The Most Important Legislative Successes Of The Civil Rights Movement

Addressing President Biden’s first topic, I believe that the two most important legislative successes of the modern Civil Rights Movement were the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is one of the most critical rights legislations in our country's history. Passing this new law allowed the federal government to withhold funds from public programs that were allowing or practicing segregation. This forced institutions such as schools, and other public or government institutions that receive federal funds to abolish their acts of public segregation. This is the main catalyst of the beginning of integration into southern public schools. Additionally, the passing of the Civil Rights

This was the final step in ending segregation in public accommodations; finally, not only were the schools free to the black community but theatres, restaurants, and hotels as well. Due to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the lives of black Americans and other minority groups were substantially improved.
Not only did this law help Black Americans gain the freedom to go to school, eat where they wanted, and so on; but also the Civil Rights Act and EEOC had components that were profoundly influential for the upcoming women's rights movement. Specifically, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, or sex was the most noteworthy in aiding the fight for women’s rights. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is, in my opinion, the second most important legislative success during the modern Civil Rights Movement. Up until the passing of this law, American democracy was shattering in the

Rachel Carson, an environmentalist wrote about the negative effects of pesticides and DDT in her book, “Silent Spring”. The book became very popular during the war and showcased how DDT was decimating the wildlife population, especially birds. Illustrated through the book, DDT was causing birds’ eggshells to thin which almost led to species such as robin bird and American Bald Eagle almost becoming extinct. Also, the chemical CFC, which was used in refrigerants, hair sprays, etc. was being overused which led to a hole in the ozone layer that protects Earth from harmful radiation caused by the Sun. Another environmental problem occurring during this time was the disregard for what could be dumped into our waterways. This mistreatment caused the Cuyahoga River to catch on fire and the Santa Barbara oil spill, both occurring in the year 1969. At the time, the Santa Barbara oil spill was the largest in our nation’s history. The powerful images of both the Cuyahoga River on fire and the wildlife and environment in California being ravaged because of the deep-water oil spill helped change Americans’ attitudes toward the environment. This sprung the creation of the Modern Environmentalist