Positive Impact Of The Civil Rights Movement On The Materialization Of American Dream For Black Americans

Ever since the ending of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, numerous books and articles have been written on its impact on the life of black Americans and the society as a whole. But it seems that many of these writers are pessimistic about the present situation of blacks and have neglected the encouraging effects of the Movement on their life. So the author attempts to explore the positive impact of the Movement on the life and psychology of blacks, and thus on the materialization of their American dreams.Chapter One offers a brief overview of the inequalities faced by black Americans and their struggle for freedom and equality as enshrined in the American Dream. Chapter Two begins with a conceptualization of the term 'American Dream', for many people are familiar with the phrase but possibly unclear about its specific meanings; then the author proceeds to point out the disparities between the American Creed and the American Deed in its treatment of blacks in its almost two hundred years of history. Despite such disparities, however, the blacks maintained their faith in the American Dream, and as a result, black leaders have been seeking the Dream while defining the blacks' dream as derived from that great ideal. Chapter Three offers a literature review on the Civil Rights Movement. During this process, the author does not describe the major events according to the chronological order but instead, chooses to analyze its efforts in different areas, including desegregation of schools, public accommodations and housing, political rights with the right to vote in particular, and enhancement of the blacks' economic conditions. Chapter Four discusses the achievements of the Civil Rights Movement The author points out at the beginning of this Chapter that the Movement succeeded in eliminating all legalvestiges of racial inequalities by helping mainly the ratification of three Acts, namely, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed segregation of schools and public accommodations and also discrimination in employment practices, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which enabled blacks to exercise this basic and most important political right and helped them shed off their second-class citizenship, and then the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which prescribed housing segregation as illegal. Then the author elaborates on the positive impact of the Movement on the different spheres of life of black Americans, especially in education, political status and economic conditions. Furthermore, the author points out in this Chapter that the Movement made the general public realize the wrongs of past discrimination which violated the ideal that "all men are created equal", and boosted the self-respect of blacks and their pride in their race and culture. As a result, Americans are now closer to the realization of the American Dream enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and its Constitution, and black Americans possess greater ability and enjoy greater freedom to pursue and materialize their dreams on the Land of Promise. Chapter Five is the conclusion: the Civil Rights Movement has exerted positive impact on the materialization of the American Dream for black Americans. Yet gaps, even large ones in some areas, still remain between blacks and whites. So the author also points out that continued efforts by all sectors are necessary to close such gaps, and that the United States should honor its promise made more than two hundred years ago to all Americans, including whites and blacks and other ethnic groups, a promise that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.