Throughout history, African Americans have been faced with great adversity which they have overcome to get to the place where they are today. During the Civil Rights Movement, some of the most influential leaders were born; they came and paved the way for the upcoming generation. In many instances their circumstances cost them their lives. During the Civil Rights Movement, many events taken place to give us the freedom we deserved.
On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that all slaves will be free (Emancipation Proclamation). Years later after the Emancipation Proclamation African Americans were still faced with unequal opportunities even though …show more content…
President Kennedy believed blacks deserved the same equal opportunity as any other American. Kennedy faced a vast amount of criticizing because he was sympathetic to the African American community. Kennedy worried about losing support from the white Democrats, but he believed someone should finally stand up for what is right. John F. Kennedy proposed a bill by doing it televised after Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. President Kennedy thought African Americans should be careful when doing demonstrations because the level of violence was escalating. John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November of 1963, but he was giving the opportunity to address the bill to the Congress. The Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded with the bill, but to get sympathy from voters he stressed about the passing of the former president. He wanted to use the civil rights acts as a lasting legacy to John F. Kennedy. On July 2, 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson and many other legislatures officially signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 using 72 ceremonial pens. Many activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks witnessed the signing of this marvelous occasion (Loevy,