The civil rights revolutionary Martin Luther King Jr. referred to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as the “Second Emancipation.” This act was introduced by John F. Kennedy who famously stated, “And this nation, for all of its hopes and all its boasts, will not fully be free until all its citizens are free.”
Freedom. On the land where this televised address echoed, the hauntingly melodic lyrics of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” wove for the listener a tapestry of racial bondage. Against all odds there remained a push for equality, unity, peace, and freedom. The courage of Rosa Parks ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Governor of Arkansas summoned the national guard to prevent the Little Rock Nine from integrating into Central High School. Four black students initiated the Greensboro, NC, sit-ins. Dr. King marched on Washington accompanied by approximately 250,000 people. Four African American girls were killed in the 16thStreet Baptist Church bombing. The Selma to Montgomery marches travelled through police unleashing dogs, high pressure water hoses, and beatings of peaceful protesters. Amidst the turmoil continued the push for equality, unity, peace, and freedom.
Resistance from supremacists and politicians were painful contractions as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was birthed as the most sweeping civil rights legislation since the Reconstruction. The sacrifices during the Civil Rights Movement have born significant legislative fruit, providing equal protections for African Americans while drastically crippling legalized segregation and discrimination. The experience of Rosa Parks was covered under Title II, Injunctive Relief Against Discrimination in Places of Public Accommodation, “All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment … of any place of public accommodation… without discrimination or segregation…” During his march on Washington, Dr. King’s iconic speech highlighted the need for social and economic justice: “Now we realize that dislocations in the market operation of our economy and the prevalence of discrimination thrust people into idleness and bind them in constant or frequent unemployment against their will.” The Civil Rights Act of 1964 established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): “It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual….”
I ponder the immeasurable sacrifices of those who birthed this law into to existence with enormous gratitude, pride, and a desire to strive for greater. Greater equality, unity, peace, and freedom.