Jim Crow laws in the South were part American culture from shortly after the Civil War in 1865 until the middle of the 20th century. They successfully kept blacks second class citizens, unable to sit on juries, hold public office, vote, or attend public institutions. Nearly 100 years after Lincoln freed the slaves, blacks had run out of patience and began demanding equality in a country founded on that principle and formalized by the Constitution in 1789.
The South successfully thwarted progress and if not for the federal government, under liberal leadership, moved in to force the social equality heretofore denied to a fifth of our population.
Without that activism, American society would still be largely divided along racial lines, and the dreams of Martin Luther King would still be just a dream.
It took forced busing, forced integration of public school after Brown v. Board of Education, affirmative action, and the Freedom Riders to remake the South and give black Americans the political power they have flexed ever since.
Without Liberalism this would not have happened. Without an expanded role of the federal government, this would not have happened. Without federal judges stepping away from the prejudiced rulings of the past, this would not have happened.
Liberalism helped America live up to the tenets of the American dream; liberalism saved the soul of America.
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I definetly agree that liberalism has helped shape america into what it is today. Without it i believe minorities would still be majorly looked down on with not the same rights as the rest of the world. I am definetly proud to say im a liberal.
ReplyDeletei agree with what the blog said cuz i think they should have all the same rights people shouldn't be treated differently because of their skin color, so i agree liberalism helped out with equal rights.
ReplyDeleteWith out liberalism our society wouldn't be as advanced as it is currently. Without all the help that all races and genders have contributed we would be stuck back in a temporal loop.
ReplyDeleteJosh: Good post ...you're a very intelligent young man.Don't limit yourself with lack of effort. Fight the tendency young guys have of becoming intellectually lazy...you have unlimited potential. Use it
ReplyDeleteAlyssa and Zully
ReplyDeleteGood posting....I like your attitude. I'm not trying to "change " you're attitudes or beliefs. As I said, it doesn't matter to me what you believe as long as you can defend it and know why you feel that way.
Keri and Rose: Good post. Thank you for posting ...keep thinking beyond the obvious. Push yourself to think beyond the obvious.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement because without liberalism and the gov stepping in than the racial lines still would have been drawn, because at that time races not having the same rights was in the norm, so no one except the minority would have stood against it because the majority felt that what was happening was the right thing. So I feel that this statement is right because without liberalism and the government stepping in when it needed to nothing wouldve changed.
ReplyDeletei think blacks have just as much rights as white people
ReplyDeleteDani and Rebecca: thanks for the post. I enjoyed reading your thoughts...keep posting as we move forward.
ReplyDeleteI think that these laws was very unfair and are descrimination at its best. By creating these laws and making theme 2nd class citizens was not in the power of the white people. God created all people equal, no better and no worse.
ReplyDelete