Can Legislation achieve Racial equality?
Introduction
Equal opportunities can either be granted or denied to certain races by the enactment of a statutory law or legislation. Legislation is the tool that promotes or prohibits the existence of racial equality or inequality. If a legislature or governing body puts into place a bill to regulate, outlaw, authorize, sanction, provide (funds), declare, grant, or restrict certain opportunities to a certain race, it may result in racial equality or inequality. In the United States, African Americans were segregated and secluded from the white race through the enactment of certain legislations. However, they used civil rights movements to ensure that the same statutory laws were used to ensure that racial equality was achieved to some extent. Thus, legislation can be used to achieve racial equality.
Legislation and racial equality
The civil rights movement in the I950s-1960s saw a phase of protests that led to the enactment of legislation that freed African Americans from some racial inequalities like segregation. Examples of legislation that was enacted were in Brown v. Board of Education ruling on May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional (Patrick, 1985). Earlier on, the federal law and the USA Constitution had declared that everyone was equal. However, the states in the South passed the Jim Crow Laws that related to segregation. It meant that black people had to live separately from white people in places like schools, churches, hospitals, and theaters. The legislation saw a reduction in the rates of racial discrimination against African Americans.
Moreover, the civil rights movements led to the establishment of the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s which were a major breakthrough. The legislation put in place affordable African Americans legal rights that every American is entitled to also providing for the enforcement of some of the laws by the Federal government. By the early 1970s, policies and directives were being instituted by Federal agencies that had followed suit as they trained on race relations and equal opportunity. On September 9, 1957, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was signed by President Eisenhower (Patrick, 1985). Since the 1800s, it was the first Civil Rights law establishing a Civil Rights section in the federal Civil Rights Commission and the Justice Department to explore conditions that are problematic and recommend ways of correcting them. This law was a great motivator for African Americans at the time. Since it had been so long since a Civil Rights law had been passed, there was no hope that if African Americans' work against discrimination continued, further breakthroughs were possible (Jaynes, 2005).
A 1996 the U.S. report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found the U.S. federal government lacking in its enforcement of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It cited the Justice Department for deficiencies that are extensive in the enforcement of the law in order to ensure nonracial discrimination in all federally funded programs and activities (U. S. Department of Justice, 1995). Thus, there is need for a legislation that can be used to prevent discrimination in the enforcement of the law.
Currently, although the civil movements achieved some legislation enacted by the US government, some barriers were broken. This does not translate into equal accomplishments in education, voting rights, and the economy. Statistics from the U. S. Bureau of the Census (1995) show that the number of African Americans who completed four or more years of high school since 1960 has more than tripled from 20% to 73% lagging behind the White students at 82%. Although the gap is not as wide in high school this makes the White Americans statistic in college twice the rate of African-Americans (12.9% of the African-Americans and White-Americans at 22.9%). In the 19’s approximately a third of all African-American families were below the poverty level, and less than one-tenth of all White families were below the poverty level (John, 1996).
Lastly, many racial battles have been won through legislation. The passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 was a legislation that saw the provisions of the act like workers may seek monetary damages in civil rights cases; workers who prove they were rejected from gaining employment could win an injunction, court costs, and attorneys' fee; alternate ways to resolve disputes such as mediation, arbitration among other were allowed and the winning party in a lawsuit would receive the cost of hiring any experts for their case. The law also reversed decisions made in five recent cases by the Supreme Court. In regards to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which has been renewed severally Justin Ruth Bader Ginsberg says in a dissenting opinion that "Legislative districting is a highly political business. The court has generally respected the competence of state legislatures to attend to the task. When race is an issue, however, we have recognized the need for judicial intervention to prevent dilution of minority voting strength." (Schatzman, 1995). Others, such as Georgia State Representative Tyrone Brooks, echo his ideas when he says that although the African-Americans have won the battle for the right to vote, and the battle against segregation, they have won the battle to go to schools of their choice. But, they still have not won the battle in terms of money which is the economic challenge. Thus, legislation can be a way of winning battles toward racial equality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the African-American community was to some extent able to fight racial inequality and discrimination through the establishment of civil movements that saw the enactment of some legislation. This is through the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights which still exists, originally established by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and has now expanded its scope. Its new mandate includes preparing public service announcements, pushing for the enactment of civil rights laws, and advertisements to discourage discrimination. Therefore, racism may never end in our society but through legislation of certain bills that fight racism, they will give civil rights groups and the racially discriminated the strength to fight for their rights leading to the reduction of racial inequality.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jaynes, G. (2005). Encyclopedia of African American society. 1st ed. London: SAGE.
Patrick A.F.B (1985). Significant Dates in the Civil Rights Movement. Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute:
Schatzman, Dennis (1995). "Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act." Los Angeles Sentinel, V.LXI, N.19.
U. S. Bureau of the Census (1995), Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1995 (115th edition). Washington, DC, 1995.
U. S. Department of Justice (1995). "Education's Strategic Plan Emphasizes Partnership Approach." Civil Rights Forum, Vol.9, No.3.
John Y. (1996). "The Costs of Discrimination." The Diversity Factor, Vol. 4, No. 4.
