The Beginning of Change The Civil Rights Acts The Beginning of Change

Civil Rights Acts Between 1866 and 1875, Congress passed several civil rights acts to enforce the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. This allowed the federal government to impose heavy penalties for violations.

Civil Rights Acts contd. The Civil Rights Act of 1866: This act granted black citizens equal rights to contract, to sue and be sued, to marry, travel, and own property. It made all citizens subject to "like punishment, pains and penalties." The Reconstruction Act of 1867: This act allowed former slaves to participate fully in the political arena. As a result, African Americans sat in constitutional conventions, helped draft state constitutions, and supported new comprehensive programs for state education in the South.

Civil Rights Acts contd. The Enforcement Act of 1870: This act stated that all citizens otherwise qualified to vote in any election should not be denied the vote because of race. The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871: This act was intended to protect black citizens against intimidation by illegal action, such as by the KKK, in cases where states could not, or would not, provide protection.

Civil Rights Acts contd. The Civil Rights Act of 1875: This act entitled all persons the "full and equal enjoyment" of public accommodations, such as hotels, transportation or theaters. It granted blacks the right to sue for personal damages, and allowed any qualified person to serve as a juror. This was the last piece of civil rights legislation passed by the United States Congress until 1957.

Education African Americans faced great disadvantages in education, beginning during slavery when it was illegal for them to read or write, into the era of Jim Crow, when they were forbidden to attend school with white children. Separate schools, common after the Civil War, were legalized in the late 19th Century.

Education contd. Schools and facilities for black students rarely equaled those for white. The cramped, unheated rooms often lacked water, plumbing, textbooks, paper or other teaching supplies.

Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka Grassroots civil rights had been waged for years, but this 1954 Supreme Court decision overturning legal segregation was the first significant legal victory. Thurgood Marshall was the attorney who won this case. Allowed black students into white school and vice-a-versa.

The Movement 1950’s and 1960’s

Rosa Parks By refusing to give her seat to a white person on a bus ride home she started a movement for equality. There was a boycotting of city busses in Montgomery, Al.

Rosa Parks contd. This one action brought the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King Jr. to the attention of American households.

Martin Luther King Jr. “Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.“ How was this quote put into action by King?

The March on Washington August 28, 1963 Brought together whites and blacks for the same cause Called for legislation to include public accommodations, decent housing, integrated education and the right to vote.

What is Being Done Today The New Movement What is Being Done Today

Racial boundaries crossed Racial incidents and the public debate over welfare reform and affirmative action continue to engage Americans to ask questions about race. The 1992 riots in the wake of the verdict in the Rodney King beating trial were the first signs of racial imbalance.

Million Man March in 1995 and 2003 April 1, 2003 Was in support of upholding what Brown v. the Board of Education had accomplished so long ago. Lead by the Organization to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration & Immigration Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary