Civil Rights

Civil Rights

The world’s stance on civil rights is a lot better than it was decades ago when the use of violence, disobedience and racism plagued our land with no end in sight. People can come and go freely to their destinations without the threat of being ridiculed and attack by opposing forces. What law changed the country’s mind? That law was the Civil Rights act signed in 1964 by President, Lyndon Johnson. There are several reasons why this law was passed and carried out.

Before the Civil Rights bill passed, there were massive amounts of injustices carried out on this great land especially, in the South. One genre of people who have tasted this injustice repeatedly is African Americans who firsthand experienced terrorism. Since the abolishment of slavery, African Americans were not accepted in Caucasian society due to their past roots and with others bitter from the Civil War aftermath. Although African Americans were free to start communities and jobs, they were stifled by crippling laws that prevented them from prospering and left them to live in substandard conditions. The law that embodies that code of conduct was the Jim Crow law where in essence you are free but, you are not free. Under this law, African Americans were subject to cruel and abnormal punishment as they have to endure mockery, torment and terrorism by white supremacist group, most notably, the Ku Klux Klan. Law enforcement turned a blind eye as these events transpired as some would assist in the killing and harassment of African Americans. These actions resulted in several assemblies and marches to have the laws amended to end these suppressive laws so one can have their civil rights.

These laws came to pass when the outbreak of violence was reported in Mississippi and Alabama and the casualties were both Caucasians and African Americans. People who violated this law now were incarcerated for their involvement with the offense. The terrorism provided by the white supremacist dwindled...