Preview

Barriers To The Civil Rights Movement

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1003 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Barriers To The Civil Rights Movement
The story of African-Americans throughout the history of America has been the story of the struggle for human rights. This group of people have been forced to fight for freedom from slavery, freedom of the right to vote and freedom to exist as equals with white Americans. African-Americans struggled for human rights in the USA from 1945-1970 and were forced to fight for equality using two main strategies, of which the most successful was non-violent non-cooperation. Nevertheless, despite the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964 and acts accomplished by 1970, there were still rights to be tended to later in the future. Therefore, it is essential to examine the types of strategies used to gain equality especially Martin Luther King, how successful …show more content…
Yet, it gained more than the civil rights by 1970. According to the Civil Rights: Timeline of Events (n.d), the rights passed includes the acts accomplished by 1970 were: equal pay Act (where employers pay all employees equal for equal work) in 1963, Voting Rights Act (restricts discriminating voting practices nationwide) in 1965, and the Inter-Racial Marriage in 1967. The passed laws/acts were tremendous advances towards the equity between African-Americans and the whites, yet other rights aiming at African-Americans were still needed to be gained (“Jim Crow Laws”, …show more content…
African-Americans were still denied from rights, for example, Equal Rights Amendment that proposed to explicitly ensure equity to all individuals, paying little heed to sexual orientation when it went in Congress, 1971 ("Civil Rights: Timeline of Events", n.d). Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (Affirmative Action) and Pregnancy Discrimination Act (prohibits employment discrimination against female pregnant workers) that are signed or passed in 1978. Moreover, Disability Act in 1990 that secure individuals with incapacities, Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993 and the privileges of being same-sex couples in 2003 were all passed into the Congress. The rights that were denied from the African-Americans in the past were later tended to and marked to law later on as in after

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Racial inequality has been problematic throughout American history, and the most disastrous outcome has been its restriction of democracy. According to W. E. B. DuBois, a true democracy stems around an entire population with a colorblind educational system with further emphasis on no arbitrary segregation, large citizen participation in the electoral process, and no political and economic inequality. It is incredibly apparent that this image of an ideal democracy as yet to be achieved to the constant oppression of minority group that has plagued the history of the United States. Throughout history and into today laws and social patterns have oppressed various races, one of the most heavily oppressed groups has been the African American population.…

    • 1840 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine that formed the basis for state-sanctioned discrimination, drawing national and international attention to African Americans’ plight1. In the chaotic decade and a half that civil rights protesters used non-violent protest and rebelled to bring about change, some group of leaders and Afro-American wanted a quick change, violent or non-violent. The white man and Afro-Americans had separate bathrooms, streets and sections which brought more power to racism and discrimination. In the 1950s, the civil rights movement started, many influential political leaders and famous professionals such as Mohammed Ali were very active in this movement. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X,…

    • 1510 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Starting in the mid 1950’s and continuing through the late 1960’s, the African Civil Rights Movement made historic strides regarding the equality of black and white citizens. As any such groundbreaking movement, there were moments of both peace and violence, from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the New York City Race Riots of 1964. Perhaps the most influential and well-known leader of the Civil Rights Movement was Martin Luther King Jr. He lobbied for equal rights for African Americans, while also promoting peaceful protests and a message of non-violence in general. However, it would be incorrect to cite MLK as the only influential African American figure during the time. Malcolm X, the Black Panther Party, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee also contributed the great strides of the movement that resulted in the Civil Rights act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. However, while these 3 figures/parties all dealt with the racial…

    • 857 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Between 1916 and 1980 there was a significant increase in the rights of African Americans. These changes in de jure rights could be argued as revolutionary to a certain degree. To judge the success of change between 1918 and 1960 it is necessary to consider the social, political, and economic status of African Americans along with their black consciousness.…

    • 1414 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Instead of creating the ultimate or comprehensive history of the civil rights movement, we should focus on telling our readers that this would be hard if not impossible to achieve. Instead, we should re-examine our own motives when we speak to our sources and be upfront why we approach the history from a certain perspective. All vantage points provide us with important details. A well-researched account of the political history that fully engages the material pressures that the government faced domestically and internationally, helps us to understand that a concerted national effort at times aids in propelling important legislative and legal…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Civil rights have changed since the 1960s as before African American citizens were denied the right to vote. It wasn’t actually illegal to vote if you were African American; however it was made very hard to register to vote especially if they were in the southern parts of America. In 1870 after the American civil war states were prohibited to deny a person of colour the right to vote, although in some southern states it was made very difficult to register to vote or even enter the building. Sometimes they were denied the right to register or they weren’t allowed to even enter the registering building. After the U.S. Civil War (1861-65), the 15th Amendment, approved in 1870, prohibited states from denying a male citizen the right to vote…

