The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Kaley Steenstra Northwest Christian High School English III Ms. Sharpnack February 27, 2022 Abstract This paper will be talking about the impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It explains how the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 came to be and why it was made. It describes the difficulties that African Americans experienced and how they lived before the act. For example, African Americans dealt with segregation and discrimination based on the color of their skin. The effects of this act have greatly impacted America and given African Americans their rights and freedoms. Not only does this paper explain the background of this act, but this paper will also look into what the Bible teaches humans being made in his image. …show more content…
Long before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fifthteenth Amendment, of 1870, states that all citizens, no matter the race, have the equal opportunity and right to vote (Cayton, et al., 1995). According to this article, the Fifthteenth Amendment was created to help fix issues between races such as equal opportunities and rights. Not only was there discrimination in this time, but there was segregation everywhere. Civil rights, let alone voting rights, for African Americans were unthought of. African Americans, during this time period, were thought of as property and nothing more. In addition, in 1866 and 1870 two Civil Rights Acts were passed with the intent of giving African Americans the right to vote and equal legal protection, as well as citizenship (Siracusa, 2022). In the 1800s, half of society started pushing for legal rights for African Americans because they recognized that slavery was wrong and a person is a person no matter their color or ethnicity. The other half of society was pushing back because they wanted to keep their slaves. This caused tension about the Civil Rights Movement and whether African Americans should be considered as citizens. These acts and amendments were the first few steps to changing how society looks at individuals with different ethnic …show more content…
It is clear throughout Genesis that humans are created in the image of God (The Holy Bible, ESV, 2001/2016, Genesis 1:27). Since this is so, one can see how no matter the race, color, or size of a person they deserve equal rights. God says that we are created in his image therefore we are perfectly and wonderfully made. If everyone is created in the image of God, then African Americans should not be treated any differently than the rest of society. Then, Galatians 3:28 goes on to say that no matter the gender or background, everyone is one in Christ (The Holy Bible, ESV, 2001/2016). Therefore, there is no discrimination in Christ, as Christians are brothers and sisters. If God does not discriminate, then people should not discriminate either. African Americans should be given the same rights as anyone else because they are people too. The Bible does address human rights, stating that everyone is made in the image of