The Civil Rights Act of 1964: what was done back then—and where we are now

1964 was a pivotal year in the journey towards civil rights and racial equality in the United States—a long road that we still traverse today. The signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 2 by President Lyndon Baines Johnson is often described as the most important piece of civil rights legislation to be enacted since Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, a little over 100 years prior.

Many of you reading this today were not even born in 1964. Though it was 53 years ago, I remember the passage of the bill, and that year, as if it were yesterday. I had just graduated from high school a month before. Friends who were a little older had gone South to join the movement and all of us who were active in New York City, along with many other people across the nation were reeling from the news of the murder of Andrew Goodman and Michael "Mickey" Schwerner from New York City, and James Chaney from Meridian, Mississippi. Walter Cronkite had taken to the airwaves to announce it on June 24.

Young people in the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and NAACP youth groups were still protesting the World’s Fair, which had opened in April. Leftist activists had staged a draft card burning to protest the Vietnam War. The Beatles had invaded and were dominating the pop charts, while kids in my neighborhood were listening to The Impressions sing “Keep on Pushing.” Later on that summer we’d be “Dancing in the Streets” with Martha and the Vandellas, and cities would burn in response to white supremacy and inner-city frustrations. The Atlantic’s photo essay on 1964 civil rights battles is a must-see. Fannie Lou Hamer would come to the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City with members of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and demand to be seated on Aug, 22. 

So much of what brought the Civil Rights Act to fruition and onto LBJ’s desk is connected to the struggles of activists, the work of lawyers and elected officials—all of this against the odds—that it is almost impossible to tell the whole tale in one post. We should, however, mark this day in history to gauge not only our progress, but also the obstacles we now face in the days ahead.

from Daily Kos http://ift.tt/2tEt4Ep