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Plessy v. ferguson and brown board of education
What is the significance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Plessy v. ferguson and brown board of education
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Not only did Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education impact the Civil Rights Movement, but there were also two major acts passed by the government that influenced the movement. The first act passed was the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is undoubtedly the turning point of the Civil Rights Movement and of American history because it basically put an end to all racial segregation in public places. “This act ended segregation in public places and got rid of employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin” (History.com "Civil Rights Act" 2010). Due to the enforcement of this act all African Americans were free from having to sit on opposite parts of the bus, being put
In 1896, the Supreme Court was introduced with a case that not only tested both levels of government, state and federal, but also helped further establish a precedent that it was built off of. This court case is commonly known as the case that confirmed the doctrine “separate but equal”. This doctrine is a crucial part of our Constitution and more importantly, our history. This court case involved the analysis of amendments, laws, and divisions of power. Plessy v. Ferguson was a significant court case in U.S history because it was shaped by federalism and precedent, which were two key components that were further established and clarified as a result of the Supreme Court’s final decision.
Last summer, my then twelve year old son was asked to participate in the National Junior Leaders Conference in Washington, DC. So, I packed our stuff and we headed for our nation's capital. While there, we visited the Supreme Court and my son, never having been there before, was simply awed. A short time later, we went to the Library of Congress. At the time (I don't know whether or not it's still there), there was a display -- three or four rooms big dedicated to the Supreme Court case Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. While the case was something that Nicholas (my son) and I had talked about on a few occasions, it was interesting to watch him as he navigated through the rooms that had photographs, court documents, newspaper articles, and other memorabilia of the case and the people involved with it. About thirty minutes into our time there, he started to cry softly, but he continued making his way through the display. He went to every single display in those several rooms; he didn't want to leave until he had seen everything and read everything. When we finally left (almost four hours after we arrived), he said to me, "It's disgraceful the way our country treated black people; there was no honor in any of it."
Homer Plessy vs. the Honorable John H. Ferguson ignited the spark in our nation that ultimately led to the desegregation of our schools, which is shown in the equality of education that is given to all races across the country today. “The Plessy decision set the precedent that ‘separate’ facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were ‘equal’” (“The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow”). The case of Plessy vs. Ferguson not only illuminated the racial inequality within our education system, but also brought to light how the standard of ‘separate but equal’ affected every aspect of African American lives.
Kennedy’s Civil Rights Act, which called for the fair treatment of all races, changed the tone of the Civil Rights Movement. This doesn’t mean that everyone automatically started to change the way they thought about African Americans, but people started to come together and realize that change needed to happen soon. 5 months after Kennedy first announced the bill, he was shot in Dallas, Texas. It wasn’t until 8 months after Kennedy's assassination that Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill into effect on July 2, 1964. The bill was passed through congress with a 290-130 vote. (History Channel 2010) After the bill was passed, more action was taken to assure equal rights for African Americans. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was created to prevent discrimination and unfair treatment with African American voters. (Library of Congress) The 1964 Civil Rights Act sent a message loud and clear: no longer was discrimination or racism going to be tolerated. In fact, many people thought that change needed to happen soon, as a 1964 Gallup poll suggests. 58% approved of the bill while only 31% did not. 10% were undecided (Public Broadcasting Service 2015). Not only did those who were black support the bill, but many white national leaders started to support the ideas of the act. The bill became the national pathway to equal rights. However, not all were ready to move towards change. Following the signing of the bill, Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were both assassinated.
The societies and aids that contributed to the dawning of the Civil Rights movement in 1955 fought for racial equality and led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, or gender and eventually established the Voting Act of 1965 that banned discrimination against voters (Zoeller 2.) African Americans transitioned into the twentieth century with hopes of overcoming obstacles against prejudice to obtain equality for all Americans.
The case of brown v. board of education was one of the biggest turning points for African Americans to becoming accepted into white society at the time. Brown vs. Board of education to this day remains one of, if not the most important cases that African Americans have brought to the surface for the better of the United States. Brown v. Board of Education was not simply about children and education (Silent Covenants pg 11); it was about being equal in a society that claims African Americans were treated equal, when in fact they were definitely not. This case was the starting point for many Americans to realize that separate but equal did not work. The separate but equal label did not make sense either, the circumstances were clearly not separate but equal. Brown v. Board of Education brought this out, this case was the reason that blacks and whites no longer have separate restrooms and water fountains, this was the case that truly destroyed the saying separate but equal, Brown vs. Board of education truly made everyone equal.
