The Civil War ended in 1965. The Union was saved. All Black persons in the former Confederate states were declared free. The former slaves had no material wealth, but a determination swelled within them to accomplish three goals: to legalize their marital unions, earn a wage and receive an education.[1]
From 1865 to 1877, Union Army soldiers were stationed throughout the former Confederate states to ensure order, safety, and reconstruction. Elections generated the presence of Black people and anti-slavery persons in office at the federal and state levels in the South. During the brief span of the ten years of reconstruction, three critical amendments were added to the United States Constitution:
- The 13th Amendment prohibited slavery in the United States (1865)
- The 14th Amendment declared that no citizen could be denied the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.
- The 15th Amendment guaranteed Black men the right to vote.
***
In the 1960’s, the United States found itself to be like an erupting volcano. Songs of peace and love abounded while simultaneously thousands of feet pounded the streets, bridges and highways in marches supporting African Americans non-violently demanding equality in the land that was their home. Clubs, fire hoses and police dogs attacked the demonstrators, and some activists were killed on isolated roads in the southern states. Sit-ins at restaurant counters, marches for equal rights, demands for integrations of schools for equal access to education by Blacks in southern states, terrorism from the Ku Klux Klan on Black folk even children in a church increased. The Vietnam War was on. In the states, the war precipitated clashes between anti-war groups and police. Assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and lesser-known persons abounded. That which would not be done in justice was birthed in violence:
- The Civil Rights Act, 1964: Outlaws segregation in public Places.
- The Voting Rights Act, 1965: Bans obstacles to voting based on race.
“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year; it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” June 2018
A tweet by the late Honorable John Lewis who was a civil rights activist and congressperson who served seventeen terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
[1] Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross, A Black Women’s History of the United States (Boston: Beacon Press, 2020) 98.
Reflection
Civil Rights are those personal rights guaranteed and protected by the United States Constitution and enacted by Congress.
Freedom of speech
Freedom of religion
Freedom to vote
Freedom against unwarranted searches of home or property
Freedom to have a fair trial
Freedom to remain silent in a police interrogation
Freedom to assemble
Freedom to run for elected office
Freedom of press
This is not an exhaustive list, search for additional civil rights.
Human Rights espouse the belief that no human being should be the victim of torture or inhumane and degrading punishment or treatment. All human beings have the right to:
Life
Freedom from torture
Equal treatment
Privacy
Asylum
Marriage
Freedom of thought, opinion, and expression
Work
Education
Social Services
Please add any additional human rights.
Dorothy Watson Tatem, D.Min., ACC
Senior Associate
Next Step Associates, LLC
Cassandra W. Jones, Ed.D.
CEO & President
Recent Comments