Civil Rights Movement Of 1960s

The Supreme Court Wiping Out Justice, Equality, Reforms, And Restoring Late 19th Century Post Reconstruction And Gilded Age!

Tragically, the Supreme Court majority in recent years has made it clear that their goal is to wipe out racial equality, and the sacrifices of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and return America to the late 19th century Reconstruction and Gilded Age, a time of horrendous racial segregation and violence!

They have, systemically, worked to eliminate voting rights, as well as affirmative action, undermining the ability of racial minorities to have the same opportunities for the “American Dream” of equality, democracy, and the rule of law that white Americans have.

But also, the Supreme Court has undermined the rights of women (including taking away abortion rights); immigrant rights; labor rights; environmental and consumer rights; and instead, emphasized rights of corporations and promotion of right wing Christian values, reviving the mentality of the late 19th century, before the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the Great Society!

The Supreme Court has wiped out much of the progress and reforms of the past century and a quarter, bringing back the ugly repression of the last third of the 19th century.

Somehow, the Supreme Court and lower courts must be reformed once Donald Trump has left the scene, in order to restore the great advancements and progress of the Chief Justice Earl Warren Court, and of the great reform Presidents since 1900.

US Supreme Court Majority Destroys Voting Rights Act Of 1965, LBJ’s Civil Rights Accomplishment!

Six decades ago, in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson courageously promoted the passage of the Voting Rights Act, to right the wrong of racial discrimination which denied African Americans, primarily in the South, the enforcement of the 15th Amendment of 1870, the right to vote, under Jim Crow racism for nearly a century.

Now, the disgraceful modern Supreme Court, with three Trump appointees, two appointees of George W. Bush, and the despicable Clarence Thomas appointed by George H W Bush, have destroyed the concept that African Americans and other racial minorities (Latinos, native Americans, Asian Americans), should have adequate representation, and instead are re-establishing white supremacy all over again.

In the Louisiana redistricting case (Louisiana V. Callais), the Louisiana legislature denied African Americans a second “black” seat out of six, despite the fact that about one third of the state has black population. The Supreme Court decided 6-3 that what Louisiana had done was not discriminatory, even though it is clear that it is, without any realistic doubt.

That, plus the outrageous reapportionment gerrymandering in Florida promoted by outgoing Governor Ron DeSantis, against the state referendum on the subject of gerrymandering passed overwhelmingly in 2010, being perpetrated on the same day as the Supreme Court decision, is disheartening.

It is highly likely that many African American members and other minority districts, primarily, but not only in the South, will have no or greatly reduced representation in the halls of the House of Representatives in the upcoming 120th Congress (2027-2029) and beyond.

Chief Justice John Roberts has revealed his true nature on this subject, having initiated it in 2013 in Shelby County Alabama V. Holder, the first cutting back on the Voting Rights Act, and now with three Trump appointees on the Court, that law is being, effectively, eviscerated.

The historical legacy of John Roberts is damaged for the long run of history, as he will go down as a destroyer of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Proposed maps show “blue” areas in the South, where black representation was present in the House of Representatives, would be mostly decimated–completely in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina, and be dramatically cut back in North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

This is an outrage against the concept of democracy and the rule of law, a tragedy of massive proportions.

It is also a slight against the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr, John Lewis, and other civil rights heroes, who spent their lives promoting fair treatment, and suffered much brutality in the process!

The Passing Of Jesse Jackson, A Civil Rights Icon And First Serious Black Presidential Contender!

The news of the passing of the Reverend Jesse Jackson, a Civil Rights Icon and close adviser to the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, at age 84, is a reminder of his prominence and significance in the Civil Rights Movement, and as a Democratic Presidential contender in the 1980s.

Jackson was a charismatic, inspiring preacher and second place finisher in primaries in 1984, when behind Walter Mondale, and again in 1988, when behind Michael Dukakis.

Jackson was present when King was assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968, and spent decades carrying on the King tradition of non violence, and commitment to progressive causes.

Jackson was the first serious black Presidential candidate, and drew great respect, although he was criticized for his scandalous private life romantic scandals, nothing anymore seen as unusual, although more so decades ago.

Jackson led the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a nonprofit social justice organization that rallied people of all backgrounds around promotion of civil and human rights.

