The Nonviolent Protest: The Civil Rights Act Of 1964

In the article “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King Jr. responds to clergymen who described his civil rights activities as “unwise and untimely”. Dr. King argues that while just laws should be obeyed, unjust laws aren’t binding because they go against decent morality and they degrade human lives. He explains the three-hundred-year struggles by African Americans to gain their basic rights and responds to criticism of being an extremist for trying to force change on this matter. Ultimately his reasoning is that those attempting to find a resolution to the injustice and unequal laws of the land should not be punished if they are doing so nonviolently, even if they break some just laws. I argue in favor of this idea that unjust laws

Confront Injustice Martin Luther King Jr. was an ordained minister and one of the best known civil rights leaders. He worked very hard to end segregation and injustices in the south. While participating in a program of sit-ins at luncheon counters, the famous theologist was arrested. In consequence King wrote, “a Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which he addressed to a group of white clergymen in an attempt to demonstrate the justices of his views. Within the letter King describes an unjust law as, “a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself” (259).

Yes, Mr. Polk and others should be able to wear their hair in a fashion that is tolerant to their beliefs. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Mr. Polk cannot be discriminated against due to his religious beliefs, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub. L. 88-352, 78 Stat. 241 (1964). The law continues to read that employers must allow their employees freedom to engage in religious expression so long as it does not imposed undue hardship on the employer.

Prior to 1865, the United States was a country laden with slave labor, and after Lincoln’s death had come an end to slave labor with the ratification of the 13th amendment. Before the amendment was passed, however, nearly half of the United States had legally allowed slavery and the slaves, African-Americans with a history tracing back to capture, shipment, and sale during the slave trade, were considered less than human. For the almost 200 years since colonists had first started to inhabit the United States as a dependency of Britain and nearly 100 years since the country had gained independence, the social structure of the United States had granted African-Americans no right other than to be property, traded as slaves, and forced to do labor. This social structure had been ingrained in American society and this ingraination had not simply disappeared with the abolition of slavery. The Civil Rights Movement worked as a “struggle for social justice” (“Civil Rights Movement”), especially during the 1950s and 1960s, for African-Americans to gain justice in the country, whether it be against legal, social, or economic discrimination in American society.

¨Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”(King 582). Martin Luther King Jr was a civil rights activist who fought for civil rights; he wrote to eight white clergymen in jail. King got arrested for fighting for African American rights. King was very passionate and emotional about civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr. suggested the idea of people having a moral responsibility to infringe on unjust laws.

“It does not matter if these people are different genders, races or have different religious beliefs. As long as they are citizens, they have equal rights.(What are Civil Rights)” This quote shows where people would like to be somewhere in the near future. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 were several events that lead to the end of segregation of African Americans. The Civil Rights Acts were acts to show people that it doesn’t matter your skin color, or ethnicity, but that everyone should welcome each other as equals.

Johnson believed in the civil rights act of 1964. Using what he had witnessed before he became president he knew the civil rights act needed to be activated. Civil rights were a legal entitlement to the people of the United States which granted everyone: the right to vote, no segregated schools, freedom of press, etc. Why did LBJ sign the civil rights act? Many believed Johnson signed the act because of politics, but in reality he actually signed it because of principle, he witnessed kids who were discriminated against, logic even says LBJ was pushing towards integration just right, he believed in the act from the beginning, only, he wanted the states to have a say.

With the passage of the 1964 act. The government realized that there was a struggle of a more just and inclusive American that needed reconstruction, and we still had a long way to go to fix the issue. After the passage of the act, some civil rights activist was not satisfied that the act didn’t meet some of the goals, and in order to do that it would take some legislative action, judicial precedent and some mobilization in order to guarantee civil rights for African Americans. In return of the wave of protest by some activist, the US congress passed the voting right act of 1965, the act focused on the rehabilitation of the legacy of discrimination against African Americans access to ballots. There were definitely a wave of period of long

On July 02, 1964 , Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibited against people discriminating against another because of their skin color , so everybody was treated equally. L.B.J he became president after John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963 and L.B.J took office the next day. He finished what J.F.K wanted and signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Political means some did it for votes or for something and principle means the person did something because it was the right thing to do. Why did L.B.J sign it was, it a political decision or was it a principle decision?

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a significant piece of legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Assuring that all residents had equal access to public facilities including restaurants, hotels, and schools, as well as helping to put an end to the practice of segregation in the United States, made it essential to the advancement of our society. Additionally, the Act reinforced minority groups' voting rights, making it more challenging for states to restrict their ability to cast ballots. The signing of this bill helped to ensure that all Americans have equal access to opportunities and resources.

Civil rights has progressed tremendously since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was created. My parents grandparents told me stories of how they were treated terribly in sweatshops, and were deterred from seeing a Bruce Lee movie because of all the mocking they would receive. Thankfully, discrimination towards any type of person has rapidly deteriorated in the United States. However, it is still common and is often changing towards different groups. In the past decade, discrimination in America seems to have shifted from women and people of black skin color to Muslims and people with brown middle eastern skin color.

The Civil Rights movement in the 1960s was a time of peaceful or nonviolent protest done mostly by everyday citizens of the United States. While there were monumental changes that happened before the 60s, like the desegregation of the U.S. military and Brown v. Board of Education, nonviolent protests were a new tactic that proved to work well. Nonviolent protests, mean exactly as the name states, a protest that does not use force against the opposing side. These protests were incredibly effective in changing laws for the betterment of African American people. The Montgomery bus boycott and the Greensboro sit-ins are both examples of nonviolent protests that happened during the 1960s.

Peaceful resistance to laws and legislation is an essential component of a free society. There are no alternatives to protesting unjust institutions more humane than a peaceful, nonviolent opposition which accepts the consequences of its actions. The concept of peaceful opposition isn’t a specifically American concept, but can be traced throughout our expansive history. Our country began with the rejection of the Intolerable Acts through nonviolent opposition, such as boycotting English goods. Nonviolent protests were very frequently utilized in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's.

Based on “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., king state that “A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the laws”. This shows that unjust law that it’s justifiable to break because unjust law impact an minority’s right. Thus, show non-violence can achieve true freedom in society.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is hailed by many as one of the most important legislations in the American history. The act was passed into law 52 years ago under a lot of pressure and resistance from white senators and African American activists. The act, which was largely known as the “Bill of the century” was aimed at bringing equality for blacks and whites and end racial prejudice. The act was targeted to revolutionize America where blacks and whites would eat together in the same hotels and enjoy similar rights in public places without any discrimination.