johnson stated regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that “Its purpose is not to divide but to end division. Divisions which have lasted all too long.”5

Ultimately, the banishment of discrimination in public areas pushed the issue of desegregation over the edge. Eisenhower facilitated the movement of multiple acts and orders ensuring the rights of minorities across the country, determining that they cannot legally be discriminated against. Eisenhower, in his Civil Rights Act of 1964, stated, “An Act to enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States to provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the Attorney General to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally

Black Americans were discriminated against on a daily basis creating all sorts of difficulties in life, so the Civil Rights movements in the 1950s sparked optimism in many Black Americans.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 put a stop to public segregation and to the

African Americans have been struggling for equality for many decades. It only seems that during the 1960?s is when there were actual significant advances made. This was about the same time that civil rights came into the political scene. Throughout the South, Blacks were still in the majority, but had no political power what so ever. The Civil Rights Movement gave African Americans a voice and a chance to make a difference. The 1960's helped open up hope and expectations for Black Americans.

The 50s, 60s and 70s were a tumultuous time in American society. Roles were constantly being redefined. Events like the war created upheaval in the lives of many individuals and everyone was scrambling to find his or her place in society. The same was profoundly true for blacks in America. No societal movement had a more profound effect on the lives of Black Americans than did the Civil Rights Movement. The status of Black Americans would be redefined to a revolutionary degree. Civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X would bring the cause to the national stage. Although the movement was plagued with violence and death, it was eventually successful. The South was radically changed from a society of

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 resulted from one of the most controversial House and Senate debates in history. It was also the biggest piece of civil rights legislation ever passed. The bill actually evolved from previous civil rights bills in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. The bill passed through both houses finally on July 2, 1964 and was signed into law at 6:55 P.M. EST by President Lyndon Johnson. The act was originally drawn up in 1962 under President Kennedy before his assassination. The bill originated from two others, and one of which was the Equal Opportunity Act of 1962 that never went into law. This bill made up the core of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Bureau of National Affairs 18-20).

The Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60's was arguably one of the most formative and influential periods in American history. Hundreds of thousands of civil rights activists utilized non violent resistance and civil disobedience to revolt against racial segregation and discrimination. The Civil Rights Movement began in the southern states but quickly rose to national prominence. It is of popular belief that the civil rights movement was organized by small groups of people, with notable leaders like—Martin Luther King, Jr, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, and even John F. Kennedy—driving the ship. That is partly correct. The Civil Rights Movement, in its truest form, was hundreds of thousands of people organizing events and protests,

The American declaration of independence stated, that: “All men are created equal”. But in the 19th century only whites were born with equal opportunities. Africans were imported as slaves and had to work on the fields of the whites. Until 1865 the Negroes were treated and looked at as something lower than human. They were compared to apes, and therefore just owned the same rights as animals. They were raised believing that whites were superior. It took them years to realize that they have to stand up for their rights. The uprising turned into a brutal civil war.