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1960’s Event that Influenced My Personal Life

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1960’s Event that Influenced My Personal Life

In my final writing assignment, I am going to discuss how my life would be different had

the Civil Rights Act of 1964 never been drafted. As a background, I was born and raised in the

South, but I have been living in California for the past 5 years. I am married to an African-

American/Caucasian man and we have two multi-racial (1/4 African-American, 1/8 Native

American, 5/8 Caucasian) boys. Growing up in the South, I have always been uneasy with the

lack of tolerance and the inherent ignorance of the people there. In many ways, I am ashamed to

admit that even my own family has discriminatory views towards African-Americans.

Fortunately, I rebelled against the beliefs and views of my cultural surroundings. Moving to

California, helped open my eyes and has made me a more balanced, open-minded and accepting

person. We should not have to “tolerate” people who are different than we are.

Greater than the impact on my personal life, is the impact of this act on my husband’s

life. My husband was born in raised in Oakland, California in a lower income family. He

attended Oakland Public Schools where he watched multiple friends fail and drop out.

Surrounded by violence, drugs and other pressures, his Mother found an opportunity for him

through A Better Chance Program. He excelled academically and was given a full scholarship to

a prestigious private boarding school where he attended 10th grade through graduation. A Better

Chance has a mission to “increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of

color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American

society” (http://www.abetterchance.org/, 2011). The program afforded him, as a young, African-

American, underprivileged kid to escape his surroundings and study at the Thacher school.
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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the first step to creating an equal-rights society,

outlawing discrimination in public facilities engaged in commerce. It outlawed discrimination in

“employment in any business exceeding twenty five people and creates an Equal Employment

Opportunities Commission to review complaints”

(http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_histmats_civilrights64text.htm, 2011). The Civil

Rights Act of 1964 had flaws and it created loopholes and ways around providing certain rights

to individuals; however, considering our country’s history it was a step towards a positive future.

The Civil Rights Movement has a long history, but the Act of 1964 marked an intense

effort by the government to protect the rights of African-Americans and other minorities in our

country. During an important trial, Brown vs. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas, the court

ruled that, “To separate black children from others of similar age and qualifications solely

because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that

may affect their hearts and minds in a way never to be undone . . . We conclude that in the field

of public education the doctrine of separate but equal has no place. Separate educational

facilities are inherently unequal” (Boozer, M., Krueger, A., and Wolkon, S., 1992). This is one

of the most impactful outcomes of the Civil Rights Movements, in my opinion. Education is the

gateway to opportunity and success in our country. This statement made by the courts is

powerful and has personally impacted my life, through the experiences of my husband.

The Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, provides a list of positive impacts

the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had on removing racial barriers to opportunities provided by our

educational system. This noteworthy list includes:

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• Dropout rate of African American students (age 16 to 24) declined from 20.5 percent in

1976 to 13.0 percent in 1996.

• High school graduation rates among African Americans have increased substantially in

the past 20 years and drawn much closer to the high school graduation rate of whites.

• In 1990, 66.2 percent of African Americans age 25 and over had completed high school.

In 1997, 74.9 percent of African Americans age 25 and over had completed high school.

• Overall student participation in advanced placement (AP) classes has increased

dramatically since 1982, rising from 140,000 to 400,000 in 1997 high school graduates.

Especially impressive is the growth in participation of minority students. In 1997, the

percent of AP candidates who were minority students was 29 percent, compared to 11

percent in 1982.

• Student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has

increased in science, math, and reading, recovering most of the ground lost in the 1970s.

The gap in performance between white and African American students has narrowed

substantially since the 1970s.

• Minority participation on the Scholastic Assessment Test (formerly the Scholastic

Aptitude Test, or SAT) has increased. In 1998, minority students were 33 percent of all

graduating seniors who took the SAT, compared to 23 percent in 1988.

• Math and verbal SAT scores increased across almost all race/ethnic groups from 1987 to

1998. For example, the average SAT score of Asian American students increased 19

points on the verbal section and 21 points on the mathematics section. The average score

for American Indian students increased 9 points on the verbal section and 20 points on

the mathematics section. The average score for African American students increased 6
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points on the verbal section and 15 points on the mathematics section. All of these

increases exceeded those achieved by white students.

• Total minority enrollment at colleges and universities increased 61 percent between fall

1986 and fall 1996.

• Since 1990, the number of Latino students enrolled in higher education increased by 47

percent; the number of African American students increased by 20 percent; and the

number of American Indian students increased by 30 percent.

• 60 percent of African American high school graduates (class of 1997) enrolled in college

(2-year and 4-year colleges) immediately after their high school graduation. A decade

earlier, only 52 percent of African American high school graduates went on to college

without a break in their education.

• 65 percent of Latino high school graduates (class of 1997) enrolled in college (2-year and

4-year colleges) immediately after their high school graduation. A decade earlier, about

45 percent of Latino high school graduates went on to college without a break in their

education.

• 10.5 percent of all college students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional education)

were African American in fall 1996. Four years earlier, only 9.6 percent of all college

students were African American.

• 8.1 percent of all college students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional education)

were Latino in fall 1996. Four years earlier, only 6.6 percent of all college students were

Latino.

• The percentage of African Americans age 25 and over who held bachelor's degrees

increased from 11.3 percent in 1990 to 13.3 percent in 1997.

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• The number of bachelor's degrees in engineering awarded to African Americans

increased 75 percent from 1981 to 1996, while total bachelor's degrees awarded in

engineering only increased by 3.1 percent.

• African American students were awarded 1,563 doctorates in 1996. This represents a 48

percent increase since 1987 (List above retrieved from:

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/impact.html, published 1999).

My husband graduated from The Thacher School in 2001, and then attended Occidental

College where he played basketball and excelled academically. He graduated Occidental College

in 2005 with a degree in Business Management and Economics. The Civil Rights Act of 1964

and the progress of our country provided opportunity for individuals across our Nation, just like

my husband. Without the Civil Rights Act and the movements to follow, people like him,

talented, capable individuals, would not have had the opportunity to succeed. Imagine our

country today with out the Civil Rights Movements and the Civil Rights Acts. An African-

American is our President. The President of the United States of America is multi-racial,

something that some thought we could never see in our lifetime.

The Center for American Progress, published an article in 2004 titled, “The Civil Rights

Act 40 Years Later.” The article discusses the positive influences that the Civil Rights

Movement and Acts had on our country. It also highlights the injustice of our current society and

government to always enforce the Acts. The rights of minorities and women are supported by

legislation; however, there is not a focus on enforcing the Acts to support victims of

discrimination.
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References

Retrieved April 11, 2011 from: www.abetterchance.org

Retrieved April 10, 2011 from

http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_histmats_civilrights64text.htm

Boozer, M., Krueger, A., and Wolkon, S. (1992). Race and School Quality since Brown vs.

Board of Education.

Retrieved April 10, 2011 from: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/impact.html