The harsh treatment African Americans have endured in recent years has devastated many. There is nothing wrong with black people; they are like any other race. Even after all these years and what African-Americans have gone through due to racism in the 1970s and 1980s, you would think so. For African Americans and other minorities, 1964 was a pivotal year in American history. They were hopeful that the days of social injustice and prejudice based on country or race would come to an end. The United States was legally acknowledged after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Houston, 2018). Segregation in the United States was to be abolished, and all citizens of the United States were to be granted full liberty. In this paper, I will examine how civil rights have benefited African Americans by evaluating the historical justice surrounding events, their impact on the African American experience, and the actions attempted to remedy the issue.
Civil Right Act
The harsh treatment African Americans have endured in recent years has devastated many. There is nothing wrong with black people; they are like any other race. Even after all these years and what African-Americans have gone through due to racism in the 1970s and 1980s, you would think so. For African Americans and other minorities, 1964 was a pivotal year in American history. They were hopeful that the days of social injustice and prejudice based on country or race would come to an end. The United States was legally acknowledged after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Houston, 2018). Segregation in the United States was to be abolished, and all citizens of the United States were to be granted full liberty. In this paper, I will examine how civil rights have benefited African Americans by evaluating the historical justice surrounding events, their impact on the African American experience, and the actions attempted to remedy the issue.
Historical justice event
Prior to 1964, segregation was common in several Southern and border states. This segregation was scarcely separate but equal. In the South, blacks experienced discrimination with no legal protection. After emancipation, African Americans experienced many injustices. They experienced social injustices. Blacks were segregated at the time. Restrooms, schools, restaurants, transit, etc. This was troublesome since it was completely segregated, and African Americans had worse conditions than whites. African American schools ripped up outmoded texts, mixed grades (Wagensveld, 2019). Whites had clean classrooms with new textbooks. It was like that in everything separated. African Americans and civil rights activists protested in Plessy v. Ferguson. But the government did not side with African Americans. Falsely claiming the separations were "equal but separate." This made many understand they would have to fight this battle without the government's help. Due to black codes, Blacks couldn't own guns, marry whites, or travel without a license.
The Ku Klux Klan was the political oppression of African Americans. From 1866 to the 1870s, the KKK was a covert organization that utilized terror to reestablish white supremacy. This group aimed to stop African Americans from intimidating voters, destroying homes, and lynching. Jim Crow laws deprived blacks of voting, serving on juries, and even testifying against whites (Howard, 2020). After these prohibitions and laws were repealed, African Americans were denied the right to vote. The test is usually given by a white person who subsequently gives harsher tests and more outstanding taxes to African Americans and sympathizers (Wagensveld, 2019).
Some economic injustices faced by blacks were black codes. Back codes kept inexpensive farm labor and social order. This was unfair because freshly freed slaves had little money and had to work hard. They were forced to sharecrop, where they worked and lived on the same farms they were enslaved on, but were paid little, not even enough to pay back their housing debt, so they were compelled to do the same labor they fought so hard to escape.
Impact on African American Experience
Before 1964, African-Americans suffered discrimination in commercial and public employment sectors. Many of the Negro families were unemployed, contributing to increased violence in their neighborhoods. People who were sluggish resorted to drugs and poverty, destroying their lives and making them miserable. Additionally, numerous managers and staff members claimed in their job advertisements that "no African-Americans welcomed" or "whites only." This automatically disqualified African Americans from such positions, regardless of their qualifications (Dierenfield, 2017). The Act made it possible for Negroes to obtain occupations without facing discrimination. They could secure jobs that they were previously unable to attain, improving their lives and neighborhoods and emancipating themselves from poverty. Since white Americans already had an easier time finding work without black competitors, this provision increased white Americans' competitiveness. Additionally, there was less prejudice and abuse on the job. Workers might interact as human beings both vertically and horizontally, facilitating the exchange of information and knowledge.
Furthermore, prior to 1964, socioeconomic inequality and segregation were pervasive. This was accompanied by civil rights movements, riots, and protests on a national scale. Protesters faced police brutality, which almost invariably ended in several injuries and arrests. The altercation between police and protesters was unpleasant and did not reflect the true spirit of American beliefs. When John F. Kennedy (JFK) assumed the presidency in 1961, African-Americans hoped their most pressing concerns would be addressed. JKF was the first to propose the Civil Rights Act, which would seek to equalize and non-discriminately expand opportunities in all spheres (Bloom, 2019). Americans, particularly members of Congress, did not universally support the concept. When JKF was assassinated in 1963, the dream came perilously close to dying, yet his spirit survived. They battled for a free America and the civil rights of the 'black' population. Following Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 speech, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Act into law." I Have a Dream" address. The Civil Rights Movement shaped the social justice intercession and fueled different forms of injustice and tyranny. Thus, the civil rights movement paved the way for individuals to enjoy the freedom they deserved as citizens of a great nation. They accelerated the Act's passage.
Actions were taken to improve the situation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 guaranteed equality for all citizens of the United States, regardless of their religious convictions, race, ethnicity, or skin color. This also assured that all minority groups, like the other elites in American culture, had equal representation in the political arena (Bloom, 2019). Additionally, the Act ensured that African Americans and other minorities could vote and take prominent roles in any political arena or organization, regardless of their skin color, gender, culture, or traditions. The policies of the civil rights movement also laid the groundwork for minority groups to achieve economic equality. As a result, the United States economy continued to thrive following the industrial revolution thanks to equitable consideration of employment opportunities and an equal compensation structure for all employees.
The Civil Rights Act particularly impacted African-American communities in the United States. African Americans would benefit from enacting civil rights legislation because they would have the same right to equality as the rest of the white people in the United States. This is regardless of their skin tone or racial differences from the majority of their community. Equal employment opportunities, voting rights, protection of their rights against discrimination in the US, and protection against injustices within the African American community are all intimately linked to this social and economic mobility (Dierenfield, 2017). Additionally, the Civil Rights Act protects women in the United States regardless of their race, color, tradition, or religious views. The Civil Act of 1964 mainly benefitted the African-American community. It opened up new opportunities which they never had before but dreamt of. It also introduced the fair treatment to them and enabled them to enjoy the fruits of being a citizen of the federal republic. They could go to good schools, live in healthy neighborhoods, be attended to by good doctors in good hospitals, and enjoy the state's protection and services. Most importantly, the weight of discrimination and segregation was taken away, and thus, they were the greatest beneficiary of the Act. Besides, the civil rights movement leader was an African-American who was fighting for the interest of the blacks.
[...]
- Quote paper
- Michael Mungai (Author), 2021, Civil Rights Act. Historical justice event. Impact on African American Experience, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1167566
-
-
-
-
Upload your own papers! Earn money and win an iPhone X. -
-
Upload your own papers! Earn money and win an iPhone X. -
-
Upload your own papers! Earn money and win an iPhone X. -
-
Upload your own papers! Earn money and win an iPhone X. -
-
Upload your own papers! Earn money and win an iPhone X.