Trailblazing Civil Rights: The 1957 Acts Impact on Equality

Civil Rights Act of 1957 Student’s Name Course Code Instructor’s Name Date Introduction Democracy in the United States dates back to a long struggle for freedom, a civil composite entailing a series of political adjustments and governance. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 is the first Civil Rights Legislation since the reconstruction era. . It dawned in America when the federal government took its first initiative to protect civil rights. It was legislation to end segregation deeply rooted in White America. The White Supremacists denied African Americans equality and lived in poverty, hopelessness, and segregation for a very long time. The Civil Rights Act was signed by President Dwight Eisenhower in his second term of the presidency on the 9th of September, 1957, protecting the civil rights of United States citizens. The Act was significant in protecting the rights of minority groups and black Americans. Despite challenges in the execution of the Act until the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 laid a steadfast foundation in the enforcement of Civil Rights that for a long time had been trampled by white supremacists. It did not create new rights but increased the protection of voting rights for blacks and minorities. Only 20 % of African Americans were registered as voters in the South. Discrimination and segregation hindered African Americans' healthy living in schools, businesses, and public institutions. The Bill's primary purpose was to increase the number of registered voters in the South. This research paper will discuss the historical propositions of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 on a broad spectrum and its tremendous influences on Civil legislation in American society. The Struggle for Civil Rights. Nobody was much more interested in freedom than an African American. The racial tribulations and narratives documented in history are painful. They seemingly strike the people of colour today due to the legacy of slavery and segregation they succumbed to, passed from generation to generation. The African Americans suffered racial turmoil in a fascist setting that led to heroic mobilizations across the country demanding equality and justice that would ultimately shape American politics for a long time. The first initiative the blacks used since the civil war was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Civil rights in America are a long struggle, a journey of discrimination, assassination, and turmoil. Yet, today Americans can enjoy the freedom of the historical influencers who fathomed for a peaceful America. In the 1952 campaigns, Eisenhower campaigned vigorously with an assurance to promote justice and equality in his tenure. The president championed the complete desegregation of the capital. But did not put his focus on desegregating the whole country. The demand for civil rights was not easy. Many African Americans had to lose their lives through assassination. Harry Tyson Moore was a steward organizer for the NAACP and worked in Florida. He helped establish voting registration offices in rural areas to uphold the voting rights of African Americans. Due to Moore’s vocal fight for the rights of African Americans, he was assassinated. He organized and filed a lawsuit in Brevard challenging the discriminatory salaries between black and white Americans in 1937 in the South. He died in 1951 due to the Ku Klux Klan terror attack. Ralph Ellison stood tall amid the hostility of the blacks to defend his worth as a black American; he said, “I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fibre and liquids—and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible simply because people refuse to see me." Ralph published a book in 1952 titled the Invisible man' which showed courage amid the scrupulous acts of the White Supremacists. African Americans were willing to die for their freedom. African American musicians from all realms were not happy about the deprival of freedom. They took it to music to express their grievances through music. Jazz pianist and educator Dr Billy Taylor penned his song “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”. The concept of freedom was fundamental, and African Americans took all their efforts to fight for it. Medgar Evers, the first field secretary of the NAACP, was a vocalist in championing African Americans in his state Mississippi. He fought against segregation, organized protests, and promoted voter registration. Medgar was unwilling to relent until the people of color got their freedom. His story of freedom forced his death when he was bombed in 1963 while leading protests in Mississippi. The members of the NAACP faced tribulations in their struggle for civil rights. They worked at the expense of losing their lives to enjoy freedom. African Americans organized Christian rallies and prayed for their freedom. In an attempt to push for the confirmation of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, Martin Luther King, Roy Wilkins, and Roy Randolph organized a prayer pilgrimage attracting a total of 25,00 people, which today regarded as the most significant civil rights registration till today. The struggle for civil rights also included nonviolent disobedience, legal action, and black power. Jim Crow and Segregation in White America The Civil Rights Act of 157 was influenced by segregation in the United States. Segregation was a law in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. African Americans were treated as second-class citizens and deprived of their human rights of freedom and equality. In the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857), the supreme court ruled out that African Americans were not United States citizens. Racial segregation was eminent in schools, housing, medical care, transportation, employment, prisons, armed forces, and recreational facilities. The white supremacists operated under the doctrine passed in 1896 that upheld the legal separation of races following the ruling on H.A. Plessy v. J.H. Ferguson. This doctrine was regarded as "separate but equal"; hence segregation laws did not violate the constitution. The famous belief that blacks and whites cannot coexist was a norm in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Jim Crow laws established a chasm between the blacks and whites in all sectors to block coexistence. The anti-mix marriage laws were upheld since they did not violate the constitution. The Great Migration in the 19th century showed the incredible hatred of racism. Most African Americans migrated from the South towards the North, but the whites were not receptive to it. The racial segregation they experienced in the South was prevalent in the North. The Great Depression was a crisis that affected the U.S., and African Americans continued to languish in poverty. The government focused on building houses in the white communities, and few blacks enjoyed the privilege. The 1930s saw the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board conspired to the red lining of black communities, and they could not access loans and replenish themselves from poverty. Racial segregation was adverse and black activists led protests around the country to express their dismay. The segregation did not affect only politics but extended to public policy. The Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist movement, targeted black voters who wanted to be registered as voters and killed the people of colour who attempted to desegregate the country. The Civil rights movement became a cornerstone in fighting against segregation in the United States. History Attributed to the Civil Rights Act of 1957 The Abolition of slavery was a new dawn for African Americans after three amendments were passed to protect their freedom. The thirteenth amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery; the fourteenth amendment, ratified in 1868, granted them citizenship; and the fifteenth amendment, ratified in 1870, guaranteed them the right to vote. However, the enforcement of these rights failed terribly after the supreme court between 1873-1883 dismantled the work of Congress during the reconstruction era, leaving a chasm in the enforcement of civil rights. The black codes then gain accolades limiting African American progress. The leaders we