I think that Presidential action was somewhat passive throughout the 1940s and 1950s. In particular Dwight Eisenhower failed to respond to the calls for greater equality as, although he was not actively racist, he was reluctant to lead the country into the next step of improving civil rights. I would say that the responsibility for improving civil rights should fall onto another individual which was Earl Warren. Despite the President calling him the ‘biggest damned-fool I’d ever made’, he was the one that destroyed the legal basis of segregation whilst in his role as Supreme Chief Justice. However, it would not be fair to say that Presidential action was non-existence.
The committee was instructed to investigate the status of civil rights in the United States and propose measures to strengthen and protect the civil rights of American citizens. In the meantime, Truman became the first president to address the NAACP, at the Lincoln Memorial on July 29, 1947. Ultimately, in my opinion I believe that the lives of African Americans changed after the war, but it wasn’t as a result of the war as the black Americans still
His commitment to desegregation was also shown at his inauguration ceremony when he allowed black and white guests to sit alongside each other for the first time 15 Truman’s achievements were limited. The FEPC was underfunded and the CGCC could not force defence companies to adopt fair employment practises. The Fair Deal housing programme demolished badly constructed houses but fewer houses were built than was anticipated; thus reducing the amount of housing actually available. Eisenhower refused to comment on the Brown case. He criticised the ruling arguing that it would do nothing to change the hearts and minds of southern white racists.
The federal government were successful to a large extent in advancing civil rights in the period 1955 – 1968 for a number of reasons. Within this period, the USA had three presidents, each passing or initiating civil rights legislation to advance civil rights for African Americans. Legislation and the attitudes of congress and the Supreme Court had a large influence on the advancement of civil rights, however, it could be said that legislation was happening too slowly to make progress, and many groups within the federal and state governments opposed the advancement of civil rights. Legislation played a large role in the advancement of civil rights between 1955 and 1968, as it effectively ended legal segregation and begun the final destruction of segregation in the USA. Acts passed by Eisenhower and Johnson had a big impact on the advancement of civil rights, with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ending all segregation of all public places and facilities, and the voting rights act of 1965 outlawing all measures to prevent American citizens from voting.
He had hoped that he could gather a momentum that would extend the support of black churches because black churches played a central role in the Civil Rights Movement. Meanwhile, SNCC brought together like-minded students. Ella Baker, also a director of SCLC, started this organization along with student activists after the highly publicized and successful Greensboro sit-in in 1961. The SNCC gathered many whites and blacks and traveled North to South to protest in support of the civil rights cause. The SNCC ideas of a very successful strategy and tactic were to organize sit-ins, boycotts, and other protests across the country to end segregation in public places such as restaurants, public transportation, and schools (Janken).
Instead of the government allowing slavery, it looked like it found a loop hole to not treat people of color equally for anything whether it was sports, school or public facilities blacks were still treated as inferior. Thankfully the civil rights movement that occurred during the 1950’s and 1960’s would turn out successful after years of civil demonstrations (some which would become riots e.g. : Birmingham, Alabama), marches, and speeches. One might say that one of the most famous speeches of the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, would see fruition when looking at today’s society despite some traces of racism. Now we live in an era where different races can co-exist.
I cannot assent with the statement that the outstanding educational progress and great personal accomplishment of these and other well-known black men across history seem to have had little bearing on the generally negative perception of black males, because for the first time in history of the United States the president is African-American. It is also lucid that the issue of prejudice today is not the same as it was 50-60 years ago, although it has still not gone away either. Because of the racial beliefs passed down from one generation to another, many people have been taught that African-Americans are inferior to white
Yet again, serious violence developed at the hands of white racists. In response to this, Johnson introduced a further Civil Rights reform. In August 1965, the Voting Rights Act became law, removing all barriers which prevented black Americans from registering as voters. Results The non-violent campaigns of the Civil Rights movement during the 1950s and early to mid-1960s achieved notable successes. With charismatic and intelligent spokesmen such as Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights campaigners had brought the plight of black Americans to the attention of the whole world.
Their courage and part in the war led to the desegregation of the US Armed Forces in July, 1948. African Americans services received a great boost during the American Civil Rights Movement which terminated with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which banned discrimination in employment, labor unions and public accommodations. It was at the beginning of this movement, that Dr. Martin Luther King Junior delivered his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech from the steps of the grand Lincoln Memorial. Political and economic rights were soon granted to the blacks. In 2000, there were about eight thousand or more black office holders in the United States.
According to Professor McDonald’s research at George Mason University, “Black voter turnout increased 4.9 percentage points from 2004”. This is a large increase possibly due to Africans becoming more educated about current issues in the government with the desire to be elected in legislature. Thus, more blacks now are running for office, holding high positions in American government and are being represented. One major example of a famous African American politician is, Senator Barack Obama who was an African American man that ran for president and now made history as our first black president. Moreover, due to positive and negative effects overtime, more Africans are now voting and on a change in California’s policies are in effect.