Civil Rights

Throughout the last hundred or so years the term "civil rights" has gained new meaning everyday. To me the definition of civil rights and equality is simple, it means that no matter the color of skin, sexual orientation, economic background, or education level, everyone should be treated with the same respect. No one race should be put below another. That's where civil rights comes in.

"Have We Overcome?" by Rachel L. Swarns shows how civil rights and equality have changed over the years and how people expect it to become better now because he have a black president. Equality is important with civil rights because everyone should be able to do anything they put their mind to. In certain situations that isn't the case. As Swarns says "studies suggest that employers often favor white job seekers over black applicants, even when their educational backgrounds and work experiences are nearly identical." Even with about 17 percent of African Americans holding Bachelor Degrees there still isn't much equality. Civil Rights is important not only for blacks but for everyone. Minorities and people below the poverty level alike. With Barack Obama being president we do see some equality. Past civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr fought hard to get to where we are now. He didn't fight for a black president, he fought to have equal rights and be able to have a black president. Racism isn't over though with a black president. There will always be ignorant people with backwards minds who have a problem with anyone who does not look like him/her getting ahead in life.

In the famous Pound Cake Speech by Bill Cosby, he speaks about how the black community doesn't appreciate the fight that so many blacks had to go through in order to be treated close to equal. He focuses on how the black community isn't taking this opportunity that they have to get an education, to get out of the bad neighborhoods, and to get good jobs, be able to live in a nice neighborhood, and give their children what they didn't have.

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© Kevin Behrman 2009