Civil Rights Essay, Research Paper

?I have a dream?.that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin?.but by the content of their character?.I have a dream today?? ? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King?s ?I have a dream? is one of the most well known speeches in American history. It emphasizes an ideal America where there is no prejudice, no hate, where everyone is equal. In the heat of the moment during that overwhelming march on Washington, his dream sounds plausible. Even today, the speech sounds noble and impressive. But is it a realistic dream? If you want to get technical, a dream is usually a far off fantasy of something you?d like to see come true. You dream about being rich one day. You dream of meeting the perfect man/woman. Dreams idealize the way you think things should be. You can pass all the civil rights laws you want. But you cannot change the way people feel about other people. And once again, equality becomes a dream.

Let?s take a look at the aftermath of the American Civil War. During the years of Reconstruction, a soon to be infamous group known as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) made it?s first appearance. The northerners were in favor of hunting down and killing every member of the KKK for the atrocities they committed against newly freed slaves. However, Margaret Mitchell?s famous novel, Gone With the Wind, offers a different and, in my opinion, slightly skewed justification of the KKK.

?But these ignominies and dangers were as nothing compared with the peril of white women?.bereft?.of male protection. It was the large number of outrages on women and the?.fear for the safety of their wives and daughters that drove Southern men to cold and trembling fury and caused the Ku Klux Klan to spring up overnight. And it was against this nocturnal organization that the newspapers of the North cried out most loudly, never realizing the tragic necessity that brought it into being.? This passage attempts to give dignity to a group of southern white males who are feeling threatened by the fact that slaves are free and have been given the same rights as they.

Between 1861- 1865, a number of amendments were made to the Constitution in an attempt to ensure the rights of newly freed slaves. The Thirteenth Amendment granted freedom to the slaves. The Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed equal protection under the law. And the Fifteenth Amendment stated that voting rights could not be abridged on account of race. (Sidlow, Henschen, 116). All the problems are now solved for black people, right? Not so fast.

Even though blacks are legally equal to white people now, Southerners still consider blacks to be lower than them. The South starts passing segregation laws, known as ?Jim Crow? laws. Blacks can?t eat at the same restaurants, go to the same schools or even walk through the same doors as white people. In 1896, the separate but equal doctrine was established. Segregation was okay as long nobody?s facilities were better or worse than the others? were. Still, blacks and whites are living separately from each other with white people running the scene. And the average southern white guy?s opinion of black people is the same as it was in 1820, long before slavery was abolished: We are superior beings, they aren?t really people at all, and can?t handle the enormity of freedom.

The laws have changed, the Southerners don?t give a rat?s you-know-what and their opinion stays the same.

You see this again in the civil rights movement of the 1950?s and 1960?s, led primarily by a young minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. Beginning when a woman named Rosa Parks refused to stand on an Alabama bus so a white passenger could sit down, this was by far the most influential civil rights movements in American history. Among events occurring during this movement was a year-long boycott of Montgomery, Alabama?s bus system, a number of nonviolent protests and a few violent confrontations. In result of this movement, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Among its major provisions were:

#61607; The outlaw of discrimination in public places

#61607; Federal funding could be withheld from any organization that discriminated.

#61607; Discrimination in employment was against the law.

(Sidlow, Henschen, 120)

But even though this significant legislation was passed, on a personal level, things stayed the almost the same. Just because there were no more ?Colored Only? signs hanging everywhere, most areas in the south were either predominantly white or black. Just because black people can now use the same facilities as white people, doesn?t mean it?s comfortable to do so. It?s not very pleasant to be black and walk into a restaurant with 99% white patrons and have to deal with getting rude service or eat in an awkward environment. My dad just recently took a business trip to Louisiana, and it?s not safe for a white person to walk through certain areas of Monroe. There are some places you just don?t go because the racial dynamics are too dangerous. Even though segregation was abolished in 1964, it still exists in a big way.

When you look at it, people will keep on hating the same people no matter how much legislation you pass to prevent that. The KKK is stronger today than it ever has been in the past, white people still don?t go for a stroll through a black neighborhood in Louisiana, and with an overwhelming amount of white supremacy promotion sights on the internet, things haven?t changed much, save technology, since 1864.