Understanding the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its effect on womens rights in the US – Part 1

It took forty-plus years after women’s rights activist, Susan B. Anthony. In 1920, white women gained their alienable right to vote. However, that right didn’t pass to the black woman. In America’s internal civil rights battle, Freedom Summer pushed “the weaker and discriminated sex” into the forefront.

After the violence and pain, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed. President Lyndon B. Johnson endorsed it while in Dr. King’s presence. Dozens of people died getting that Act passed. Andrew Goodman, Michael Scherwer and James Chaney were found shot, beaten and buried in an earthen dam. Many other CORE(Congress for Racial Equality) activists were brutally beaten and harassed by police.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 capped off a campaign to get black Mississippians to vote. CORE workers traveled door to door in the backwoods and countryside. Klan hit squads were active with using fear and murder to intimidate Negroes. Their tactics worked on some. But, new voters promptly stepped up and elected delegates for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party that joined the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. The biggest beneficiaries of the Act were black women.

America’s most discriminated class finally had a voice. A black woman led the delegation and brought a contingent to represent Mississippi Negroes. Fannie Lou Hamer represented the poor, black Mississippian in her appearance at the Chicago Convention. She described vividly her mauling by Luleville, Miss. deputies while in county jail. She tearfully related Negro prisoners taking turns beating her with blackjacks and putting salt on her open wounds. She spoke with power and eloquence at the Movement and how important it was for America to grant black people first-class citizenship. Unfortunately, the Freedom delegates only acquired three seats. They clashed with the other Democrats. Even though, they represented themselves in Chicago, the event as a whole was unsuccessful.

However, Hamer’s appearance spearheaded a women’s movement in government politics. In 1972, Shirley Chisolm made her bid for the presidency and sparred against George McGovern. After Chisolm’s campaign, women began vying for congressional seats nationwide. A few earned electoral victories. Freedom Summer not only produced a victory of sort for Negroes, it gave women an outlet into America’s political arena. Since that time, women have maintained their presence.