    • 217 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout our nation’s history, African Americans are consistently and involuntary forced to stand as an omnipresent representation of inferiority. Starved of a Negro consensus, white men—mostly European—began persecuting them and exalting their supposed mediocrity. Hundreds of years after this tenet hit America, an exceedingly astute preacher named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. exemplified himself as the backbone of the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1900s. Notwithstanding the omnipotent fear plaguing the Negro community, Dr. King apprehends the vindictiveness of classifying the black men and women as inferior and engenders a movement. One hundred years after the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation, Negros still encountered perilous suppression.…

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential and significant civil rights movement figure, delivered a strong message defending African American’s necessity of demanding civil rights and arguing reformation of unjust laws. Since the very beginning of slavery in U.S., African Americans have not been able to escape from practices of dehumanization. When hope had finally shone along with the abolishment of slavery, a shadow followed as this minority community was being labeled as “colored” and found themselves trapped into an era of segregation. The Jim Crow laws that enforced the ideology “separate but equal” in U.S. public facilities were so dominant that, even after it was abolished, a concept of…

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout history African Americans have faced a great deal of adversity due simply to the racial group they belong. This group has been subjected to being owned and treated like farm livestock, pushed by law in to separate spaces and were even subjected to racial motivated hate crimes. African Americans have faced some of the most radical hatred, subjugation and prejudicial treatment of any minority group. Laws have been passed to project an idea that they are not equal to the majority group of this country. Members of this group have spent time in jail for sometimes simple actions which violated this law. This minority group has been the target of racial violence as well. These attacks of resulted in everything from minor injury to death. In this chapter we will discuss the historical hardships faced by this minority group.…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 represented precisely such a hope - that America had learned from its past and acted to secure a better tomorrow” (Aberjhani, “Aberjhani Quotes,” brainyquotes.com). This quote by Aberjhani, né Jeffery J. Lloyd, expressively sums up how the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 altered the American thought process in regards to the African American. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It was a turning point in U.S. history because it was in the works since 1866. “The Civil Rights Act of 1866 granted citizenship and the same rights enjoyed by white citizens to all male persons in the United States “without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude” (“The 1866 Civil Rights Act,” pbs.org).…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    For over 400 years African-American people were subject to the horrors of slavery and racial injustice. Day in and day out these same people desperately hoped for better times, during these times people found their way through speeches and protests. One of the best speeches ever, was one given by Martin Luther King Jr, he told of his dream to one day have equality amongst all races and religions of the United States. Since this speech drew so much attention, it became very impactful, and helped people to realize a change was needed to be made now. Although many of Americans believe equality started for all races of the world, in reality equality has not been achieved according to MLK’s dream. This is evident due to the lasting segregation,…

    • 1323 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”(brainyquotes.com) Human equality was not always a “thing” in the U.S there used to be slaves. After the Civil war, there was no slaves anymore after the union army won the war. this gave african americans a little bit more of freedom, but did not get equal rights. later in 1964 that all canged after Martin Luther King Came along. Before, he was a baptist minister and a educated african american.and people are always fighting for it.Some even die for it. Martin Luther King Jr. was a non-violent protester,he told us that the color of your skin doesn't matter and his dream is still an inspiration today.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    * Civil Rights Act passed, citizenship to African Americans and granting them equal rights to whites.…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The struggle of African Americans to make the promise of “all men are created equal” a reality began long before the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. Early leaders like Frederick Douglass and John Mercer Langston not only worked to bring…

    • 1287 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The African American freedom struggle is one that is often associated strictly with the United States, however the freedom struggle is not exclusively a United States struggle but has many global impacts. There were many influential leaders in the African American freedom struggle such as, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and the less remembered Bayard Rustin. Dr. Martin Luther King in his many contributions to the freedom struggle, also was a extremely well known speaker. He is often remembered for a chapter of his 1967 book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?,entitled “The World House” in which he speaks of a “revolution of values” which he articulates are a key part in the freedom revolution. Through this paper, we will strive…

    • 206 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays