American Civil War

From holding police accountable to defending voting rights, 2023 was a busy year! Here's a quick look at how we showed up to defend civil rights in Mississippi this year, and a sneak peek at how we plan to continue the fight in 2024.

In June 1963, President John Kennedy asked Congress for a comprehensive civil rights bill, induced by massive resistance to desegregation and the murder of Medgar Evers. After Kennedy's assassination in November, President Lyndon Johnson pressed hard, with the support of Roy Wilkins and Clarence Mitchell, to secure the bill's passage the following year. In 1964, Congress passed Public Law 88-352 (78 Stat. 241). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Provisions of this civil rights act forbade discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as, race in hiring, promoting, and firing. The Act prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and federally funded programs. It also strengthened the enforcement of voting rights and the desegregation of schools.

American Civil War

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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the nation's benchmark civil rights legislation, and it continues to resonate in America. Passage of the Act ended the application of "Jim Crow" laws, which had been upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson, in which the Court held that racial segregation purported to be "separate but equal" was constitutional. The Civil Rights Act was eventually expanded by Congress to strengthen enforcement of these fundamental civil rights.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC is a national organization located in Washington D.C. dedicated to advancing the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and building a fair and equitable society for all through public education, public policy advocacy, community organizing, and litigation.

SPRINGFIELD, IL - Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt was in Springfield, Illinois, designating the site of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot in Illinois as the 30th addition to the African American Civil Rights Network (AACRN). The designation formally recognizes the historical and national significance of a landmark event in the struggle for civil rights which served as the catalyst in the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Inclusion of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot site in the AACRN was requested by U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (IL-13) in 2019.

The riot, trials, and aftermath of the events in President Abraham Lincoln's hometown, a few months before the centennial of his birth, highlighted the systematic racism of early 20th century America. In February 1909 and in response to the riot, civil rights leaders formed the National Negro Committee in New York City, New York, which would later become the NAACP.

The African American Civil Rights Network Act, signed into law by President Trump in January 2018, authorizes the National Park Service to coordinate and facilitate Federal and non-Federal activities to commemorate, honor, and interpret the history of the African American Civil Rights movement; the significance of the civil rights movement as a crucial element in the evolution of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and the relevance of the African American Civil Rights movement in fostering the spirit of social justice and national reconciliation.

The AACRN includes properties, facilities, and programs related to the struggle for civil rights in the United States. With this addition, there are currently 30 resources in the AACRN, 18 of which are administered by the National Park Service, including Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, Pullman National Monument, and Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail.

But in 1925 few Americans had heard of the ACLU. Roger Baldwin wanted to change that. So when Tennessee passed the first anti-evolution law in history, he seized the opportunity to make a case for civil liberty.

Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 marked a milestone in the long struggle to extend civil, political, and legal rights and protections to African Americans, including former slaves and their descendants, and to end segregation in public and private facilities. The Senate played an integral part in this story.

The Senate approved its first civil rights bill in the midst of the Civil War. On April 3, 1862, the Senate passed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, sponsored by Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts. Signed into law on April 16, this bill freed all enslaved persons living within the boundaries of the federal district. On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation granting freedom to slaves residing in Confederate states not occupied by Union forces.

Long before the Union victory in 1865, Congress prepared for the integration of four million newly emancipated African Americans into the political life of the nation. Post-war Reconstruction amendments to the Constitution extended civil and legal protections to all black persons, including former slaves, and voting rights to black men.

Although not as strong as originally proposed, this law created a Commission on Civil Rights, established a civil rights division within the Department of Justice, repealed a Reconstruction-era law granting the president the power to use the military to enforce civil rights laws, provided for jury trials in the case of criminal civil rights violations, and promised some protection of voting rights. Congress passed additional legislation in 1960 to strengthen voting rights guarantees.

The pace of civil rights protests rose sharply in response to the Supreme Court's decision. Martin Luther King Jr. led a boycott that ended segregated busing in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1957, National Guard troops under orders from President Dwight D. Eisenhower enforced the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. But, even after Little Rock, school integration was painfully slow, and segregation in general remained largely untouched.

By the 1960 presidential campaign, civil rights had emerged as a crucial issue. Just a few weeks before the election, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested while leading a protest in Atlanta, Georgia. John Kennedy phoned his wife, Coretta Scott King to express his concern, while a call from Robert Kennedy to the judge helped secure her husband's safe release. The Kennedys' personal intervention led to a public endorsement by Martin Luther King Sr., the influential father of the civil rights leader. The publicizing of this endorsement, combined with other campaign efforts, contributed to increased support among Black voters for Kennedy.

But Kennedy's narrow election victory and small working margin in Congress contributed to his cautious navigation of civil rights issues. He was reluctant to lose southern support for legislation on many fronts by pushing too hard on civil rights legislation. Instead, encouraged by staff, he appointed unprecedented numbers of African Americans to high-level positions in the administration and strengthened the Civil Rights Commission. He spoke out in favor of school desegregation, praised a number of cities for integrating their schools, and put Vice President Lyndon Johnson in charge of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. Attorney General Robert Kennedy turned his attention to voting rights, initiating five times the number of suits brought during the previous administration.

In the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., and Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth launched a campaign of mass protests in Birmingham, Alabama, which King called the most segregated city in America. Initially, the demonstrations had little impact. Then, on Good Friday, King was arrested and spent a week behind bars, where he wrote one of his most famous meditations on racial injustice and civil disobedience, "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Meanwhile, James Bevel, another organizer of the Birmingham Campaign, rallied Black youths to march in the streets at the beginning of May. Birmingham City Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor used police dogs and high-pressure fire hoses to put down the peaceful demonstrations. Nearly a thousand young people were arrested. The violence was broadcast on television to the nation and the world.

Kennedy defined the civil rights crisis as moral, as well as constitutional and legal. He announced that major civil rights legislation would be submitted to the Congress to guarantee equal access to public facilities, to end segregation in education, and to provide federal protection of the right to vote. A few hours later, Medgar Evers, the best-known civil rights activist in Mississippi and a field officer in the NAACP, was murdered outside his home.

On August 28,1963, an interracial and interfaith crowd of more than 250,000 Americans demonstrated for social and economic justice in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Key civil rights figures led the march including A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Bayard Rustin, Whitney Young, and John Lewis. The most memorable moment came when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. President Kennedy, concerned about the potential impact of the March on his pending civil rights legislation, initially did not support the event. But, after the successful conclusion of the March, he invited civil rights leaders to the White House where they discussed the need for bi-partisan support of civil rights legislation.

The Latino civil rights movement grew throughout the 1900s, often in parallel to others like the African American civil rights movement. Inspired by fellow activists and important milestones, such as the founding of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in 1929, the movement grew in the 1960s with the increase of grassroots organizations and the energy of many youth activists.

From fighting segregation in schools to participating in strikes and boycotts to demand better living and working conditions, the Latino community has made great strides in the fight for equality. However, the fight remains ongoing. Despite now being the largest minority group and representing about 19 percent of the population of the United States, Latinas and Latinos still battle issues like immigration, education, healthcare, housing, and voting rights. Through continued activism and leadership of past and present civil rights champions, the fight for equality goes on. 2351a5e196