Why Study the Civil Rights Movement?
With the election of Barrack Obama, many Americans have declared racism to be over in America. The election of the first half-African American (and half-Caucasian) is, of course, a landmark event in the push for racial equality in the United States. However, the presidency of the first African American president has also brought out some of America’s deeply held prejudices in the form of adamant opposition. In order to truly understand the issues at play, one would trace back the origins of this racial conflict to the Civil Rights Era.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is one of the most important pieces of legislation of the Civil Rights Era because it helped enforce the 14th and 15th Amendments by helping assure racial minorities the vote. Part of the legislation specifically targeted the South and any area where there had been a history of disenfranchisement of racial minorities and provided legal oversight to the process. However, in the landmark Supreme Court decision, Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Court struck down the portion of the law providing additional oversight to specific states. The majority opinion of the Supreme Court declared that the coverage formula was based on outdated data over 40 years old. Yet, in the immediate aftermath, we’ve seen several of these states enact strict voter ID laws aimed at suppressing the votes of racial minorities. It’s clear that the majority opinion on the Supreme Court did not heed the lessons of the Civil Rights Era by opening up the door for exploitative discriminatory practices.
The Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court decision is a clear-cut example of “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” While this quote has become cliché, its relevance cannot be overstated, especially in the context of Civil Rights. Today, we live in a world that offers more freedoms to more human beings than ever before, but if we don’t actively defend those freedoms they won’t remain. Though we live in a democratic society that prides itself on liberty, it is only natural for those citizens in the majority to vote for their own personal interests, which often leaves minority groups vulnerable. Today, LGBT community finds itself in the middle of its own civil rights movement. The landmark Supreme Court case of Obergefell v. Hodges ruled that gay marriage be legalized throughout the United States. However, there are still plenty of civil rights issues where LGBT members are left vulnerable. Again, we look back to the Civil Rights Movement for African Americans and see that the path to equality started in the court of public opinion before entering the political and legal arenas to do battle.
When students study the Civil Rights Era, they’re being exposed not just to charismatic leaders, like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, but the foot soldiers who marched from Selma, Alabama to the Nation’s Capitol in support of the movement. It is vital for students to understand the struggle these average Americans went through in order to provide the freedoms in which we take for granted today.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is one of the most important pieces of legislation of the Civil Rights Era because it helped enforce the 14th and 15th Amendments by helping assure racial minorities the vote. Part of the legislation specifically targeted the South and any area where there had been a history of disenfranchisement of racial minorities and provided legal oversight to the process. However, in the landmark Supreme Court decision, Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Court struck down the portion of the law providing additional oversight to specific states. The majority opinion of the Supreme Court declared that the coverage formula was based on outdated data over 40 years old. Yet, in the immediate aftermath, we’ve seen several of these states enact strict voter ID laws aimed at suppressing the votes of racial minorities. It’s clear that the majority opinion on the Supreme Court did not heed the lessons of the Civil Rights Era by opening up the door for exploitative discriminatory practices.
The Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court decision is a clear-cut example of “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” While this quote has become cliché, its relevance cannot be overstated, especially in the context of Civil Rights. Today, we live in a world that offers more freedoms to more human beings than ever before, but if we don’t actively defend those freedoms they won’t remain. Though we live in a democratic society that prides itself on liberty, it is only natural for those citizens in the majority to vote for their own personal interests, which often leaves minority groups vulnerable. Today, LGBT community finds itself in the middle of its own civil rights movement. The landmark Supreme Court case of Obergefell v. Hodges ruled that gay marriage be legalized throughout the United States. However, there are still plenty of civil rights issues where LGBT members are left vulnerable. Again, we look back to the Civil Rights Movement for African Americans and see that the path to equality started in the court of public opinion before entering the political and legal arenas to do battle.
When students study the Civil Rights Era, they’re being exposed not just to charismatic leaders, like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, but the foot soldiers who marched from Selma, Alabama to the Nation’s Capitol in support of the movement. It is vital for students to understand the struggle these average Americans went through in order to provide the freedoms in which we take for granted today.