Jackson was eloquent and charismatic, and united people of all races, as well as sexual orientation, a pathbreaking change in the Democratic Party.

It can be asserted that without Jackson’s Presidential runs in the 1980s, there might not have been the future of Barack Obama.

And Jackson also helped to free hostages in various nations, due to the respect and fame that he brought in his negotiations with foreign governments.

Jackson’s impact remains part of the Democratic Party and progressive tradition, as the best hope for the future of America!

Trump “War” On History, But The Truth Shall Survive Long Term!

The history of slavery is part of the story of American history.

It is not a pleasant story, but it needs to be addressed.

In the era of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and since, historians and other scholars finally put the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about slavery and racism into the curriculum, long overdue.

But now, racist President Donald Trump has mandated the end of displaying and addressing the issue of slavery at national historic sites and monuments.

The outragous action to remove the display about slavery and George Washington at the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia is attempting to wipe out a sin that America has had since its beginning, which needs, continually, to be addressed.

This author and blogger in the summer of 2025 visited the Muir Woods National Monument in northern California, and shortly after, all references to the role of native Americans, women, and immigrant groups to the history of environmentalism, were also eliminated.

The cause of teaching and publishing and exposing all of the background, good and bad, of all aspects of American history, now must be doubled down on in resistance, through lawsuits and reversal of the hate filled intent of Donald Trump and his administration. The long range will see the triumph of truth!

The Wiping Out Of History By Donald Trump: Museums And The White House! :(

President Donald Trump has declared war on History, attacking various museums and their exhibits, and destroying the East Wing of the White House without any input, consultation, or authorization by any agency or organization.

For someone like this historian and scholar, this is a very depressing situation!

Interference with museum exhibits at the National African American Museum and National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, along with the National Museum of American History, National Gallery of Art, and all other Smithsonian Museums is an attempt to wipe out truth, and distort the reality of the American past.

The same situation affects all National Parks and Monuments, with “sanitizing” of the reality of these sites.

Additionally, interference with the Library Of Congress, and cultural institutions, such as the Kennedy Center For The Perfoming Arts, is infuriating!

Declaring war on “DEI”, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, is trying to repeal the 20th Century Civil Rights Movement, and reforms moving forward on race and gender, and instead working to impose white male dominance of all cultural institutions!

Chief Justice John Roberts: A Total Disappointment And Disaster!

Chief Justice John Roberts has been the leader of the Supreme Court now for 20 years, fourth longest service of the 17 Chief Justices since 1789.

Roberts came on the court as a “moderate conservative”, appointed by George W. Bush in 2005 right after Chief Justice William Rehnquist died, and the day before Roberts was to begin hearings to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing the retiring Sandra Day O’Connor.

Fate would have it that due to the death of the Chief Justice, suddenly Roberts would be elevated to a special status of being the leader of the Court.

Roberts came across for many years as “reasonable”, including when he “saved” the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) in a court decision in 2013.

Roberts always spoke of the need for balance and reasonableness, but in reality, that was a false, misleading image of him.

Now, 20 years in, Roberts is revealed as a phony, who has moved the Court toward the extreme Right, and shocked people with statements in recent years that reveal just how Right Wing he is.

For instance, he has said that racism is no longer an issue, which is totally preposterous and outrageous.

He has led a Court that has brought Donald Trump to have awesome power and has undermined the separation of powers, and he has contributed to what is becoming an authoritarian and Fascist Presidency, undermining American democracy and the rule of law.

So Roberts will go down in history as a tragedy and disaster, and his reputation long term will be in tatters!

And now, the Voting Rights Act is being challenged in the Court, which could destroy the idea of representation for minorities, and making the possibility of a white dominated House of Representatives, that could make the Republican Party dominant into the future.

And if that happens in this Supreme Court term, the Roberts Court will have sealed its reputation of returning American to the time of JIM CROW, and white supremacy, which was overcome by the Civil Rights Movement and the massive positive contribution of President Lyndon B. Johnson and the “Great Society” in the 1960s!

Martin Luther King Jr Anniversary Of Assassination, And Race Relations In America

It has been 56 years since the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr in Memphis, Tennessee.

The nation has observed his January birthday as a national holiday since 1986, but sadly, racism, and white supremacy have not declined.

