American Civil Rights Movement Essay
1. American Civil Rights Movement
THE BLACKS
1865 and 1870 - Three Constitutional amendments: The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment gave blacks the rights of citizenship, and The Fifteenth Amendment gave them the right to vote. Until the modern civil rights movement (1950s) blacks were denied access to public places such as restaurants, hotels, theaters, and schools.
There were separate facilities marked "colored only", which was sanctioned by the courts.
1896 The Supreme Court: “Racial segregation was legal as long as "separate but equal"”
1954 The Supreme Court ruled that maintaining separate but equal schools for blacks and whites was unconstitutional.
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT (1950s –1960s). Goals: desegregation, fair housing, equal employment opportunities, and fair voting laws. Dr Martin Luther King (killed in 68), provided leadership and strategy for the mass movement. Some radical black leaders advocated violent revolution.
CIVIL RIGHT LEGISLATION
The movement was a success in voting rights and public accommodations and facilities.
1957 - First civil rights legislation. Focused on protecting the voting right of blacks.
1963 - Amendment prohibiting the use of a poll tax in federal elections.
1964 - It prohibited discrimination in public accommodations such as restaurants and hotels and also outlawed job discrimination.
1965 - Voting Rights Act abolished literacy tests, used to deny blacks the right to vote.
Nowadays voter registration among blacks has increased but percentage of whites is much bigger. Black political power has also grown: more and more blacks are being elected to public office.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION (Policy) Goals: Matching the racial and sexual composition of the working place with the composition of society. Employers are encouraged hire and promote blacks, women, and others minorities. Critics charge that it results in reverse discrimination against qualified white males.
THE BLACKS
1865 and 1870 - Three Constitutional amendments: The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment gave blacks the rights of citizenship, and The Fifteenth Amendment gave them the right to vote. Until the modern civil rights movement (1950s) blacks were denied access to public places such as restaurants, hotels, theaters, and schools.
There were separate facilities marked "colored only", which was sanctioned by the courts.
1896 The Supreme Court: “Racial segregation was legal as long as "separate but equal"”
1954 The Supreme Court ruled that maintaining separate but equal schools for blacks and whites was unconstitutional.
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT (1950s –1960s). Goals: desegregation, fair housing, equal employment opportunities, and fair voting laws. Dr Martin Luther King (killed in 68), provided leadership and strategy for the mass movement. Some radical black leaders advocated violent revolution.
CIVIL RIGHT LEGISLATION
The movement was a success in voting rights and public accommodations and facilities.
1957 - First civil rights legislation. Focused on protecting the voting right of blacks.
1963 - Amendment prohibiting the use of a poll tax in federal elections.
1964 - It prohibited discrimination in public accommodations such as restaurants and hotels and also outlawed job discrimination.
1965 - Voting Rights Act abolished literacy tests, used to deny blacks the right to vote.
Nowadays voter registration among blacks has increased but percentage of whites is much bigger. Black political power has also grown: more and more blacks are being elected to public office.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION (Policy) Goals: Matching the racial and sexual composition of the working place with the composition of society. Employers are encouraged hire and promote blacks, women, and others minorities. Critics charge that it results in reverse discrimination against qualified white males.