Kayla Daniels March 3rd, 2011 In America segregation in schools used to be the normal way of life to the whites but for blacks it was unfair and they wanted dramatic change. In the year of 1962 in the city of New Rochelle, the superintendent and the New Rochelle Board of Education faced a class action by eleven African American students; stating that they were gerrymandering the elementary schools in the district in order to make a school with only black students "Lincoln Elementary". Prior to the civil rights movement many African Americans never stood up for their rights until now. Racism plays a key role for the outcome of why these schools no longer exist. Without protests, riots and many other strong
Historical Significance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 In 1964, the United States passed one of its strongest civil rights laws in history, the Civil Rights Act. The act bans discrimination because of a person's color, race, national origin, religion, or sex. It primarily protects the rights of African Americans and other minorities. Major features of the Civil Rights Act include the freedom to vote and use hotels, restaurants, theaters, parks, and all other public places. The law also encouraged the desegregation of public schools and authorized the withdrawal of federal funds from programs practicing discrimination.
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. These acts ended legal segregation, and had an impact on desegregating public places, voting rights and employment, with the creation of the Fair Employment Practices Commission. Legislation of this period was far more effective than previously, with the number of African Americans registered to vote jumping from four million in 1960, to six million in 1965, due to Johnson’s Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was initiated by Kennedy but failed to pass before his assassination. Furthermore, for each ineffective act passed, another was passed to increase the effectiveness and impact. For example, the Civil Rights act of 1964 extended the powers of the Commission on Civil Rights from those given by the 1960 Civil Rights Act, allowing them to enforce desegregation.
Plessy v Ferguson was the landmark case decision on May 18, 1896 in which it was upheld by Supreme Court ruling to reinforce the Louisiana law that enforced the segregation of railroad facilities. It was determined that segregation was not considered a form of discrimination so long as the races were ‘equally’ accommodated. This became also known as the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine because it was well known that the conditions were certainly not equal. The overall outcome of this case set the equal rights movement back 100 years until Brown v Board of Education of Topeka overthrew this doctrine in 1954. This ruling was forever change the future of the school system for native born Black Americans and immigrants alike.
Kennedy is now in office as of 1961, he is the youngest president elected in US history. In the beginning of his time he was more worried about foreign policy but then 1963 tides had changed. The civil rights movement was going head on and JFK had noticed something needed to be done. “...to call for the passage of a law banning discrimination in all places of public accommodation, a major goal of the civil rights movement”(Foner 964). It wasn't till after JFK was assassinated that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed.
President John F. Kennedy helped this change by making the Civil Rights Act of 1964. During President John F. Kennedy’s time in office, he promised to end racial discrimination. He put a lot of Blacks in federal positions, no other president had done that in the past. He gave hope to Black Americans that more important jobs will come to Blacks.
Kennedy included phrases such as one-half, one-third, twice as much, and half as much to indicate the chances of an average American Negro to complete certain obstacles equivalent to the average white American. The motivation for such number references is relevant and leads up to Kennedy's thought that "a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics. Within the speech, Kennedy described this nation to be "founded on the principle that all men are created equal however this applied to everyone but Negroes in the community. Lincoln freed the slaves more than a hundred years ago, but to this day, the slaves'
During the 1963 March on Washington, King delivered perhaps his most famous speech called “I Have a Dream.” This speech called for an end to racism and desegregation in America that was still very prevalent at the time. King discusses his dreams of freedom and equality for all blacks in a land that still was plagued with hatred and prejudice to the African American race. King closes out his speech by saying, “I have a dream that one day, down 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 today.” These words are arguably some of the most famous from his speech because they really resonated with the people listening to him. He is envisioning a healthy future where regardless of skin color all are treated fairly and equally.
to focus on the need to pass the Civil Rights Bill. Leaders also felt as though it was a good time to tell the government how little it had done to end segregation. Led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., over 250,000 people gathered to walk in organized, orderly groups toward the Lincoln Memorial. It was at this march where protestors heard King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech in which he stated, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, 'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal.'" This became one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in the history of the United
Because of the movement and African-Americans wanting freedom, riots broke out in New York. Furthermore, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act that ended discrimination based on race, color of the skin, national origin, religion, and sex. In addition, ended the Jim Crow laws that were put since the end of slavery that allowed segregation in the U.S. Although this act did not end prejudice or racial issues, it was a first step for a more fair and equal