The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Bringing the People Together
Freedom for all
During the late 1900s, not everyone was accepted like they are today in America. Most people thought that being white automatically made you better than someone who is colored or a different race. However, this would soon change. Many people were beginning to fight for equal rights for everyone, and on July 2, 1964 president Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allowing colored to use the same schools, businesses, drinking fountains, and bathrooms as white. They could now vote and speak freely of what they believed in.
By: Giuliana Rokke
Ruby Bridges
No matter what race or color, everyone has the option to attend the same school. But, back when Ruby Bridges went to school, colored and white schools were separate. On November 14, 1960, Ruby attended William Frantz Elementary. All of the parents had pulled their children out of the school upon hearing that a colored girl would be attending school with their children. Out of the whole school, only one teacher agreed to stay and teach Ruby, while the rest quit and found new jobs. Ruby's decison paved the way to a better education for everyone in later years.
A Separate Country
Everyday, we use freedom that wasn't always there. We have grown so use to this, that we disregard the freedom that we have. Ordering food from a restaurant, drinking water from a drinking fountain, and going to school are just a few basic activities that did not always welcome everyone. In the 1940s- 1960s America was practically separate. If you were colored, you couldn't live, eat, or work where a white did. White children were able to use school buses, while the colored children had to walk to school. Many bathrooms were even separate.
Slavery
Imagine being teased and discriminated for who you are. Today, slavery is illegal no mater the race, skin color, or religion of anyone. This was quite different in the 1920-1940s, however. Many African Americans were taken from their homes and forced to come to America. Then they were sold from their families and forced to work harvesting tobacco, lumber, and cotton. These people went days without food, and sometimes, were even beat, starved, or worked to death.