The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Provisions of this civil rights act forbade discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as, race in hiring, promoting, and firing.–Department of Labor
To quench a conflagration with an act of legislature–Arthur Guiterman, “The Beavers”
In the nineteen fifties, high schoolers were labeled as conformists, presumably because we were thought to dress alike, think alike, and enjoy the same activities. Sputnik came as a shock; suddenly we were expected to study Russian, Physics and Engineering. The civil rights movement and the Vietnam War changed things again–so that many then wished more of us would be more docile, less active.
More and more realized that discrimination, particularly on the basis of race, was wrong, which led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Today civil rights of many are under attack by those who seek exemption from our laws with one excuse or another.
Today we see a violent pushback against diversity, with people being dehumanized, –labeled illegals or transgenders– attacked and killed because of their race, their immigration status, or whom they love. There is a resurgence of white supremacy, misogyny, anti-semetism and racism.
Today we face attempts to limit what we can think, what we can say, what can be taught–legally enforced conformity. Such laws should be found unconstitutional. Other laws seek to discriminate against people on the basis of gender, limiting what certain women or all women can do. Beware; if one group is subject to legal discrimination, anyone can face discrimination on the basis of religion, race, sex, ethnicity, and more.
