Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Essay Example

? Freedom Movement Freedom movement that began in early 1950s defines a memorable and important period in the American history. Freedom Movement formed with intention of advocating for end to discriminatory and prejudicial acts committed against Blacks in America. Many events happened during the Freedom Movement period that have since shaped livelihood of many American citizens. Two of the most significant events include the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. Civil Rights Act of 1964 The importance of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 relate to its intention to end all forms of discrimination within the American society. It also marked an important moment for the Black American society who continuously fought for equal rights within the American society (Smith & Wynn, 2009. The act ended the application of the Jim Crow laws that upheld segregation under the principles of “separate but equal.” It is important to note that prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, African-Americans faced serious discrimination in nearly all important sectors of the economy including employment, transport, property ownership, education and even politics. The passage of the law has since shaped the American society and that is still undergoing transformation. The consequences of the passage of the Civil Rights Act 1964 have seen significant diversity in the employment sector in America. Currently, Blacks face limited if any discrimination in employment. This has seen significant growth of the American economy as every individual struggles to involve in any income generating activity. Since the passage of the Act that led to increase in employment of the African-Americans, the economy of the USA has witnessed significant stability considering fair distribution of income and reduced overreliance of the economy on the White population. Additional consequence of passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 relates to significant integration of people from different races, religion and ethnicity, which is working to liquidate some of the native culture of the various American communities. In politics, the passage of the act has seen significant involvement of Blacks in the daily politics of USA. It is due to the strict provisions of the Act that America is currently under the Presidency of Barrack Obama who is a Black American. Furthermore, it is due to the Act that African-Americans like Condoleezza Rice managed to occupy powerful government office during administration of President George Bush. Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956) The cause of the boycott related to the arrest of Rose Parka who was a civil rights activist for failing to empty a bus seat in Montgomery. The Black community responded to the arrest by boycotting transport by bus until in 1956 when court overruled the segregation laws in Montgomery as unconstitutional. This even revolutionized social structure and has led to free interaction between Whites and the Blacks (Phibbs, 2009). The law has seen free movement of people across the states by same transport means. This has worked to alienate fears of discrimination alongside enhancing trade and economic development in the USA. The event and the accompanying ruling transformed the political policies created by states and local governments. Currently, many states abide by the principles of equality and fairness that has help in political stability in America. Role of Black women in the Freedom Movement Despite being subject to gender discrimination within their own race, Black women proved an essential part of the whole Freedom Movement. Black women assumed the roles of bridge leaders to support their male counterparts in advancing their fight for freedom. The women assumed the roles of bridge leaders because it was only area that they could occupy since men held the formal leadership positions. In that line, the Black women practiced four main types of bridge leadership that included mainstream, community, indigenous and professional. Examples of women bridge leaders included Fannie Lou Hamer who acted as community bridge leader and Ella Baker who acted as professional bridge leader (Holsaert, 2010). While serving in their capacity as bridge leaders, women had substantial attachment to their individual communities and families, and employed community-oriented strategy as they advanced their fight for freedom. The women fit in the responsibility of bridge leaders considering that they had good relationship with everyone within the American society. Some of the women worked as maids in the White households, as teachers and as health care practitioners who mingled with different people (Ransby, 2003). Black women also mobilized significant resources and people to support the Freedom movement. The women formed feminine organizations like the National Council of Negro Women that acted as instruments for generating money for the effective operation of the freedom movement. The Black women also used their feminine organizations to mobilize people across the American society to support the course of action advanced by the Freedom Movemen (Holsaert, 2010). Another contribution by the Black women involved their resistance against slavery as they risked by running by away from White plantations where they worked as slaves. Harriet Tubman is good example of women who run away from the White plantations and even threatening to kill her fellow women who would return to the plantations. Resistant nature of Black women that proved important towards realization of the objectives of the Freedom Movement also manifested in Rosa Parka when she refused to empty bus seat for a White passenger. This resistance led to arrest of Parka and eventual litigation that saw Court rule against segregation in Montgomery terming the practice as unconstitutional (Miller, 2004). Important legislations by Dwight Eisenhower In his capacity as the thirty-fourth President of the USA, Dwight Eisenhower passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and Civil Rights Act of 1960. According to Smith and Wynn (2009), both the legislations authorized free registration and free access to voting rights by the Blacks. The two laws later underwent review to become the Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed by Lyndon Johnson. The laws passed by Eisenhower defined positive efforts towards ensuring the current voting rights enjoyed by the African-Americans. Important Legislations by John F. Kennedy Two important legislations passed by John F. Kennedy and that favoured the Black population include the Civil Rights Act of 1963 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The Civil Rights Act of 1963 sought to guarantee voting rights and access to equal opportunities housing and employment (Smith & Wynn, 2009). This law established groundwork for other laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that gives African-Americans full rights to vote and protection against any form of discrimination. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 advocates for equal pay without discrimination in the lines of sex. This has worked to enhance access of African-American women to equal pay as their counterpart Whites and men doing similar jobs. Important legislations by Lyndon Johnson Lyndon John is the thirty-eighth president of the United States of America. He passed various legislations that earmarked his vision for a Greater society. One of the legislations passed is the Civil Rights Movement of 1964. The intention for passing of the Act was to end racial, gender, economic and social discrimination within America (Smith & Wynn, 2009). The law has seen many Americans irrespective of colour access employment opportunities and public utilities. Lyndon Johnson also passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that intended to end disenfranchisement of the Black voting rights. This Act has enabled African-Americans enjoy free access to votes and open participation in political activities. Significance of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) The case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) involved amalgamation of five different cases brought to the Supreme Court to determine whether segregation under the principles of separate but equal respected the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment that advocated for equality of races in the US. As determined by Justice Thurgood Marshall and later upheld by Justice Earl Warren, the Supreme Court deliberated that segregation in schools breached the principle of equality in the USA and contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment of the America Constitution. This declaration by the Supreme Court defined the actual moment when many segregated schools across America had to stop segregation and adopt integration of races. The rule clarified that the principles of segregation as initially sponsored by the government made Black children feel inferior and suppressed. The ruling opened education opportunities for the Black students who now have access to good education facilities and resources that support equal economic and technical growth. The integration of schools following the ruling has also worked to reduce racial tension and distrust that existed between the Blacks and the Whites. The ruling has also been an important reference for various legal determinations that involve racial conflict and discrimination. Differences between Civil Rights movement and Black Nationalism Civil Rights Movement advocated for peaceful and non-violent protests and fight for the rights of the Blacks within the American society. Black Nationalism movement on the other hand used military tactics and violence to acquire Black power (Ezra, 2009). Another difference between Civil Rights Movement and the Black Nationalism Movement is that the former was a homogenous group while the latter consisted of nationalists and pluralists. Nationalists believed that Blacks were bound for eternal discrimination by the Whites and the only way to achieve liberation was finding a Black society away from America. Pluralists on the other hand believed that discrimination would end and all races would live together peacefully (Ezra, 2009). References Ezra, M. (2009). Civil rights movement: People and perspectives. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. Holsaert, F. S. (2010). Hands on the freedom plow: Personal accounts by women in SNCC. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Miller, J. (2004). The Montgomery bus boycott: Integrating public buses. New York: Rosen Pub. Group. Phibbs, C. F. (2009). The Montgomery Bus Boycott: A history and reference guide. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood. Ransby, B. (2003). Ella Baker & the Black freedom movement: A radical democratic vision. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Smith, J. C., & Wynn, L. T. (2009). Freedom facts and firsts: 400 years of the African American civil rights experience. Canton, MI: Visible Ink Press. Read More