In fact, due to Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican followers, the Republican Party exudes racism, as well as nativism, misgoyny, and many strains of antisemitism.

The struggle of Republicans against DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) has harmed the nation, and the Supreme Court backtracking since 2013 on voting rights protection, presents a major challenge for the short and long term future of the struggle against the advancements of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and beyond.

The Democratic Party, as imperfect as it is, is still the best hope for the future in that regard.

Nikki Haley Disqualifies Herself For Presidency By Endorsing States Have Right To Leave Union!

Republican Presidential contender Nikki Haley has come out for the right of states to leave the Union, referring to the battle over who controls the borders and the problem of widespread migration of people from Central America into Texas.

The federal government is responsible for the borders, not the states, and the Republican Party needs to cooperate on legislation being promoted by a coalition of Democrats and Republicans in the US Senate.

But instead, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Republican governors of 13 other states have defied a Supreme Court decision that included Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the three Democratic appointments on the Court, mandating that the state of Texas stop creating dangerous barbed wire barriers, that led to the death by drowning of several migrants, including children.

Nikki Haley has now taken a stand with seditionists and rebels that caused the Nulllification Crisis under Andrew Jackson, due to Vice President John C. Calhoun’s promotion of states rights in 1832-1833, as well as Jefferson Davis and the Confederate States of America provoking the four year Civil War from 1861-1865.

This is the same concept promoted by Southern governors and most notably Alabama Governor George Wallace in the time of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

Haley, by so doing, has disqualified herself for the office of the Presidency, and should be ashamed of herself for promoting lawlessness by state governors, who choose not to obey the Supreme Court!

Donald Trump’s Threat To Utilize The Insurrection Act Of 1792 To Establish A Military Dictatorship

Hard to believe, but a law passed under George Washington in 1792 to promote a stable American Republic could destroy the Republic under a demagogue such as Donald Trump 233 years later in 2025 if Trump is able to regain the Presidency a year from now!

The purpose of the law was to overcome internal rebellion, best exemplified by the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania in 1794, but also used by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War; by Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and Grover Cleveland in labor disputes; by Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy to promote Southern integration of schools during the Civil Rights Era ; and by President George H. W. Bush during the Los Angeles riots in 1992.

It is NOT designed to crack down on legal, constitutional right of dissent, including marches, demonstrations, and other displays of nonviolent action, but Trump has stated he would promote mass arrests and deportations upon taking the oath of office on January 20, 2025!

Something must be done to prevent such an outrageous movement toward Fascism, and the destruction of the Bill of Rights, and the first step would be to insure that Donald Trump never gets near the Oval Office again!

The Field Of American History Under Vast Attack By Politicians With Evil Motives!

This author and blogger has been a scholar of American history for the past half century, since 1972.

My life has been one of research, writing, publishing, giving interviews, and teaching college and university students the facts, the reality, the truth of American history, in all of its glory but also of its travails and shortcomings.

As any scholar in any field, the essential point is to expand the truth, the knowledge, and the reality of the American past, with no allowance for censorship or interference with what books are promoted in the quest for the truth of the American past.

Sadly, American history was badly distorted until the 1960s, with the “Lost Cause” of the Confederate South being permitted to dominate curriculums at all levels of American education, from elementary level through middle school, high school, and even at universities.

The distortion of the truth about the American past was a crime, finally overcome, and transforming the understanding of America’s past for the generations since the rise of the civil rights movement.

The liberation of knowledge meant not only the reality of the African American past, but also that of Hispanic-Latino history, women’s history, labor history, environmental history, and the role of gender and sexuality, have all become part of the total story of America.

The goal has been to liberate America from a white Christian domination of knowledge, which even left people of other religious faiths, as ignored, until recent decades.

We as a society cannot permit the myths of the past to become predominant again, and to disease the minds of the young, so as to promote prejudice, discrimination, and narrowmindedness!

That would be the prescription for the return of the criminal lies and deceit that affected understanding of American History from the era of the Civil War in the 1860s through the next century!

We are faced with the evil motives of politicians in the Republican Party to revive the past mythology!

I, for one, will NOT allow myself to promote and promulgate anything other than the truth, the facts, the reality of the American past, as I move forward into the future, still dedicated to inspiring students about the total, valid story of the American past!