The Civil Rights Movement Of The 1960's

The Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s based their agenda primarily on the goals of equality for African-Americans. The call for better treatment of African-Americans rallied society together in the fight for increasing tolerance and further awareness of the injustices occurring in the seemingly tolerant United States. However, despite fruitful and positive intentions, the movement was unable to accomplish the idealistic goals they preached. Though the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s was able to create major change politically, through legislation, attempts at producing social change have yet to radically alter race relations in America.
The Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s has long been regarded as an effective change to America’s
demographic. Though political changes were achieved, social changes have yet to reach their full potential. During the 1960’s, Lyndon Bird Johnson was president and created a set of reform movements titled “Great Society”. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were monumental Great Society programs for many American citizens,, but particularly for struggling African Americans. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited”... discrimination in public establishments based on “race, color, religion, sex or national origin” (Riggs 230-231). The Voting Rights Act of 1965 “...prohibited states from enacting laws, prerequisites, standards, practices, or procedures that curtailed or barred the rights of U.S. citizens to vote based on their race” (Riggs 1421-1424). President LBJ’s creation of these legislatures gave African Americans federal support against their fight against discrimination as well as federal support against poll taxes and literacy test which previously prevented freed African Americans from voting. Though legislatures have created federal support for African Americans, social changes are miniscule at best. The wage gap “...hasn't closed at all since 1963….Back then, the unemployment rate was 5 percent for whites and 10.9 percent for blacks...Today, it's 6.6 percent for whites and 12.6 percent for blacks” (Plumer). Due to the inability of the government to protect the proclaimed equal opportunities for all american citizens, African Americans are often denied higher-paying jobs, and are often held below the poverty line, proving that social changes haven’t had any major impacts. Tough social changes haven’t yet had their moment in the spotlight for benefiting African Americans, the ideas of the 1960’s Civil Rights movement are still very relevant today.
At the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
gave his infamous “I Have A Dream” speech. Rev. King proclaimed that he had a dream that “...one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers…” (I Have A Dream). Reverend King desires that America will become unified in all aspects; neither race, color, religion, origin, nor sexual orientation will prohibit the brotherhood that Kind stresses so clearly in the speech. However, King’s desires haven’t been reached, not even 50 plus years later. When Obama was elected president, he was not described as the 44th President of the United States of America, he was the 1st black president. When Obama participated in the 2010 census, he chose the “Black, African Am., or Negro.” because there is “...no category specifically for mixed race or biracial”, regardless that it is Obama’s race (Roberts and Baker). Despite Rev. King’s desire for a grey world where there is unity between the whites and blacks, there are still racial denials on a federal level, showing how relevant the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s is today, and that the problems from 50 years ago still haven’t been solved
today.
Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky famously said that “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” and that should be directly applied to the question if civil rights injustices from the past should be amended by affirmative action (Brown). If America continues to let instances in the future to shape the country, it will turn into a mess. However, if American utilizes affirmative action to mend the past and help guide civil rights toward the correct road in the future, only positives can arise from it. In the United States Supreme Court case University of California v. Bakke (1978), it was established that “...a university's use of racial "quotas" in its admissions process was unconstitutional, but a school's use of "affirmative action" to accept more minority applicants was constitutional…” (McBride). This decision exhibited the strength and success of affirmative action, and helped shape the future for many racial minority citizens in the United States as they were, and are now able to be accepted into more colleges to create a diverse environment, rather than be excluded due to their race. Though the United States has been able to make steps towards actual racial equality and harmony, it has not yet been achieved.
Racial equality and harmony is one of many desires citizens of the United States and the world desire, but it will take decades to fully achieve it, if it is possible.
Currently, in the 21st century, America is nowhere near that mark. One issue that has yet to be solved is protection and police brutality. Protection of American citizens is one of the 4 cornerstones to American policy. However, this policy isn’t always projected to everyone. While all American citizens are supposedly guaranteed equal protection, statistics revealed that “Non-white Americans make up less that 38% of the US population, yet almost half of all people killed by police are minorities, and minorities make up two-thirds of unarmed people killed by police” (Swaine, Laughland, and Lartey). Cases such as Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Oscar Grant have made their way into the spotlight, and police brutality cases are rising. Most of the time, the white shooter gets off scot-free. The Confederate flag has also given rise to issues. Though the Civil War ended in 1865, 151 years ago, Confederate flags are still present on bumper stickers and flap in the wind in Southern states. It wasn’t until June 10, 2015, 150 years after the end of the Civil War that the state of South Carolina had the “...red and blue Confederate battle flag...finally, permanently lowered...from its place of honor on the grounds of the South Carolina State House” (Fausset and Blinder). Despite the United States attempts to remove
racial issues from the country, they are nowhere near the desired result.
Issues with civil rights have made irrevocable blemishes on the record of the United States. Despite being a 1st world country, they have been unable to use their resources to fix this major social calamity. However, South Africa, another 1st world country with civil rights issues, has been able to overcome this barrier with relative ease. While the US has dealt with social problems via police brutality and ignorance, South Africa has created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to directly assist those confronted with racial and civil discrimination following apartheid. As proclaimed in the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, No. 34 of 1995, amnesty will be granted “to persons who make full disclosure of all the relevant facts relating to acts associated with a political objective committed in the course of the conflicts of the past during the said period;” (PROMOTION). Unlike the United States, where blame is the solution, South Africa is attempting to pardon those at fault in hopes of finding the truth and reconciling their society. It would be wise for the intrusive United States to remove themselves from foreign affairs not concerning them, and to instead focus on civil issues that directly drive their country backward today.