The Civil Rights Movement in the USA

One of the most significant elements of the civil right movement is the voting rights act of 1965. This was another act that particularly southern leaders like Martin Luther King, John Lewis (who was beaten pretty badly when marching to Selma) pushing for voting and equality was not included in the Civil Rights Act like equal opportunities in terms of voting, but they do get that pass in 1965 and one of the important clauses in that voting right act was a clause that said for the states, that had a history of disenfranchisement of black voters If they had made any major changes to their laws, to their district then they would have to get federal approval before making those changes. That is the part of the voting right act that has been taken out by the Supreme Court in the last few years and people have been talking about it more and more.

It also gave people from a lower background the opportunity to participate in election as they had been excluded from such opportunities, rights that were granted and the freedom that was achieved. Secondly, I decided to write about these supreme court cases, one of them is called Michelin vs. Oklahoma. This case was against the University of Oklahoma, it is about admitting African Americans to their undergrad programs, but the students weren't allowed to sit in the classrooms. The students had to sit in the hallway which was a drawback to their education. The court completely disagreed with that and said if you are going to admit students into the school, you must allow them to sit in an integrated classroom. That was a good victory.

This sets a precedent for the next step which is the desegregation of public schools and that comes with the court case called the Brown vs. Board of Education. It has to do with a family in Topeka, Kansas. This family lived in a neighborhood which was mostly white. The father was a Reverend, Oliver Brown and their daughter had to go to a segregated all white school. It was not about distance, it was about being able to go to school in her neighborhood with her peers in her own neighborhood.

When the case reached the Supreme Court, the chief justice recognized the case genuine and decided to take the decision with consistency, that everyone, all the judges in the court either should vote in favor around and vote to desegregate public schools or they should all vote against it and say it is totally constitutional. By this point Earl Warren has already voted in favor of other civil right matters and it was very clear that he wanted the decision in-favor of brown and vote towards the desegregation of public school. But he made sure that this be a unanimous decision. A good step in the right direction towards the civil rights and desegregation.

I chose each of these as I thought they were important improvements in the right direction, and they reflect what I believe in and have value in as a Citizen of the United States.

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