Final Blog Post

Final Blog Post

Democracy, “is a system of government in which laws, policies, leadership, and major undertakings of a state or other polity are directly or indirectly decided by the people”. America’s systems as a constitutional democracy crucially depend upon the First Amendment. Arguably, the First Amendment is also the most important to the maintenance of a democratic government. It states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” In the absence of the right to speak freely within limits and the right to assemble, American citizens would not be able to legally speak out against what they believe to be wrong. During the Civil Rights Era, which lasted from 1954 to 1978, significant strides were made in creating equality for all Americans regardless of race.  

The First Amendment supports the power of democracy by the five freedoms it protects: speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. It protects us against government restrictions on our freedom of expression, but it does not prevent private employers from setting their own rules. While freedom of speech and press allows citizens to communicate verbally and in writing, freedom of assembly allows them to publicly express a common interest. Citizens may petition the government if it did not follow the law, to request changes, as well as damages for such violations. A number of First Amendment rights were invoked by the movement in protest of racial injustice and to promote racial equality. Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed these First Amendment freedoms with its rulings in cases arising out of the Civil Rights Era.

Starting with Brown v. Board of Education in 1954,  the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. A cornerstone of the civil rights movement, Brown v. Board of Education set the precedent that separate-but-equal education and other services were not, in fact, equal.  They are arguing segregation because it was hurting the children. The people were fighting because their children are in harm's way and they are ready and determined. During this time Black and White students in the north would usually go to separate schools. Although it is not a law, it is by a fact which is defacto. Segregation is the reason why students of different races do not go to the same school. The argument of the case was to. argue against segregation was that separate was not equal because of integrity factors. The ruling of the case "Brown vs the Board of Education” is, under Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), it was declared that segregated facilities must be separate but equal, and although the racially segregated schools were separate, they were by no means equal. This is also proven that it violated the 14th amendment to the constitution, which prohibits the states from denying equal rights to any person. This turn of events occurred because the Supreme Court finally held true to what they put down on paper when it came to race-based issues.

As we end the Jim Crow Era, we start making out way to the Civil Rights Era part 1 (Desegregation). There were a lot of peaceful protests and general rebellions against racial injustice. One includes Emmett Till,  she was a 14-year-old African American who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a white woman in her family's grocery store. One of the most successful bus boycotts was in 1955, with Rosa Parks. It was a mass protest against the bus system of Montgomery, Alabama, by civil rights activists and their supporters that led to a 1956 U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring that Montgomery's segregation laws on buses were unconstitutional. It helped initiate the civil rights movement in the United States when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955. Her actions inspired the leaders of the local Black community to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her action was protected by the First Amendment. Another was in 1960, it was the Lunch Counter Sit-In. It started when young African American students staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and refused to leave after being denied service. The sit-in movement soon spread to college towns throughout the South. Though many of the protesters were arrested for trespassing, disorderly conduct, or disturbing the peace, their actions made an immediate and lasting impact, forcing Woolworths and other establishments to change their segregationist policies.

 In 1961, the Freedom Rides began which were launched by the Congress of Racial Equity (CORE).  These protests were intended to challenge the segregation of interstate busses.  Once the freedom riders got into the south, they were met with extreme violence to the point where President John F. Kennedy's administration had to federally intervene. Two people that were riding the bus were publicly beaten and another was arrested for using a whites-only bathroom. When the riders arrived in Alabama, they were greeted by a violent mob of over 100 people. One bus was even firebombed. The rides were eventually put to an end because it was simply too dangerous to continue, but Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. continues to support the riders morally and financially. 

As we move along in history, one of the most significant march accord. March on Washington, in full March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the political demonstration held in Washington, D.C., in 1963 by civil rights leaders to protest racial discrimination and to show support for major civil rights legislation that was pending in Congress. The March on Washington was concerned about the event that encompassed all the freedoms of the first amendment. There is also where Martin Luther King delivered his famous, I Have A Dream Speech. It was a call for equality and freedom, it became one of the defining moments of the civil rights movement and one of the most iconic speeches in American history. Another impactful event happen, which was the assassination of John F Kennedy. Initially, JFK's death slowed down the pace of the Civil Rights movement because he publicly declared his commitment to the cause of racial equality when he proposed a Civil Rights bill to congress and endorsed the March on Washington.

1964, that was the turning year. It changes from the Civil Rights Era (Desegregation) to the Integration era. Due to JFK’s death, president President Lyndon B. Johnson signed JFK's Civil Rights Act into law on July 2nd. The Civil Rights Act banned discrimination in public accommodations. The Act prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and federally funded programs. It also strengthened the enforcement of voting rights and the desegregation of schools. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the nation's benchmark civil rights legislation, and it continues to resonate in America. Another important thing that happened during this time was the passing of the  24th Amendment. It banned poll taxes. The poll tax exemplified “Jim Crow” laws, developed in the post-Reconstruction South, which aimed to disenfranchise black voters and institute segregation.

In 1965, another assassination happened. The assassination of Malcolm X. Malcolm X was a Black nationalist ideology and the Black Power movement and helped to popularize the values of autonomy and independence among African Americans in the 1960s and '70s. And also the passing of the Voting Rights Act. It is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It decreased the major difference between black and white voter registration. In 1668 both Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. He was shot while standing on the balcony of his motel in Memphis, Tennessee. For some, King's assassination meant the end of the strategy of nonviolence. Others in the movement reaffirmed the need to carry on King's and the movement's work.

In the case Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969, the Supreme Court established that speech advocating illegal conduct is protected under the First Amendment unless the speech is likely to incite “imminent lawless action.” The year 1971 sparked the beginning of the second part of the Civil Rights era, the integration era. The pivotal case of Swann v. the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education began which aimed to integrate the busing system in order to speed up the racial integration of schools. Although in Brown v. the Board of Education the segregation of schools was ruled unconstitutional, due to segregated housing patterns and stubborn local officials, many schools remained segregated. Many schools felt like it was the right thing to do. 

In 1978, the Supreme Court of the United States declared that affirmative action was constitutional in the case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. The Supreme Court ruled that a university's use of racial "quotas" in its admissions process was unconstitutional, but a school's use of "affirmative action" to accept more minority applicants was constitutional in some circumstances. Bakke decision, formally Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, ruling in which, on June 28, 1978, the U.S. Supreme 

Court declared affirmative action constitutional but invalidated the use of racial quotas.

Overall, the Civil Rights Era was an impactful time for everyone. It led to greater social and economic mobility for African-Americans across the nation. As we know not all issues can be solved, but some issues are still around today.