The matter of “equality” in the United States has been an issue for hundreds of years. Indigenous Americans, among the colonists, were considered inferior, and have been discriminated against for decades. The custom of importing slaves from the Caribbean and Africa was another example of discrimination, in that these peoples were considered less than “human.” Women, as well, have experienced discrimination in being denied the right to vote, and discriminatory wages.
In the 1880’s, especially in the South, some areas passed laws (now referred to as Jim Crow laws), that would prevent black individuals from being able to vote. Some of those regulations required literacy tests to determine if a person was “eligible’ to vote. Others required a poll tax, which most knew a black voter would not be able to pay. Intimidation and threats of violence kept blacks from the polls, as well. Women, of course, were never allowed the right to vote, until the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution
Again, as an example, laws passed in the South provided for segregation of whites and blacks which included schools. Colleges and universities were discriminatory regarding blacks and women, as well.
Several organizations and groups were influential in changing policy and law regarding discrimination. Early in the struggle for equality for African-Americans were the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Congress of Racial Equality, the NAACP, and the ACLU, and the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
Brown v Board of Education was a monumental decision rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court held that the policy of “separate but equal” as defined in Plessy v Ferguson should not apply to schools and children attempting to obtain an education. Other legislative actions included the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
There are few sectors of our society that do not somehow experience discrimination. . Gays and lesbians continue to suffer inequality despite recent legislation. Blacks and Hispanics continue to be “profiled” by law enforcement. It would seem that in spite of all the acts and legislation in place, no one is safe in this society from some type of discrimination.
Works Cited
Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
Civil Rights Act. Pub. L. 88-352, 78 Stat 241. 2 July 1964. Web.
U. S. Constitution, Amend. XV,
U. S. Constitution. Amend. XIX,
Voting Rights Act. Pub. L 89-110, 79 Stat. 437-446. 6 August 1965. Web.
