Civil Rights in America: A Sociology Essay on Progress and Setbacks

This sociology essay explores the evolution of civil rights in America, beginning with the historical context of racial segregation and discrimination. It examines the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, highlighting key events such as the march led by Martin Luther King Jr. and landmark legal decisions like the Supreme Court's ruling on school segregation. The essay analyzes the progress made in areas like political representation and legal protections, while also addressing persistent challenges such as economic inequality, housing discrimination, and disparities in the criminal justice system. The essay emphasizes that despite significant advancements, systemic racism continues to impact various aspects of American society, requiring ongoing efforts to achieve true equality and social justice. The conclusion underscores the need for continued advocacy and reform to address the historical injustices faced by minority groups and ensure the realization of the civil rights envisioned by the movement.

Running Head: SOCIOLOGY 1
Sociology
Name:
Institution

SOCIOLOGY 2
Civil rights-How far have we come.
Introduction
It has been 51 years since the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., an American activist, but
America is still far behind in achieving the dream he envisioned. Across spectrum ranging from
economic inclusivity to issues of criminal justice, black Americans are still far behind the white
Americans. In some cases, the situation of minority segregation has gotten worse. The reasons
for this decline include policies that have failed to counter the obstacles for the black people,
outright racism, restrictive covenants, and lack of attention to critical issues especially in the
criminal justice system that is marred with high racial disparities from policing to incarceration.
In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led the historic march that was dubbed “the most magnificent
demonstrations of interracial unity that America had ever seen.” The march expressed the hope
of a more unified nation and equality, peace, and understandings. Civil rights are the rights and
freedom that an individual has by being in a community, nation or state. In the US, civil rights
are enshrined in the constitution and acts of Congress. Many Acts have been legislated to
guarantee the rights of all-American citizens, but the fight for civil right laws continues up to
now, not only by the black Americans, but other minority groups including Hispanics, Asia-
Americans, women, the homeless, homosexuals, people living with disabilities, and other
minorities (Branigan, et al., 2013). Although great progress has been made in the fight for
equality, there is still much more do be done especially in the sectors of politics, education, and
housing, where it is evident that black Americans do not enjoy the same benefits as their white
counterparts.

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In the year 1857, the Supreme Court of the US rejected the bid of citizenship for African
Americans. In the ruling by judge Dred Scott, he ruled that the native Americans had perceived
the blacks as being inferior and had no right to be respected by the white man. This ruling
ironically cemented the anti-slavery movement as it also angered many white people who did not
have slaves. Consequently, Abraham Lincoln of the antislavery Republican party won the
election by basing his campaign on antislavery (Tuck, 2013). President Lincoln further signed
the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, to deprive the confederacy of slavery. The end of the
American Civil war saw the Republican leaders making constitutional amendments to abolish
slavery. However, despite the constitutional guarantee, civil rights agitation was experienced for
more than a century after to have federal enforcement of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth
amendment rights (Clayton, 2018). In the year 1896, white leaders seek to strengthen the Jim
Crow racial segregation by enacting new laws. The Supreme Court ruled that the separation of
the facilities between African Americans and the whites did not violate the 14th amendment,
oblivious to the fact that these facilities were in poor state as compared to those of the white
Americans.
In the 1950s, the American civil rights movement participated in a nationwide mass
protests against discrimination and racial segregation. The movement was based on centuries of
inequalities and efforts by the African slaves to condemn racial discrimination and end slavery.
The advent of the civil war emancipated the slaves and gave them basic civil rights by the
introduction of the 14 and 15 amendment rights in the constitution, but there were struggles to
acquire federal protection for these rights (Harris, 2015). The 1960s, demonstrations by the
segregated minorities were not just based on reforms of civil rights, but it was a freedom and

