Will Heward

History 2710

Professor Case

26 April 2017

Reflection Essay

How is the Civil Rights Act of 1964 relevant today?

This Civil Rights Act of 1964 still stands and is enforced today to secure equal rights for
all kinds of people who live inside the borders of the United States. Rosa Parks and Martin
Luther King Jr. impacts on the civil rights movement is still taught and felt in schools across the
country. In fact, there is a day set apart to honor Martin Luther King Jr on the third Monday of
every January. These amazing people have not only helped African-Americans and other
minority groups gain equal rights but have also helped them thrive in a predominantly white
nation. First I will explain why this the Civil Rights Act is relevant today, then I will explain how
this event has shaped my perception about the world I live in, to conclude I will describe how the
Civil Rights Act compares or does not compare to other General Education courses I have taken.
African-Americans thrive in American society today. They completely dominate in some
areas such as sports like basketball and baseball. Arguably the best basketball player to ever live
is Michael Jordan who went to school in North Carolina and went on to play professionally for
the Chicago Bulls. Hank Aaron played at a very high level in Major League Baseball and paved
the way for various others. Barack Obama became the first African-American president in the
history of the United States. Like Jordan and Aaron, Obama would not have been granted the
opportunity to do so many great things if the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had not been passed.
Obama specifically expressed how influenced he has been from the civil rights movement in an
article by Chicago 5 News. I saw Barack as being inspired by the civil rights movement
Obamas admiration for King also played a role in his spiritual development. Obama had grown
up unchurched, with a mother who was skeptical of organized religion (McClelland, How
Martin Luther King Jr. Inspired Obama). Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Act of 1964
effects people today in so many ways. The act has also affected me in various ways as a white
American and changed my perception of the world I live in.
I was lucky enough to have grown up decades after the act was passed. I say I am lucky
because racism is not a big issue for much of society today. I was not raised in a home where
racism against African-Americans and other minority groups was taught, unlike others my age
just a century earlier. No matter your skin color, I see everyone as equal to me. I classify others
by what they have achieved and what kind of person they are, not the color or their skin. The
majority of my entire generation has similar feelings and I know it is because we are reaping the
benefits of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
To be honest, the Civil Rights Act and this topic do not relate to other general education
courses that I have taken. I have taken a few other history classes but this is the first time I have
studied the civil rights movement in depth since elementary school. It has been a great
experience for me and helped me realize how privileged I am to live in America in this day and
age. I enjoy the blessings of a mostly racist free and equal society thanks to The Civil Rights Act
of 1964 and people like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. I hope to honor their lives by
treating people everyone equal and in a way, I would want to be treated. To judge them according
to their works and not their skin color.

Works Cited
McClelland, Edward. (n.d.): n. pag. Print.