Civil Right Act of 1964 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Civil Right Act of 1964 - Essay Example The country has literally shed blood of innocent civilians to fight for few basic rights that are God-given. Racism and prejudice are clearly present through Terkel’s narration of Ellis as he projects his emotional level of prejudice, his self-justification, and his displaced aggression. In order to combat this racism, the Civil Rights act has become a hallmark to combat this disease and to propagate for reform. The Civil War serves as a crucial testament towards the self-proclaimed status of America, a nation in which freedom and liberty can be celebrated. Nonetheless, the nation has struggled to grant the idea of equality throughout history. What was ironic was the fact that the efforts of black soldiers during the World War II is taken for granted. All enlisted men ninety-first division were Negroes and that became controversial for many factors. First and foremost was the fact that all the men enlisted in this division were poor black individuals, who were illiterate and l abor workers. They possessed no official military training and were up against an army which had prior experience. The division possessed around 600 military black officers, most of them which came from the Southern states. The 92nd Division comprised of 12,000 officers, in which 200 of them were white and 600 black officers. A major flaw that plagued this division was the fact that racial and prejudice haunted the infantry. The whole experience for these black men was bitter sweet as no chance of error was given to these men. Any training mistakes would be overblown by the media as the reports went back across the nation initiating a scream of hatred and racism. In essence, there was no respect for these brave warriors who were putting their lives in the front lines for their country. Without a doubt, it was unfortunate that these same men were living under the Jim Crow laws. One of the main concepts of prejudice and racism that is outlined in Ellis’s narration is his level of prejudice that is prevalent throughout his life. Vincent Parillo, author of Causes of Prejudices questions the whole essence of social categories of racism, which is then depicted in Terkel’s work. When people are nurtured in an environment where they are biased culturally against a group of individuals; they naturally assume that those views are correct. This can be no doubt detrimental as these perspectives are embraced and become the foundation for hatred. Prejudicial attitudes are prevalent amongst many groups and are a key catalyst towards conducing hatred. The Jim Crow laws that plagued the United States of America during the 1890’s was the clear illustration of the unfortunate reality that degraded the citizenship rights of African Americans. The racial segregation that was dominant in southern states was due to factual legislation that the state government imposed. The Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, which clearly gave a mandate of â€Å"separ ate but equal facilities† added more gasoline to the fire. It undoubtedly hindered growth for adequate economic opportunity and give rise to hatred groups such as the KKK. Without a doubt, legislative achievements