Civil Rights

Civil Rights

When I think of Civil Rights I think of the Civil War. During a national crisis involving human rights, morale, and economic issues and in some cases, brutal hatred of African Americans the North stood up to help give them their freedom. This was only the beginning though, and some would probably argue this was long before the era where African Americans were actually given Civil Rights, but it was the first step. Due to Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, literacy tests, and other unconstitutional actions by many Southern States many African Americans actually did not get to enjoy the rights they should have until much later. They stood up for their rights and pursued, mostly through nonviolent means, a better future for themselves and their families. Civil Rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, Ella Baker, and many others helped African Americans reach the place they are today, and helped shape legislation to overcome the inequality they were faced with.

3 Article Summaries

Civil Rights: How Far Have We Come?

This article talks about the 30th anniversary of the march on Washington, and the 3 areas where African Americans even today do not enjoy equality with other Americans: housing, class, and voting. In housing it mentions that many African Americans are still towards the bottom of the pay scale, and this can not afford good housing for themselves and their families. There is also starting to be a growing number of African Americans that can afford better housing but are being kept out by racism and discrimination. It is so hard to enforce housing laws fairly that they are easily bent by landlords and real estate agents. The different class has a lot to do with the education system. Even though the schools were desegregated long ago because of the housing system the way it is, many African American students go to school in the poor neighborhood that they live in. This keeps the schools segregated, and often makes it harder for African American students to grow up and have the same chance to be successful. African Americans represent 9% of the house members in the United States but 12.4% of the general population. In recent times more and more African Americans are getting opportunities to serve in government, as Governors, Mayors, and other local offices. Many African American leaders though