The Civil Rights Movement of 1954-1968 was successful despite assassinations and brutality that were mated against its leaders. According to Jett et al., the movement led to many changes in the United States. One of the pieces of evidence of success was the integration of Mississippi universities that started in 1956. Before then, students were expected to obtain education in institutions designated for them based on their race. Most of the best colleges were meant for whites, while under-facilitated and understaffed community colleges were meant for people of color.
The civil protests forced the lawmakers in this state to enact laws that allowed all students to attend universities of their choice as long as they met the criteria and had the capacity to meet requirements set by the institution. Leaders of the movement were not satisfied with the small gains, and they kept pushing for their rights.
The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was a landmark achievement for the leaders of this movement. It emphasized the right for every American to vote for leaders of their choice. Before then, the minorities faced numerous challenges when they tried to vote. These bottlenecks were meant to deny them the opportunity to choose the leadership of the country. This law stated that it was an offense for anyone to deny any American, especially the minorities, an opportunity to cast their votes. People of color and other minority groups that were willing to participate in deciding the leadership of the country was granted the opportunity to do so.
Discrimination in places of employment was common in the United States. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, came into effect during this period of the movement. It prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of one’s race, religion, national origin, sex, or color. It became a requirement for all employers to offer all Americans equal opportunity when recruiting. Job seekers no longer had to state their race when applying for employment. This law was considered a major achievement at a time when the minorities felt that it was becoming increasingly difficult to get decent employment despite their impressive academic records.
The movement also succeeded in bringing major changes in the country’s housing sector. The Civil Rights Act of 1968, popularly known as the Fair Housing Act, was enacted to help eliminate discriminative policies in the sector. It emphasized the need to provide equal housing opportunities to all Americans irrespective of their color, race, national origin, or religious beliefs. For the first time in the country’s history, it was legally acceptable for people of color to share the same apartment building with whites. They also had the same opportunity to get government housing benefits for the less fortunate. Even though a section of society feels that social evils such as police brutality are still common, much was achieved. If I were teaching history and putting together a lesson on the Civil Rights Movement, I believe I would want to stress to my students the importance of integration and unity. The country can only retain its global position as a superpower if all Americans are united towards a common goal.