The Civil Rights Movement And The Voting Rights Act Of 1964

Words: 1581
Pages: 7
Open Document
The Civil Rights Movement has roots in the 19th century, but is most well known for the leaders of and events that took place in the 1950s and 1960s. The Civil Rights Movement was a fight for social justice and equality under the law for African Americans after the official abolition of slavery in 1865 failed to end the discrimination against blacks. Even after African Americans became free citizens of the United States, they still faced rampant racism, violence, segregation, false imprisonment, employment and housing inequality, economic hardships, and being turned away from the polls. On paper, they were considered completely equal to their white counterparts, but the unfortunate reality was that they were being treated as second-class citizens. …show more content…
The Voting Rights Act outlawed the biased literacy tests that many African Americans had to pass in order to make it to the voting booths; the right to vote became guaranteed. This ultimately caused an increase in black voter participation, which allowed for notoriously racist government officials to be voted out of office and be replaced with Progressives. Between 1964 and 1969, black voter turnout jumped sharply from 6% to 59%. The Fair Housing Act is known to be the last groundbreaking legislation of the Civil Rights Movement, being swiftly passed by the House of Representatives just a few days after the assassination of MArtin Luther King Jr. The Fair Housing Act banned discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of property. Ultimately, this allowed African Americans to legally be able to move into traditionally white neighborhoods, where living conditions, employment opportunities, and schools were typically better and crime rates lower. Now that schools across America were becoming more and more integrated, this allowed black students to be able to receive higher quality education by attending their new zoned schools. With the Civil Rights Act of 1964, African Americans were also now able to take up better paying jobs in these traditionally white …show more content…
Martin Luther King, Jr., it was dangerous to be an active participant in the struggle for freedom. Not only could one’s life be transformed by death, it could also be transformed by other forms of aggression and violence, such as police brutality, imprisonment, and harassment. A prime example of this is the Selma to Montgomery March of 1965, lead by Dr. King. The march, meant to bring awareness to the difficulties faced by black voters, almost did not occur due to police brutality, imprisonment, and harassment. The first attempt to march was thwarted as the participants were met by police officers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, shortly after the start of the march. The officers used batons and tear gas to push back the peaceful protesters. Many marchers were arrested. Unitarian Universalist minister James Reeb, in Selma to join marchers, was attacked by a group of white men and beaten while on his way home from eating dinner at a restaurant. He died of his injuries two days later. If one wanted to be involved in the fight for freedom, they had to be prepared for their life to be put in the way of danger that could be lurking around any
Show More

Related Documents: The Civil Rights Movement And The Voting Rights Act Of 1964

Civil Rights Summary Essay

merican Civil Rights Movement were social movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against black Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South. The wave of inner city riots from 1964 through 1970 undercut support from the white community. The emergence of the Black Power Movement, which lasted from about 1966 to 1975, challenged the established black leadership for its cooperative…

Words 313 - Pages 2

The Civil Rights Act Essay

1 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 English/101 September 2, 2012 2 How would Americans feel if there were not equal rights in the United States? Civil Rights are basic legal rights a person must possess. They are rights that constitute free and equal citizenship which includes personal, political, and economic rights. (Stanford 2012 Encyclopedia of Philosophy). According to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, all Americans are entitled to equal rights. There are many cases of how African Americans…

Words 1711 - Pages 7

Eileen Cook Wk2B Civil Rights Essay

Civil Rights Week 2, Paper B Eileen Cook Listed below are Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson Administrations and how they contributed to the Civil Rights Movement. President Truman ordered the desegregation of the military and antagonistically examined numerous high-profile lynchings, helping him in his presidency by winning sixty-five percent of the African-American votes in the year 1948. Truman also created another Executive Order in the same year, which made it illegal to discriminate against…

Words 479 - Pages 2

African Americans In The 1950's

America, African Americans were restricted from rights which citizen should possess. Along with not having the rights a citizen should have, African American were not allowed to be in the same area as white people, and did not receive equal treatment regarding housing, voting, and education. Because of prominent leaders like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael who spoke out on the issues…

Words 1002 - Pages 5

American Exceptionalism Tocqueville Summary

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 deliver the same rights and opportunities to all people. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, this Commission’s job is to enforce the prohibition of discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national…

Words 1477 - Pages 6

Nonviolence In The March On Selma

discrimination of those that share different ethnicities and race utilizing certain movements and programs. Nevertheless, individuals are still being targeted, oppressed, and prejudiced based on the grounds of their race, sex, and age. The community stood up for their beliefs and equality during an event in history known as the March on Selma on March 25, 1965. The March on Selma was one of many protests that related to civil rights. The event took place in Alabama. This southern state has firmly established…

Words 573 - Pages 3

Roy Wilkins Civil Rights

The Civil Rights Movement was an important moment in America’s history. In this presentation, I will show you background information about the Civil Rights Movement and how it affected and changed many lives. In 1950, the Civil Rights Movement of Manin forced an end to racial segregation. It was set off by multiple events in 1954, like segregation. The movement gained support when the Montgomery Bus Boycott was led by Rosa Parks in 1955. MLK started a movement in which activists protested non-violently…

Words 424 - Pages 2

Three Causes Of The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement took place in the United States from 1954 to 1968. A time period where African Americans were being treated unequally and poorly. Civil resistances and much more constantly through towns of inequality and major campaigns. This went on until 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was passed, but what really caused the Civil Rights movement of that time? There were at least three causes: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, Freedom Summer, and the rise of black nationalism. The Montgomery…

Words 405 - Pages 2

Describe The African-American Civil Rights Movement During The 1960's

Relations Act (also known as the Wagner Act) required businesses to negotiate in good faith with any union sustained by the majority of their employees. Meanwhile, the Congress of Industrial Organizations split from the AFL and became much more aggressive in organizing unskilled workers who had not been represented before. 2. Discuss and describe the expansion of the black freedom struggle during the 1960s. The African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968) refers to the social movements directed…

Words 627 - Pages 3

The Civil Rights Movement In The 1970's

The 1960s Civil Rights Movement, also acknowledged as the African American Civil Rights Movement was a social movement the United States with the objective of ending the racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans who were denied legal and federal protection of citizenship rights enumerated in the United States Constitution. African American’s history is an epic of the social, civil, and economic progression, specifically between the 1960s to the 1970s. Explained by the modern…

Words 1112 - Pages 5