As Black History month commences, we reflect on how far we have come in terms of civil rights. Civil rights guarantee equal protection regardless of race, religion, or other beliefs; however, it was a very long process to secure civil rights for people of color.

There was a struggle for justice, and although the Civil War (1981-1985) abolished slavery, there continued to be violence, racism, and discrimination towards Black people in the U.S. In the case of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. As a result of these events, a Civil Rights Act was made in 1957 and 1964 that guaranteed Black citizens the right to vote and guaranteed employment. A prominent figure that created change through his activism was Martin Luther King Jr., who worked to help end segregation with peaceful protests.

Ayelet Gonzalez, an Anaheim Alumni shares, ¨There has been progress on civil rights, and the good thing is that we have all come together as a community to fight for justice by protesting for what’s right for our people.¨

Nowadays, there have been events that have led to movements on civil rights, such as the situation of George Floyd. George Floyd was a 46-year-old man murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest. The police officer pinned him down, leaving Floyd unconscious. As a result, about 26 million people across the United States participated in a protest holding up signs that read “Black Lives Matter.” The slogan Black Lives Matter became very powerful, and it continues to build power to bring justice.

Jessica, a senior at Anaheim High school, states, ¨ We need to continue to fight for Black Lives Matter. We need to make sure that our kids of color don’t have to worry about being bullied because of their culture and that they get the same opportunity as any other kid. Something we can do to start achieving the goal is educating people of different cultures and religions.¨

There has been progress with civil rights, and we have come so far to promote equality in the world, but even then, there is still much to do, and people will continue fighting for justice for people of color.