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liberation movement that confronted the enduring political, cultural, and economic consequences
of racial oppression.
The history of the US has seen determined and persistent efforts in expanding the scope
and the inclusivity of civil rights. Civil and equal rights were enshrined in the starting documents
of the US but many of the citizens had been denied these fundamental rights. Some of the key
inequalities were established during the era when the US was expanding its boundaries, with the
native Americans resisting conquest, and voting rights were limited to the whites, including the
right to land ownership, and serving in the juries (Inwood, 2013). The free African-Americans
experience enforced segregation and racial discrimination, with the minority group rebelling
against these social injustices. The minority groups constituting of the African Americans and
other minority groups largely used non-violent means to petition and challenge the government
officials as well as participate in massive civil right movements to address their status.
The majority of the segregated Americans dwell in substandard housing, with some
having no housing units at all. Racial discrimination and segregation have kept them from
accessing better houses. Many African-Americans fit into this category with many families being
at the bottom of the economic ladder (Rugh & Massey, 2014). The housing that these families
can afford is in a very poor condition, with many landlords ignoring the pleas to renovate these
dwelling units. Additionally, the majority of black families are denied better houses due to
racism.
Another critical area that has experienced historical injustice is in the area of education
inequality. The Jim Crow laws discriminated against the black minority by establishing separate
schools and facilities among the white and black Americans. The resources for the blacks were

SOCIOLOGY 5
of poor quality with outdated materials. In the year 1954, the US Supreme Court reversed its
previous 1896 ruling by declaring the segregated schools as unconstitutional. This ruling served
as a key tool in the fight against education inequality by the Black minority (Powell, Meitl &
Worrall, 2017). The civil rights law declared it illegal to deny any person a chance to attend any
school based on his or her race. Sadly, many parts of the country still segregate schools, albeit by
circumstances. The majority of the kids attend schools close to their neighborhood, and the white
and black families rarely live in the same neighborhood (Nagel, et al., 2015). These housing
conditions unfairly limit the black kid's chances to access better education and consequently
attain good jobs. Further, in situations where the white and Black kids attend the same school,
there is still a racial divide with white kids interacting with their white counterparts and blacks
with the other black kids. This situation has been witnessed in many schools unless the
authorities make the effort of cementing inclusivity.
Before the 1963 historic march led by Martin Luther King Jr., all the members of the US
congress were white. Today, there has been a significant shift with at least 37 blacks in the
House of Representatives. This accounts for about 9 percent of the House members (Forman &
Lewis, 2015). Members of the Black minority all increasingly taking up elective roles as mayors,
governors and local officials. Former US president Barrack Obama is an embodiment of these
changes that have been witnessed (Hersch & Shinall, 2015). From this, it is evident that the
African Americans have made significant gains since the 1963 march, however, the problem of
racism remains. Racism is a more pervasive condition that is very much widespread in American
society. The rise of a populist leader, President Donald Trump, has awakened the notion of
entitlement among some white American citizens, who are viewing the minority groups as
encroaching on their society.

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Conclusion
Civil rights issues have continued to elicit protests in contemporary American society.
The 20th century produced significant gains in the overall identification and legal status of
African Americans and other minority groups. There was also pressure for the government to
enforce civil rights laws through constitutional amendments. However, the reforms in civil rights
as not entirely fixed the historical injustices for the minority African Americans who still are
racially discriminated against with inferior housing, public schools, and healthcare services.

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References
Branigan, A. R., Freese, J., Patir, A., McDade, T. W., Liu, K., & Kiefe, C. I. (2013). Skin color,
sex, and educational attainment in the post-civil rights era. Social Science
Research, 42(6), 1659-1674.
Clayton, D. M. (2018). Black lives matter and the civil rights movement: A comparative analysis
of two social movements in the United States. Journal of Black Studies, 49(5), 448-480.
Forman, T. A., & Lewis, A. E. (2015). Beyond prejudice? Young whites’ racial attitudes
in post–civil rights America, 1976 to 2000. American Behavioral Scientist, 59(11), 1394-1428.
Harris, F. C. (2015). The next civil rights movement?. Dissent, 62(3), 34-40.
Hersch, J., & Shinall, J. B. (2015). Fifty years later: The legacy of the Civil Rights Act of
1964. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 34(2), 424-456.
Inwood, J. (2013). Contextualizing the state mode of production in the United States: race, space,
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Nagel, C., Inwood, J., Alderman, D., Aggarwal, U., Bolton, C., Holloway, S., ... & Walter, A.
(2015). The legacies of the US Civil Rights Act, fifty years on. Political
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Powell, Z. A., Meitl, M. B., & Worrall, J. L. (2017). Police consent decrees and Section 1983
civil rights litigation. Criminology & Public Policy, 16(2), 575-605.

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Rugh, J. S., & Massey, D. S. (2014). Segregation in post-civil rights America: Stalled integration
or end of the segregated century?. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on
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Tuck, S. (2013). Malcolm X's Visit to Oxford University: US Civil Rights, Black Britain,
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