The study of American government and politics does not just happen in the classroom. You can experience government and policy in ways outside of class that enhances your learning. This said, you are required to participate in a field work activity that is relevant to American or Texas State government and write a 1200-word reflection paper on your experience (bibliography not included). In a well-written essay, explain how your experience relates to the course and further developed your understanding of politics. What lecture or readings helped you understand this experience. Important Events Plessy V. Ferguson 1896 Brown V. Board of Education in 1954 Montgomery Bus Boycott Civil Rights Act of 1964 Voting Rights Act of 1965 (March 15) Important Group & Organizations NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People SNCC: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee COFO: Council of Federated Organizations SCLC: Southern Christian Leadership Conference Prominent People: President Lyndon B. Johnson President John F. Kennedy Whitney M. Young Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. Frank M. Johnson Jr. (U.S. District Court Judge) Things taught in class that can relate to experience in Juanita Civil Rights House Interest Groups (Protests) Elections & Voting Campaigns Political Parties Influence of Media, (Newspapers, and the news) My experience in the Juanita J. Craft Museum was an experience where I saw and learned a lot about the civil rights movements that took place with the government. And also the important people and event that took place that got us to where we are today in society. How this relates to class and government is because all of the laws that were made and passed during this time was very important. The experience at the Juanita J. Craft Museum further developed my understanding of politics by showing all of the processes and things that are involved in politics and the effects that politics have on the country. It caused me to reflect on all what this country has gone through in terms of making sure everybody is treated equally. It relates to the course because it has to do with politics. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which required equal access to public places and outlawed discrimination in employment, was a major victory of the black freedom struggle, but the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was its crowning achievement. The 1965 Act suspended literacy tests and other voter tests and authorized federal supervision of voter registration in states and individual voting districts where such tests were being used. African Americans who had been barred from registering to vote finally had an alternative to the courts. If voting discrimination occurred, the 1965 Act authorized the attorney general to send federal examiners to replace local registrars. The Voting Policies for Blacks and Whites. •holding black applicants to a higher standard of accuracy than whites; •allowing white applicants to register in their cars and in their homes; •processing black applicants last, even when they were first in line; •establishing separate registration offices in different parts of the courthouse; •offering assistance only to white applicants in completing the registration form; •refusing to notify black applicants about the status of their applications.