The Civil Rights Era had its ups and downs. Some of the bigger events seem to have been accidents. Others were very well planned. Brown vs. Board of Education really kicked things off. It was actually a collection of different lawsuits that were put together. It did not really overturn a precedent. Unstead, it used the settled law to show that things were not equal, therefore could not be valid. Interestingly, school integration has not been the end-all benefit that was hoped for. Restrictive covenants and legally segregated schools have been replaced by zoning restrictions and wealthy suburban schools. Is this what destroyed inner cities and led to the dominance of the automobile?
The Little Rock school integration was more of an accident caused by politician medling. The school district had a positive plan to integrate. However, the governor decided to insert himself into the mess.
It is interesting how the democratic party was able to pivot to take the black vote (and Republican party to take the rural white vote.) The country would be better served if allegiances were more divided.
There is still a ways to go with Civil Rights in America. It almost feels that we push one area and another issue comes up. Can we actually have a healthy multi-racial, multi-ethnic urban area where everyone can walk around together?
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