Freedom Riders Essay

769 Words4 Pages

A bus boycott, Freedom Riders, a march on Washington. Only three of the many protests that took place because our country was unable to recognize the need for equality for everyone. In 1964, after years of discrimination and segregation, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This Act terminated segregation of race, color, religion, gender, and nationality. This act, proposed by John F. Kennedy, was officially signed into law on July 2, 1964 under the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed to regulate and end segregation. This law entailed an equal voting right for everyone, blacks and whites. In addition, it prohibited discrimination of public places, trade unions, schools, and by employers in the …show more content…

The Civil Rights Act was a significant case of this. Johnson faced the resistance from numerous Republicans and Southern Democrats. Many southerners argued that the bill was unconstitutionally seizing individuals liberties and the rights of states. In addition, much discussion surrounded adding the word “sex.” This word was added at the last moment, because not many focused on the rights of gender. Representative Howard W. Smith added this word because he supported and worked with the National Women’s Party. However, critics argued that Smith was a southerner who opposed the act, and that he proposed this idea in hopes that the entire bill would be killed, which is called a “poison pill.” Therefore, in addition to the entire bill being argued against, many individual parts of it were surrounded with much controversy. After the law was enforced, several people continued to oppose it. One incident occurred when an owner of a hotel in Atlanta refused to rent to African Americans. This owner argued that Congress did not have the authority under the U.S. Constitution to ban segregation in public places. And although this case went to court, the Supreme Court rejected the argument. This situation shows how many were not in favor of this new law they believed that discrimination was acceptable. It was both Kennedy and Johnson’s hope to change that, despite the challenges they