Civil+Rights+Act+Sec+2

** What is the Civil Rights Act of 1964? **
[|The Civil Rights Act of 1964] was instated in 1964 after beginning in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy. The bill called for a number of provisions including the de-segregation of public places such as: restaurants, hotels, stores, and importantly: schools. The bill sought to eliminate racial segregation throughout the United States. Segregation in the South was gaining more and more opposition and it was apparent the segregated establishments such as schools were not "separate but equal." Schools were unequal because of difference in funding, buildings, and management. By instating the Act, the Federal Government sought to do away with the establishment of "separate but equal."

With the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson took over the fight to end segregation and pass the Civil Rights Act through congress. It was not an easy bill to pass through the senate, resulting in long filibusters (54 days) as well as a weaker version of the bill, that would cause the Act to take a few years to truly gain a strong-hold against segregation. On June 19, 1964 the bill passed the senate by a vote of 73-27. The law was finally signed by President Johnson on July 2, 1964, just in time for Independence Day.

** Why is this Act important? **
This Act allowed the Federal Government to ENFORCE desegregation (a ruling by the Supreme Court to desegregate schools: "[|established" by the Brown v. Board of Education in 1954]). Finally, the government was able to have a heavier hand in desegregating public places, including schools. Because of the Civil Rights Act, ALL students of ALL races in the United States, regardless of religion, race, or ethnicity are able to go to non-segregated schools. ==

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** What enabled the Federal Government to do this? **
[|Article VI] of the bill barred the use of federal funds for segregated schools and programs. The act was slow in taking hold in the South, by 1965 only 6% of black students were integrated. The process would be slow, and more legislation would be needed to truly desegregate schools. However, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a giant leap towards a more equal education for all races and was a cornerstone for modern day education and reform.



The years after The Civil Rights Act
By 1967, only 22% of the southern and border schools were intergrated, and it was starting to move in the wrong direction. The Kerner Comission released a report, in 1968, stating that the black and white communities were seperating, and that the schools systems were starting to show the same events. The white community, especially in inner-city areas, were moving to the suburbs because they had the luxury to. Schools started to segregate themselves again. What made matters worse was in 1970 when President Nixon stated that his administration would not partake in desegregation of schools. He would leave that to the Judical system. Which in the early 70's said that a mostly white suburb school did not have to go with the desegregation plan since most of the kids in the area were white. Desegegration was happening; however, it started to create a different type of segegration in the schools, a segregation of social economics status. The suburb schools had plenty of money, and funding from the local area to make the school thrive with good equipment, and after school activities. While the inner-city schools were lacking the funds to have the same things. The schools were unequal, This was a problem through the 1970s, however we have started to change things around.

Resource Links:
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=old&doc=97&page=transcript

http://www.jstor.org.prxy8.ursus.maine.edu/stable/189577?&Search=yes&term=rights&term=civil&term=1964&term=act&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dcivil%2Brights%2Bact%2Bof%2B1964%26gw%3Djtx%26acc%3Don%26prq%3Dcivil%2Brights%2Bact%2Bof%2B9164%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&item=8&ttl=14667&returnArticleService=showFullText

http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=old&doc=97&page=transcript

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/civil-rights-act/

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/prize.htm


 * Lasting Impact: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 in Today’s Education**
 * More than 500 school districts have experienced some sort of federal court oversight to address segregation since the passing of the act.
 * The Civil Rights Act of 1964 erased //de jure// segregation, but //de facto// segregation is increasing.
 * //De facto// is Latin for “by the fact.” //De facto// segregation refers to segregation that happens due to demographics. //De facto// segregation is increasing in urban areas.
 * A way for schools to combat //de facto// segregation is race - conscious assignment which is a strategy of taking race into account without making it the primary consideration (p.278).
 * Some of these strategies include magnet schools or consideration of diversity in admissions.
 * These measures, however, have led to some Supreme Court Cases
 * In 1978, the Supreme Court ruled in the Case //University// //of California v. Bakke// that colleges can consider race as a factor in admissions.
 * In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled in //Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger// that race can be considered by colleges in an effort to have a diverse student body, but colleges cannot use a set formula.
 * Other Supreme Court Cases
 * //Board of Education of Oklahoma City Schools v. Dowell (1991)//
 * The issue was the conditions under which a school district may be relieved of court supervision and the Supreme Court ruled that court supervision would continue until all facets of segregation were out of all school operations.
 * //Freeman v. Pitts (1992)//
 * The big issue was whether schools were responsible for segregation based on demographics and the Supreme Court ruled that schools are not responsible for this.
 * The big issue was whether schools were responsible for segregation based on demographics and the Supreme Court ruled that schools are not responsible for this.

[|**Quick Facts**]


 * Dropout rates of African American students (ages 16-24) declined from 20.5 percent in 1976 to 13.0 percent in 1996
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * The number of females participating in high school sports increased from 294,000 in 1971 to over 2.4 million in 1996-97. As of 1996, 39 percent of all high school athletes are females.
 * As of 1996, more than 125,000 women participate in intercollegiate athletics. This represents a fourfold increase since 1971, when 31,852 women participated in intercollegiate athletics.

**Resources**

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Johnson, James A., et al., __Foundations of American Education: Perspectives on Education in a Changing World.__ Boston: Pearson, 2011.