President Obama and American Civil Rights in the Twenty first Century

genteel skilfuls liberties had been celebrated and schematic in the Untied States lone(prenominal) in recent history. Barack Obamas upgrade to the presidency is the fruition of the long struggle of Black Americans for equal rights in all aspect of American society. From the days of Martin Luther King Jr. , however, polite rights in the USA see harbourn on various different issues, including the rights of homo familiars, women and the overall issue of racism, which is tangentially connected to the contentions in immigration. Pres.Obamas leaders in guaranteeing and even expanding gracious rights is done in the context of staid economic and political challenges to the United States. Voting Rights. The White House website (2010) states that Civil Rights Division to ensure that voting rights argon protected and Americans do not suffer from increased discrimination during a time of economic distress. prexy Obama believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be e xpanded to include sexual orientation and sexuality identity.He supports full civil jointures and federal rights for LGBT couples and opposes a essential ban on same-sex marriage. and that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. The issue of equality is at the heart of civil rights. Equality, on the other(a) hand, is at the heart of American nation. While the United States practice of democracy may not be perfect, it is seen as one of the best works democratic systems in the world.Hence, if any citizen (regardless of class, gender preference or race) fails to vote, their voices shall have been curtailed and their representation may be at stake. Donna Brazile (2010) wrote that the 15th Amendment to the US genius was enacted to give voting rights to minorities. But due to Jim Crow laws, various States managed to postpone the Constitutional amendment in favor of their own prejudices against Blacks and other minori ties.Brazile (2010) went on to draw up that the voting rights of certain minorities are in danger in several(prenominal) states because of certain rules that make it difficult for these minorities to cast their votes. While the civil rights causal agency in the 1960s was mainly about the rights of Black Americans, the issue straightaway includes other races, particularly Spanish-speaking peoples in the United States. Conservatives, Black Americans and Racism. The teatime Party is supposed to be an answer to the perceived failures of customsal parties in the United States.Ironically, in defense of the Tea Party, even Black conservatives analyze the issue of race as a phony category. This tirade was in response to the accusation hurled by the National Association for the Advancement of unilateral Peoples (NAACP) that the Tea Party is slow to discipline the racist elements in their party, among them are conservative Tom Tancredo, whose assertion implied that those without enough English literacy are responsible for(p) for electing Americas enemyBarack Obama.Tancredo even criticized the cult of multiculturalism as the culprit for the problems of the United States (Travis, 2010, Berger, 2010). While some of elements from Tea Party may decline the category of race as an important issue in American politics, the historical record and events could not be denied. Race has been one of the virtually contentious issues in American politics and history. By bringing endure the issue of literacy in voting, Tancredo is bringing back the Jim Crow laws days when literacy tests were utilize as a means to disenfranchise minorities and take away their right to vote.Subsequently, this rule became the source of violence in various states. Race and gender Issues. Another civil rights issue that may appear to have arisen only recently is the issue of same-sex marriages. The most recent controversial bailiwick was atomic number 20s Proposition 8, which was meant to re-es tablish the traditional definition of marriage as union between a man and a woman. But the battle for the rights of same-sex is not over. decide Vaughn Walker, however, declared that this Proposition is unconstitutional.In his ruling, Walker said that Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out spanking men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the flavor that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples (CNN, 2010). The issue of same-sex marriage is complicated by tradition and religion. Historically, however, race transaction had also been complicated by tradition and religion.Hence, Judge Walker even stated that at some point, race restrictions on marriage were also implemented by many states in the past. unmarried States and the Federal Government. There are a number of similarities in the civil rights issues of today and that prev iously faced by the United States. One much(prenominal) parallel that will break apart or further complicate the matter will be the relationship between and among the rules and policies of individual states and that of the federal government.While the federal government is faced with so many challenges from different areaseconomy, politics, international relations and immigration among others, individual states will try to circumvent some constitutional rules if the leaders of these states feel that the Federal government is too busy to take notice. Already, some voting rights in Georgia are being endanger and minority votes are being undermined. The issue of same-sex marriage will also be decided upon by individual states, at least at first, before the United States Supreme Court step in to resolve it finally.The 1965 Voting Rights Act was enacted to guarantee equal voting rights. Failure to protect that will be tantamount to undermining Americas legacy of democracy. role Berger , J. (2010). Tea Party Launches Counter-Revolution. Fox News. Retrieved 8 idealistic 2010 from http//liveshots. blogs. foxnews. com/2010/02/04/tea-party-launches-counter-revolution/. Brazile, D. (2010). Stay waking to Protect Voting Rights. bloodline News Network. Retrieved 8 August 2010 from http//edition. cnn. com/2010/ assent/08/06/brazile. voting. rights. act/index. html. CNN (2010).Opponents of Same-sex Marriage to File Appeal in California Case. Cable News Network. Retrieved 8 August 2010 from http//edition. cnn. com/2010/US/08/05/california. same. sex. ruling/index. html. Travis, S. (2010). Black Conservatives bring together Hands to Deny Racism within the Tea Party Movement. CNN political Ticker. Retrieved 8 August 2010 from http//politicalticker. blogs. cnn. com/2010/08/04/black-conservatives-join-hands-to-deny-racism-within-the-tea-party-movement/? iref=allsearch White House Website (2010). Civil Rights. Retrieved 8 August 2010 from http//www. whitehouse. gov/issues/ci vil-rights.