The Civil Rights Act of 1957: Laying the Groundwork for Racial Equality

Abstract

Civil Rights Act of 1957 [Name] HIST4397 [Name] November 30, 2022 The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was 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 in the twentieth century. It was legislation to end segregation deeply rooted in White America. The White Supremacists denied African Americans equality and they 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 9 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 law'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 Rights legislation in American society. 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 limited African American progress. The leaders were also racists and did not want progressive legislation to counter discrimination. The passing of the Civil Rights Bill in the senate became very difficult due to the leader's provocations to hinder civil rights legislation. The Senator of South Carolina used a filibuster to create a magical twist for the people to change their minds against passing the Civil Rights Act bill 1957. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was a call to ban racial discrimination in public institutions, but it only lasted until 1883, when it was nullified. The Jim crow laws became a custom and racial segregation became a norm. The 1890s saw African Americans lose their voting rights through white primary, poll taxes, and literacy tests. The Civil Rights Act led to the formation of the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice, a Civil Rights Commission in the Executive Branch, and the broadening of federal authority in determining lawsuits. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was influenced by segregation in the United States. Segregation was a law the emerged in the United States in nineteenth century. 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 United States Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not United States citizens. Racial segregation was common in schools, housing, medical care, transportation, employment, prisons, 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 eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Jim Crow laws established a chasm between blacks and whites in all sectors of society. The anti-mix marriage laws were upheld since they did not violate the constitution. The Great Migration in the nineteenth 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 also prevalent in the North. Even after fifty years of the passage of the 15th Amendment, blacks still found it difficult to exercise their voting right in their government. The fight for suffrage rights was a long struggle due to the continuous intimidation and poll taxes. Black women tried to form political societies and attended conventions to discuss the right to vote but were met with reappraisal for the National Women Suffrage Rights Convention. Their voting was a struggle; in 1920, some black women selectively voted and held political offices despite discrimination and limited freedoms from various states. 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 color who attempted to desegregate the country. The Civil rights movement became a cornerstone in fighting against segregation in the United States. Nobody was more interested in freedom than African Americans. The racial tribulations and narratives documented in history are painful. They seemingly strike the people of color 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 modern society that was created by those who fought for a peaceful America. The demand for civil rights was not easy. Many African Americans had to lose their lives during the struggle. 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 a Ku Klux Klan terror attack. Ralph Ellison stood tall amid the hostility of those who challenged his worth as a black American; he said, “I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids—and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible simply because people refuse to see me." Ellison published a book in 1952 entitled Invisible Man, which showed courage amid the acts of the White Supremacists. African American musicians from all realms were not happy about being deprived of their freedom. They took to music to express their grievances. 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 it took all African Americans’ effort to fight for it. Medgar Evers, the first field secretary of the NAACP, was vocal in championing African Americans in his state of 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. The struggle for freedom continued despite many difficulties by white supremacists who believed in the separate but equal doctrine. They did not want race mixing and made the states relent by encouraging the provision of the same services in separate institutions. In the 1950s, a new shade of light arose. The Jim Crow laws and the Black codes were still effective. The South was still a hotbed for discrimination, segregation, and civil rights denial. Voter qualification tests were still used to disqualify African Americans from boasting about their suffrage rights. Racial segregation was intense in America. In the 1952 presidential race, Eisenhower campaigned vigorously with an assurance to promote justice and equality during his tenure. The president championed the complete desegregation of the capital, but he did not put his focus on desegregating the whole country. African Americans played a significant role in the second world war and could no longer feel comfortable living in a country they had fought for as second-class citizens. The 1950s was a championing era where the nation rose against inequality and prejudice. President Eisenhower could not ignore the wave and cry of African Americans. He knew what was happening and the discriminatory state of the people of color. The concept of civil rights was polarizing, and the government needed to take action. He presided and conferred with the case of Brown vs Board of education, stirring civil rights movements. However, Eisenhower’s presidency was criticized as clouded with moderate opinions. He did not support either side fully and kept his opinions to his thoughts. However, he respected the Supreme Court verdict on the case of segregation. Rosa Parks, a black woman of resolute refused to give up her seat to a white woman in Alabama; the aftermath was arrest. The scene sparked a lot of attention and protests from African Americans, leading to the evolution of the Civil Rights Movement. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.… We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." — Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, a renowned 26-year-old activist, led the protests and boycotted the Montgomery buses. The city, however, did not comply even after the protests from the African Americans. A considerable population of bus riders in Montogomery was African American, but the law of segregation continued despite the boycott. In the South, racism was customary. Non-white students were told that they were inferior beings and that the whites were their superiors. However, the 1896 doctrine of separate and equal was put to an end in 1954. In the early 1950s, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) fought to end segregation in schools in states such as South Carolina and Delaware. The commission encouraged black parents to enroll their children in all-white schools, but their intentions and wishes were declined. What gained accolades is the famous case of Oliver Brown. He sued the Board of Education in [City, State], for denying his daughter an opportunity in the all-white elementary school. Brown argued that equality in schools under the 14th amendment was infringed, and the equal protection laws were not served right. The judgment of the case was very divisive due to the different opinions on the separate but equal doctrine. In 1954, the case received a unanimous decision from the judges, alluding that the separation of white and black students was inherently unequal and violated the constitution. It violated equal protection and the due clauses. The case was a landmark in opening doors for the civil rights movement in the 1950s and the 1960s. The case inspired other public facilities other than schools that segregation was not permissible in public schools. The story of desegregation was met with repulsion from the white supremacists. The Southern states termed the supreme verdict an abuse of the judicial law. In a television broadcast held on the 23rd of May 1954, Illinois and Texas senators Paul Douglas and Price Daniells criticized the ruling that it was pervasive for the courts to subvert the judicial law. The excerpt from the NCB exercise was obtained from the NCB broadcast, American Forum of the Air: The Supreme Court’s Desegregation Decision. Despite President Dwight's call regarding the Supreme court decision, the white supremacists did not relent in closing schools and defying the court order. It was a watershed light on the Brown vs Board of education case, but it took America decades to abide by the supreme court ruling. Finally, there was integration. At the dawn of 5 June 1956, the Montgomery federal Court ruled that the Rosa Parks case was against the United States Constitution’s 14th amendment. The laws were passed after the civil war, where all citizens were granted equal protection rights regardless of race. The integration ended the boycott in Alabama. However, the supreme court ruling was not enacted immediately since the white supremacists were reluctant to follow the law. Segregated bus stops still prevailed. Leaders and churches were bombed by the Ku Klux Klan group elevated by the white supremacists. The Montgomery Bus boycott heightened Martin Luther King’s reputation on a global scale, fighting civil rights legislation. In 1939, reforms in the federal interventions on enacting civil rights began a journey that saw the eventuality of the passing of the Civil Right Act of 1957. The Civil Rights Act Bill of 1957 was introduced by Attorney General Herbert Brownell, who played a significant role in shaping the passing of the Bill. President Eisenhower’s administration also propelled the passing of the Bill. The Bill was divided into four parts which include the following; I. Creating a commission within an executive branch to investigate the violation of Civil Rights. II. creating an assistant attorney general on civil rights. It led to the heightening of the ranks of the Department of Justice, a section of Civil Rights to the Civil Rights Division III. Proposed broadening the language of authority in justice departments to enhance the enforcement of civil rights in criminal and civil proceedings. IV. Protection of voting rights. The attorney was authorized to bring civil lawsuits and court orders causing the infringement of voting rights. The Bill engendered a serious debate. It was voted for overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives with a vote of 286 against 126. The Southern Democrats significantly opposed the passing of the Bill and became an obstacle to achieving Civil Rights suffrage rights. Through their leader, Senator Richard Russell of Georgia, many argued that the Bill would not pass in the senate due to the support base that the senators had against the Bill. The 1957 legislation was a very crucial matter for the future of the democracy of the country and the nearing general election in 1960. There was a necessity to pass the Bill, and the majority leader of the Senate Lyndon B. Johnson was aware of the impending critics surrounding the Bill. Most southern senators were not convinced about the civil rights bill due to the fear of race mixing. The Bill was a dilemma to many senators since most of their constituents were racists and would not view the passage of the Bill on civil rights as fit in the public domain. Senator Rusell scrutinized the context of the Bill on the 2nd of July 1957. he changed the thoughts of many senators against the Bill. The senator's speech was calculated to win votes to certify part IV of the Bill. As recommended in part III, the senator did not have broad authorization for influencing criminal investigations and civil lawsuits. Rusell referred to the Civil Rights Act of 1866, where the federal government enacted the armed forces to use power in...