The civil rights era was a time that was marked by intense emotion, turmoil, and change. Below is a summary of the Documentary, the voices of Civil Rights, the personal effect, and its impact on the current society.
The era of the Civil Rights, which was between the 1950s extending to the 1960s was a period through which the Black Americans were much segregated and they did not know what it was like to enjoy the full rights of the American society since it was like there were two Americas, the White Americans and Black Americans. Black Americans faced much discrimination and separation. During that period, there was no mingling of the two races. The White Americans lived on top of the hill while the Black Americans lived at the bottom, where those working for White Americans were ferried by bus to and from their areas of work. They were referred to as Negros (Chan, 2016). They were isolated from numerous good things such as eating from restaurants, accessing libraries, accessing the theatres. Hence, most of amenities for Native Americans were separate from those of black Americans, such as separate theatres and schools among others. There were white only and colored only signs to show what were meant for the white and that for the Black Americans; for instance, Black Americans were supposed to sit at the back of the bus. The end of segregation that led to the integration of schools was welcomed with protests from white children and jeers from parents. The children walked up to the city hall while demonstrating and the beat up the black American children. The Black American children had to be escorted and protected by federal police while going to school. The protests went on for an entire school year. Some white parents withdrew their children from the integrated schools. Black Americans were not even allowed to register for voting (Chan, 2016). At around 1963, the black Americans decided to protest in an attempt to fight for their freedom, which in this case was a fight for equal civil rights (Chan, 2016). Thus, they took to the streets. Most of them were arrested while others were beaten up for participating in the protests. Segregation was so evident and even Native Americans did want to be served by Black Americans. For instance, after the integration of hospitals, a Native American refused Doxie Whitfield, a nurse by then, to look after his wife (Chan, 2016). He took his wife away from the hospital and this led to her death.However, despite all the racism, Angie Buck’s concludes by saying that people should not dwell on the past and that on should nit judge a person based on their color since what matters is the content of one’s character.
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Out of all the stories of the people who lived through the civil rights era, the story that had the greatest impact was that where Hugo Owens, took his children to the public library. However, the librarian denied them accessof checking out a book. The reason given by the librarian was that they were supposed to borrow books from their little colored library, the Portsmouth Community Library (Chan, 2016). As a result, he consulted a law firm and filed a suit against the city. The judge ruled in his favor stating that taxes paid meant that amenities should be accessed by any tax-paying citizen regardless of their race. Hence, the judge gave the city the option of either closing down the library or they let any citizen access the library. This incident shows clearly the discrimination and racism that was present during that period. In addition, the way that Hugo Owens handles the situation is so mature and appropriate since he did not try to lead people in a riot, but instead he sought fought for his rights and those of others in a lawful manner.
Events from the documentary show the organized efforts by Black Americans aimed at ending discrimination and acquiring equal rights. This led to the civil rights movement that ended in the late 1960s. Thus, the civil rights movement led to evolution of the law leading to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that banned segregation of people based on their race and color in workplaces schools and other public areas. This led to the protection of every American’s constitutional rights regardless of their race or color. Therefore, the civil rights movement led to the abolition of segregation and prohibition of discrimination. This has an effect in current events and there are numerous changes in the area of civil rights. The removal of the discrimination has led to various to the improvement in social and economic mobility for Black Americans across the nation. All citizens have equal rights in the access of resources. Further, there are very few cases of discrimination during employment, and everyone has equal voting rights. The Civil Rights Act led to the legislation of various civil rights for the Black American, and other minority groups. For instance, women, low-income families, religious minorities, and Black Americans have equal chances of accessing resources. In addition, African-Americans have equal housing rights while there is a law that protects all citizens with disabilities. There has been tremendous advancement of Civil rights and the country has continued to shape the definition of equal rights and opportunities.
In conclusion, an assessment done to prove the way the Civil Rights Act has helped it is evident that still a number of Americans have not embraced the notion that all citizens are entitled to the equal civil rights. Thus, I feel that the government should make changes that teach people to embrace equal race relations, civil rights,and liberties.
References
Chan, A. M. (26 Oct 2016). Voices of Civil Rights . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJXwMnko57U
