Today, we take civil rights as granted, as what we are entitled to by default, but more than half a century ago, people fought, struggled and died for them. History not only takes you back to times forgotten but it also reminds you of what once was and how things evolved overtime. Sometimes, there are certain movements which alter the fortune of millions and this is what the Civil Rights Movement was all about; the African Americans making a strong foothold on the map of the world.
One of the oldest races in the world, the African Americans were deprived of their basic rights for a long time. They were enslaved and oppressed. They were uneducated, poor and powerless as the imperial powers like Russia, America and Europe did not want them to reclaim their ancestral values. This deprivation led to many freedom struggles carried out by the African Americans. Most of these movements started off as being individually carried out protests and transformed into constitutional-altering legislations. One incident that sparked widespread retaliation was the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which was started by Rosa Park, who refused to leave her seat in a bus for a white man. This instigated the spirit of protest among others and became a mass protest. Soon after, Martin Luther King Jr. was chosen by the people as the leader of the Montgomery Improvement Association and later became the head figure of the resistance.
Another incident occurred in Alabama where the peaceful participants were beaten brutally for voicing their protest against the unequal voting rights for the blacks under the 15th Amendment (197) to the constitution of the United States which prevented the African Americans from casting a ballot. This cruelty was broadcasted on national television and pressurized the politicians to take some preventive steps. The much needed reform came in the form of comprehensive voting rights legislation by Lyndon Johnson who assumed presidency in November 1963 after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. His vision of a progressive America included fair voting-rights laws. Prior to this, blacks were denied their votes through various tactics of the officials. They were illiterate, oppressed and poor; they did not possess much power to fight for their rights alone. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Voting Rights Bill on July 9th, 1965. Many prominent civil rights leaders including King were present when Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act on August 6th. However, the struggle continued even after the bill was passed. In many areas of the South where the blacks were in majority, the status quo created hindrances for people who wanted to exercise their right to vote. Today, things are comparatively better than how they were; however, all is still not well. The injustice becomes evident every now and then.
In the recession of the 1990s, the number of African Americans laid off was a lot higher than other employees. For instance, more than 54 percent of all Sears’ employees who lost their jobs were African Americans. Same was the case with other financial giants like Coca-Cola and J.P. Morgan. On the political forefront, decades after the Civil Rights struggle, the racial equality gaps still exist in the U.S. Congress. The 2010 election showcased how 47 states have not elected an African American to the U.S. Senate as yet and 26 states have deprived them of getting elected to the U.S. House. In 2011, South Carolina passed a restrictive voter ID law that was feared to keep more than 180,000 African Americans from casting their votes. And the list of injustices goes on.
Half a century has passed since Martin Luther King’s historic speech in Washington, but the inequality towards African Americans has still not eliminated. Be it the household income, poverty or homeownership, mostly things have remained unchanged if not augmented. So, it is apt to say, the struggle continues for the different and the less fortunate.
