African American Influence On The Civil Rights Movement

Presidential power impacted the Civil Rights Movement in a positive way. Truman began the movement by publicly speaking on racial issues. Although Eisenhower was not quick to speak, he did make known his federal power by protecting the African American students in Little Rock. Kennedy stood up for the rights of Catholics as well as the rights of blacks and developed a relationship with Martin Luther King Jr. President Johnson is responsible for the improved voting rights for African Americans. Each president made important contributions to the long journey leading to equality.
The democratic president, Harry S. Truman, was the first of several presidents to take action during the civil rights movement. Truman had a deep concern for the Jewish
Eisenhower was chosen by southern delegates, and he favored civil rights for African Americans. However, Eisenhower was reluctant to promote integration, and he was even against integration of the military in 1948. Eisenhower was commonly and accurately characterized as “the bland leading the bland” because of his lack to speak out against the infringements on civil rights. The Supreme Court did most of the work towards equality while Eisenhower was in office. Eisenhower believed that the Supreme Court’s decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case had upset the “customs and convictions” of generations of Americans, so he refused to publicly endorse the final decisions with a statement; however, Eisenhower did take action by protecting nine students in Little Rock, Arkansas with troops to escort them to their classes. He abstained from endorsing the court’s decision, but he did not hesitate to demonstrate his federal power. During Eisenhower’s presidency, the Civil Rights Bill was passed that investigated violations of civil rights and authorized orders to protect voting rights. Some were surprised to see him select five Supreme Court justices who were not segregationists. Eisenhower was the first president to have an African American in an executive role at the White House, the first president to meet with civil rights leaders inside the white house, and he integrated the white house, so it too would
Johnson was able to use Kennedy’s death to his advantage by proposing that the bills would honor him if they were passed. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which strengthened the government’s power to end segregation in schools and banned discrimination in many facilities. Johnson supported women and other minorities by requiring all federal contractors to take action against all discrimination. Johnson’s main four achievements were helping students, providing medicare to elders and medicaid to the poor, reforming immigration, and creating a new voting rights bill. During his term, the 24th amendment abolished the poll tax and the Voting Rights Act outlawed literacy tests aiding African Americans on their journey to equal voting rights. Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall to be the first black justice of Supreme Court. His statement, “we shall overcome”, became the slogan for the civil rights