50 Years of
Civil Rights,
“We Shall
Overcome” Discrimination
Last week, on July 2nd, marked the 50th
anniversary since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of
1964 in honor of the late President John F. Kennedy. At President Johnson's side was Martin Luther King Jr, and this historic signing essentially began the revolution to end legal discrimination.
Civil Rights legislation has truly
changed the meaning of equality in this country which extends across multiple settings
and also to our individuals with disabilities. In one of its earliest
forms, the Civil Rights Act began to open the doors for better definition of
discrimination and the acknowledgement that it would no longer be a part of the
“American way of life.”
As some of you may know, the basis for this piece of
legislation was set out by President John F. Kennedy to end the segregation of
African Americans. Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act directly impacted the
educational environment, providing for the desegregation of public education.
It was not without great resistance that this bill was
signed, nor was it the first of its kind to attempt such an end to
discrimination. One Senator tried to extend the definition of discrimination to
also add a designation of by “sex” or gender. This keyword was soon amended and
instead removed to avoid the bill being killed over further debate regarding
gender discrimination. The focus was to create better rights for those on the
basis of race.
"For every discrimination that
has been made against a woman in this country, there has been ten times as much
discrimination against the Negro," Rep. Edith Green, D-ORE
The 1964 passage created the foundation for the
discrimination protections we also see in special education. Two provisions
that aided in this effort were Title VI and Title VII.
Title VI prohibited discrimination based on any race, color,
or national origin in programs or activities receiving federal financial
assistance. This included the United States Department of Education and
colleges which receives federal grants and funding. Title VII went on to
prohibit the discrimination in employment based on sex, race, color, national
origin, religion, and affiliations. Furthermore, it created protections from
retaliation for those who file a complaint based on discrimination outlined in
the law.
It was only a year later that President Johnson continued
the Civil Rights revolution with the passage of the critical Voting Rights Act
of 1965. This new piece of legislation gave federal protection against voting
discrimination to minatory voters.
As the definition of discrimination continued to embrace to
other groups of people in new legislation throughout the years, Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990, as well as others, extended this definitions specifically to
individuals with disabilities.
Our country celebrates its Independence on July 4th,
but for so many true Independence as a group of people united as one, did not
ultimately begin until July 2, 1964. We hope everyone had a wonderful
Independence Day and enjoys the drastic gains made in this great nation for all
Americans.
From all of us at STOMP, a belated but still important:
Additional Information:
ABC (2014). Five Things to Know about the 1964 Civil Rights Act. (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/things-1964-civil-rights-act-24403686PBS (2014). LBJ: Lyndon B Johnson. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/lbj/player/
U.S. Department of Education (2014). Protecting Students with Disabilities. http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html
U.S. Department of Justice. (July 2009). A Guide to Disability Rights Laws http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm
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