Impact of the Civil Rights Movement
by Zachary Huddleston
How the Civil Rights Movement affected the U.S. back then and today
The civil rights movement helped to convince Congress to pass civil right statutes. These include Title VI of the Civil Rights of 1964 which prohibits race, color and national origin discrimination. Congress also passed the Twenty-Fourth Amendment which abolished the poll tax which allowed all Americans living in poverty, including Southern Blacks, to vote without spending money they don't have. President Johnson and Congress worked together to pass the Kennedy Civil Rights Bill which was a huge step to removing racial discrimination. The 50-mile march from Selma to Montgomery, which was attacked by state troopers and then protected by National Guardsmen and Military Police, deployed by President Johnson, helped urge Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965. President Johnson also wanted to ensure that African-American workers were treated properly in the workplace so he gave an order that forced government contracted businesses had to hire women and minorities and treat them equal to other employees. President Nixon continued the order and caused thousands of employers to have to meet quotas or set aside a specific number of contracts for minorities, he also made it where colleges and universities had to admit a certain number of minority applicants.
Tactics of the Civil Rights Movement
Every tactic used by the CRM was non-violent and meant to show that they were willing to do whatever it took to gain the rights they deserved, except fight physically. The tactics included sit-ins, blockades, boycotts, marches, speeches, meetings, etc. More than half of their protests were attacked by either police, white supremacists, or the KKK.
Police brutality during the Civil Rights Movement
This shows police dragging away a civil rights protester, this was common during this time when police were expected to be on the side of "the people" (a.k.a. whites) and they tried to keep protesters from spreading their message but instead enforced it to the government who saw how the blacks were being beaten by they people meant to protect them.
More police brutality
Police would use police dogs to attack protesters, during the Freedom Riders and Project C attempts by the CRM, as ordered by the Commissioner of Public Safety in Birmingham, Bull Connor, who sided with segregation and wanted to keep the protesters away from the Birmingham.
Firefighters attacking protesters
Bull Connor also ordered that fire hoses be used against the protesters, whether they were men, women or children.
Music of the Civil Rights Movement
"Can't Turn Me 'Round" (Civil Rights Song) performed by The Roots
THE STAPLE SINGERS -"Freedom Highway" (1965)
Sweet Honey In The Rock - Eye On The Prize
Groups created for and by the Civil Rights Movement
To enforce the Civil Rights Bill of 1964, the Government created the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This banned all discrimination and became known as Title VII as well as causing many southern businesses to desegregate. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded by influential whites to help the CRM, many of the members were white so they helped the group in secret and many of them even used different names to remain anonymous to outside sources. COFO (Council of Federated Organizations) was made up of several smaller CRM groups including SNCC, CORE, SCLC, and many others and it fought for the right to vote for blacks.