Human Rights from B.C to Present Day
Introduction
Human rights are the basic rights and liberties that belong to every person in the world. They are rights that are essential to every human being regardless of their race, sex, ethnic group, religion among another status that one may have. Examples of human rights are the right to liberty, life, liberty from oppression, and torture. It also includes the freedom of having an opinion and expressing oneself. Among others are the right to education and work and every individual is entitled to this and any other kinds of freedoms without being discriminated against. Human rights have shown a lot of change in terms of individuals having more civil, social, and economic rights from b.c to present times.
Civil rights are an extensive important set of rights that are developed to protect people from prejudicial treatment. They are rights targeted towards people being treated equally in settings that include education, employment, and housing, among others based on being legally protected. Historically, the civil rights movement which was a planned determination by the black Americans to culminate racial inequality and achieve equal civil rights under the law worked towards accomplishing equality for the African Americans in all aspects of the social world. The movement began in the late 1940’ ending in the late 1960s. By then, the civil war had eradicated oppression but failed to finish inequality against black people especially in the South. They continued to experience racism and eventually, the black Americans felt that they had endured enough bias and violence from them (Pantin & Lynnise 2018). In conjunction with many white Americans, they started an exceptional contest for equality that extended for a very long time.
For the period of reconstruction, the blacks got leadership responsibilities and worked in the civic office seeking judicial alterations for equal opportunities and the voting right. When the constitution was being amended, the law protected the black people equally. The other amendment gave African Americans the voting right which did not excite many white Americans especially those from the south. The laws of Jim Crow that were established in the 19th century included keeping black people separate from the white people (Somin & Bernstein 2004). The blacks were not allowed to use the same public amenities as the whites, live in the same cities, or attend similar educational institutions. It was prohibited to have an interracial marriage and most of the black Americans were not allowed to vote because they failed the voter literacy assessments. In the northern states, these laws were not adopted but black people still faced discrimination at their workplaces, access to houses, or education. Some states passed laws that limited the voting rights of black people.
Before World War II most of the black people had low paying jobs such as farming, worked in factories, and worked as domestic workers. In the early 1940s, work linked to war was flourishing but the Blacks were offered the low paying job opportunities and were also disheartened not to join the army (Lutz 2008). This is when the black people conveyed their will to march to Washington demanding to be given equal work rights and the president gave an order opening the national security works and other government jobs to all Americans irrespective of their race or color. Black women and men worked heroically during World War II. During the start of the cold war, the president then introduced a civil rights strategy to finish discrimination in the military. This paved way for initiatives to pass equality legislature and provoke the civil rights program.
The civil rights act was signed into law in 1957 and it permitted federal prosecution for anyone who prevented the other to vote. That did not stop discrimination against black people even in schools and public transport. This drove the civil rights movement to continue seeking equal rights and this led to the march on Washington (Jones 2013). In 1964, the civil rights act was signed into law and the law assured equality in employment opportunities for every person and restricted the use of voter literacy assessments. This law also permitted state authorities to make sure that public amenities were combined. The voter rights act that was signed banned the voter literacy assessments. The fair housing act was also signed into law and it barred against housing discrimination based on ethnicity, nationality, sex among other characteristics.
The case of previously colonized countries that got independence after World War II was that the African Americans had little gain for the poor people. Those that gained were the ones that were more advantaged in terms of education and class (Lutz 2008). The American civil rights legislature became the foundation of progressive action. Some programs improved the chances for many black students, workers, women, disabled persons, and other people that were people that had been discriminated against. Former civil rights protesters launched professions in democratic politics and black elected executives became more influential. These elected officials helped to promote the public welfare through legislation that was developed to satisfy the interests of the many citizens that were neglected.
By the 21st century, more officials worked together towards achieving legislative initiatives that involved the development of minority businesses and expanding opportunities regarding education. The civil rights registration generated a continuing change of the legal position of the African Americans and other people who were discriminated against. It improved the role of the government to impose civil rights regulations. In the 21st century, the ruling of an African American president reflected a change in American society with consequences from the civil rights movement (Jones 2013). Civil rights have transformed greatly from the past and this has enabled people to have an entitlement to their rights and freedom. Rights to education, housing, property ownership, health have been impacted by the civil rights legislation.
Conclusion
Human rights are essential to every human being regardless of race, sex, or ethnic group among other characteristics. Civil rights are established to protect individuals from unfair treatment and discrimination. Historically the black people were discriminated against a lot because of their color, and social class. This led to the development of a civil rights movement which was intended to raise awareness about discrimination and as well end it. This movement caused civil rights acts to be signed into law defending the black Americans against discrimination. They also were given the right to vote without undergoing the literacy voting tests. African Americans were also allowed to join the government and the elected officials helped to push for other civil rights legislation ensuring that the blacks were given an equal opportunity in terms of education, housing, health, and employment.
References
Jones, W. P. (2013). The March on Washington: Jobs, freedom, and the forgotten history of civil
rights. WW Norton & Company.
Lutz, A. (2008). Who joins the military?: A look at race, class, and immigration status. Journal of Political and Military Sociology 36 (2): 167-188.
Pantin, P., & Lynnise, E. (2018). The Legacy of Civil Rights and the Opportunity for
Transactional Law Clinics. Tenn. J. Race Gender & Soc. Just., 7, 189.
Somin, I., & Bernstein, D. E. (2004). Judicial Power and Civil Rights Reconsidered.