"Histories, like ancient ruins, are the fictions of empires. While everything forgotten hands in dark dreams of the past, ever threatening to return...”, a quote from the movie Velvet Goldmine, expresses the thoughts that many supporters of integration may have felt because no one truly knew the effects that one major verdict could create. The Brown v. Board of Education decision was a very important watershed during the Civil Rights Movement. However, like most progressive decisions, it did not create an effective solution because no time limit was ever given. James Baldwin realized that this major oversight would lead to a “broken promise.”
to sit in a Jim Crow car, which was a car reserved for blacks only. Though Plessy was
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas was a milestone in American history, as it began the long process of racial integration, starting with schools. Segregated schools were not equal in quality, so African-American families spearheaded the fight for equality. Brown v. Board stated that public schools must integrate. This court decision created enormous controversy throughout the United States. Without this case, the United States may still be segregated today.
On the seventeenth day in May 1954 a decision was made which changed things in the United States dramatically. For millions of black Americans, news of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education meant, at last, that they and their children no longer had to attend separate schools. Brown v. Board of Education was a Supreme Court ruling that changed the life of every American forever.
Bob Marley once stated, “Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life.” He is trying to say that it is better to sacrifice your life in order to gain freedom than be a slave for the rest of your life. Before America was considered the “land of the free,” the United States faced problems like the black codes, ratification of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, the Civil War, and segregation caused by the Plessy v. Ferguson debate. America became the “land of the free” after it failed several political and social struggles.
African Americans are still facing segregation today that was thought to have ended many years ago. Brown v. Board of Education declared the decision of having separate schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. As Brown v. Board of Education launches its case, we see how it sets the infrastructure to end racial segregation in all public spaces. Today, Brown v. Board of Education has made changes to our educational system and democracy, but hasn’t succeeded to end racial segregation due to the cases still being seen today. Brown v. Board of Education to this day remains one of the most important cases that African Americans have brought to the surface for the good of the United States. Brown v. Board of Education didn’t just focus on children and education, it also focused on how important equality is even when society claimed that African Americans were treated equal, when they weren’t. This was the case that opened the eyes of many American’s to notice that the separate but equal strategy was in fact unlawful.
Civil Rights are rights of any individual to receive equal treatment. According to Merriam - Webster, “Discrimination is the act of being prejudiced or having a prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment against any other race” was very common in the United States during 1890’s. In the 1890’s, the United States was approaching its lowest point of race relations between whites and blacks. The number of lynchings increased to 230 murders in 1892 and continued to increase year after year. On June 7th, 1892, an unassuming, well dressed shoemaker from New Orleans named Homer Plessy bought a first class ticket from the East Louisiana Railroad and boarded a passenger car designated for whites only. When the ride came to an end, Plessy had been arrested
Historically, the Civil Rights Movement was a time during the 1950’s and 60’s to eliminate segregation and gain equal rights. Looking back on all the events, and dynamic figures it produced, this description is very vague. In order to fully understand the Civil Rights Movement, you have to go back to its origin. Most people believe that Rosa Parks began the whole civil rights movement. She did in fact propel the Civil Rights Movement to unprecedented heights but, its origin began in 1954 with Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka was the cornerstone for change in American History as a whole. Even before our nation birthed the controversial ruling on May 17, 1954 that stated separate educational facilities were inherently unequal, there was Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896 that argued by declaring that state laws establish separate public schools for black and white students denied black children equal educational opportunities. Some may argue that Plessy vs. Ferguson is in fact backdrop for the Civil Rights Movement, but I disagree. Plessy vs. Ferguson was ahead of it’s time so to speak. “Separate but equal” thinking remained the body of teachings in America until it was later reputed by Brown vs. Board of Education. In 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, and prompted The Montgomery Bus Boycott led by one of the most pivotal leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. After the gruesome death of Emmett Till in 1955 in which the main suspects were acquitted of beating, shooting, and throwing the fourteen year old African American boy in the Tallahatchie River, for “whistling at a white woman”, this country was well overdo for change.
...or southern blacks to vote. In 1967 the Supreme Court rules interracial marriage legal. In 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was shot dead at the age of thirty-nine. Also the civil rights act of 1968 is passed stopping discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. In 1988 President Reagan’s veto was overridden by congress passing the “Civil Rights Restoration Act” expanding the reach of non-discrimination laws within private institutions receiving federal funds. In 1991 President Bush. signs the, “Civil Rights Act of 1991”, strengthening existing civil rights laws. In 2008 President Obama is elected as the first African American president. The American Civil Rights Movement has made a massive effect on our history and how our country is today. Without it things would be very different. In the end however, were all human beings regardless of our differences.