Introduction
America’s struggle for racial equality and civil rights has resulted in victories and disappointments. The primary roots of this conflict are the nation’s tragic history of slavery, institutional racism, and lasting white supremacist notions that have continuously oppressed and dehumanized Black Americans and other ethnic minorities. The civil rights movement, from slavery’s cruelty to its success, exemplifies the tenacity and resolve of those who battled for justice and a more equitable society. Despite key progress, such as the end of slavery, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Brown v. Board of Education decision, the ramifications of centuries of marginalization and oppression persist in American society. The essay argues that systematic inequalities and racial discrimination still exist in American culture despite advancements in civil rights and racial equality, necessitating continued efforts to eliminate prejudices, advance balanced opportunities, and build an inclusive country.
Events
Reconstruction
Reconstruction began in 1865 when the Confederacy surrendered in the Civil War and ended in 1877. It aimed to admit and rebuild the Southern states while providing rights for the emancipated Black society. The 13th Amendment in 1865 abolished slavery, while the 14th Amendment, passed in 1868, gave Americans citizenship and equality. [1]
The 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870, giving black males the right to vote. During the presidential era of Reconstruction (1865-1867), the Southern states were readmitted without any amendment to the 13th Amendment. Radical Republicans ushered in the era of Congressional Reconstruction (1867-1877), as old state governments were dissolved and new rights were written into their constitutions.
Reconstruction was marked by the first free and fair elections in the South, which included Black voters and some Black men elected into Congress and state offices. However, there were severe reactions from Southern whites and terrorist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan to Reconstruction reforms. Southern white people reestablished the traditional conservative Democratic states marked by Jim Crow segregation after the Compromise of 1877, which resulted in the withdrawal of federal soldiers from the South.
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that were used in the Southern part of the United States from the end of Reconstruction in 1877 until the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. They required separate public facilities for black and white Americans, such as schools, restaurants, and bathrooms. The idea was to provide separate but equal public services; however, services to African Americans were inadequately financed and poorly rendered. There were Jim Crow laws that went as far as requiring separate railway compartments, prohibiting interracial marriages, segregating public gardens and burial grounds, and preventing blacks from carrying out their jury service or serving in state militias.
Jim Crow’s requirement of segregation of the races perpetuated anti-black racism, discrimination, and racial subordination, thereby bypassing the 14th and 15th Amendments, which guaranteed equal rights irrespective of race. [2] Significant Supreme Court judgments like Plessy v. Ferguson of 1896 legally approved the segregation laws that created a second-class realm for African Americans. This led to the spread of biases against black people and subjugation in the southern states till the civil rights movement won through its integration efforts and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is one of the US’s oldest and most influential civil rights organizations. This nongovernmental organization was founded in 1909 in New York City to achieve political, educational, social, and economic equality for all persons and to eliminate racial discrimination. It was created by an interracial group, including W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, and Mary White Ovington, in response to the continued racial violence and Jim Crow laws.
The early legal cases overturned Oklahoma law, and the 1915 case that resulted in several cities prohibiting the public screening of D.W. Griffith’s racist movie “The Birth of a Nation.” [3] The NAACP’s Legal Division prevailed in the challenge to segregation in cases such as Missouri ex rel Gaines in Canada in 1838 and Smith in Allwright. The Brown v. Board of Education case, by the NAACP Litigation Squad in 1954, which ended school segregation, was one of the landmark cases. The NAACP also organized the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott and supported the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the 1960s civil rights movement.
Court Cases
Dred Scott
The case of Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) revolved around Dred Scott, an enslaved person in Missouri. Dred Scott sued his owner’s wife after the owner’s death for his freedom. Although Scott lost the case in the state courts, it was brought to the United States Supreme Court eleven years later. The case is fraught with many controversial constitutional issues. Queries that may be raised are about whether the enslaved person can sue in federal courts even after residing in a free state, or whether the government will deny the right to enslave people.
The court ran the verdict in favor of Stanford, which stated that Dred Scott was enslaved and the government could not take him away. [4] The reasons for the defeat of Dred Scott led to protests against the government and the court. The case was overturned after the 13th and 15th amendments.
Civil Rights Act of 1833
Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1833 at the end of Reconstruction, which prohibited any association or group from imposing racial segregation. This act made the whites in the United States of America view civil rights as an invasion of their personal freedom. The case dealt with the end of private segregation. The court held that the civil rights laws were unconstitutional and that the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments granted Congress no powers to enact laws on racial segregation. [1] The civil rights case is essential in the journey to freedom since it gave a legal basis for the Plessy v. Ferguson case of 1896, which asserted equal protection under the law for black people.
Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case overthrew the Plessy v.Ferguson case in 1896 in the education sector. The Plessy v. Ferguson case 1896 supported separate but equal, which was inappropriate for the education system. The plaintiff, Brown, maintained that the segregation of educational facilities by race violated the rights of African American children. [5] The Chief Justice ruled in favor of Brown and clarified that segregation in education equals the denial of equal protection of rights. The case was a landmark in the abolition of discrimination in public education.
People Concerned with Civil Activities
Many prominent leaders gave their voices to stand up for civil rights in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. was an incredible and smooth voice for black people. He had the 1963 Washington March, where he announced an ‘I Have a Dream’ statement, which is popular today. [6] Martin Luther King told people they should not give up the fight because there would come a time when people would have freedom.
Another leader was Earle B. Dickerson, who opposed racial prejudice in the housing section. He allied himself with groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Additionally, there was Rev. Oliver Brown, who believed in equal rights for people of color and brought the Brown v. Board of Education case to Topeka. He supported equal education in the public school system.
American Attitudes and Opinions Regarding Race
Many years have passed since the slave trade was outlawed, and many American residents have differing views on racial issues. The white population makes up the bulk of the population. Minority populations like Blacks and Hispanics are protected by the Constitution, just like White people are. Nonetheless, a lot of Americans assert that people of color are not treated equally to white people.
Frank Newport’s research indicates that 18% of Black Americans are satisfied with the way they are treated in the United States. [3] The report says Americans’ optimism about racial relations was lower in previous decades. The perceived difference between whites and blacks is, nonetheless, negligible. Americans assert that institutionalized discrimination and segregation have not yet been eradicated from the nation.
Personal Reflection
We have reached a level where racial equality and civil rights are at their best in the US, but we still have to do much work to achieve a state of equity and justice where all are equally treated. Legal defenses that discriminate against people have emerged in areas such as education, workplaces, and housing, which were previously denied to many people of color. The election of our first black president and the rise of diversity in places of power and leadership in different sectors have been manifested during this time. Social undertakings aimed at eradicating discrimination and promoting fair representation have made it possible for minority points of view to be heard.
Nevertheless, the insidious impact of centuries of systemic racism is still present. The continued disparity in areas such as wealth, health outcomes, incarceration rates, and education based on race is appalling and alarming. Unspoken prejudices continue to serve as a hidden cause of discrimination. The most visible acts of police oppression and hate crimes are proof that the racist beliefs that lead to violence persist. Debates centered on contentious topics such as voting rights, affirmative action, and teaching racial history emphasize the lack of consensus.
Conclusion
Considerable progress has been achieved in improving race relations between the Reconstruction phase and the present. Numerous events during the Reconstruction era greatly aided the advancement of the US’s civil rights and racial relations. Without the tireless work of activists like Rev. Oliver Brown, Malcolm X, Earl B. Dickerson, and Martin Luther King Jr., the events leading to the civil rights of all racial groups would not have been possible. Compared to a century ago, racial relations have improved. But there are still racial issues in the social and legal systems that require addressing.
This image is an advertisement for Dove beauty products. It tackles the story of a woman turning from black to white after using Dove products. It contributes to linking whiteness with beauty and promoting whitening or changing one’s skin tone as good. This is based on racist ideologies and oppressive standards of beauty that are pushed on communities of color. It reinforces the era in which the promotion of skin-lightening or whitening cosmetics encouraged the internalization of racism and the segregation of darker skin tones. In such messaging, people start to feel guilty for their natural skin color, and they want to harmonize with white beauty norms that are presented as inspirational, which causes harm to the members of minority communities. From a civil rights perspective, imagery depicting a “transformation” to whiteness is a modern manifestation of the systemic devaluation of blackness in America, reinforced by racist policies, societal biases, and a lack of positive identity representation.
References
[1] Geeta N Kapur, Race, Law, and the Struggle for Racial Equality in the U.S. (Aspen Publishing, 2024).
[2] Zeki Edis, “History of Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws,” Social Mentality and Researcher Thinker’s Journal 5, no. 26 (2019), 2030.
[3] Clarissa Peterson and Emmitt Y. Riley, Racial Attitudes in America Today: One Nation Still Divided (New York, NY: Routledge, 2022).
[4] DeVaughn Jones, “Judicial Racism and Judicial Antiracism: Retelling the Dred Scott Story,” SSRN Electronic Journal 21, no. 5 (2020), 6.
[5] Jerell B. Hill, “Culture and Conversation: Rethinking Brown v. Board of Education a Postponed Commitment to Educational Equality,” Journal of Education and Learning 10, no. 2 (2021), 20.
[6] Martin Luther King Jr., “Martin Luther King Jr. On the Black Revolution of 1968,” Kalfou 2, no. 1 (2019), 3.