As of today, the act is significantly more enforced. But back then, they struggled with the resistance to this act: specifically with the public accommodation clause of the act. The South used the argument that the government should not have any influence on independent businesses and that they cannot force businesses to serve black customers, but ultimately were overruled.
I believe that these sorts of racist behaviors definitely exist today, but the specific actions that are in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are not. At this point, it comes down to the difference between the equal opportunities that the government is providing and the attitude of the people. The government can only go so far as to create these acts that ban racist behaviors until it begins to infringe on constitutional rights. Then, it is up to the people to end racism.
I felt that the movie definitely shed some light on a subject that I was not previously aware of, and showed me how important this event was in the Civil Rights Movement. It definitely clarifies, for me at least, that this is not just some field trip that we are taking because it is close by, but because it is something that is important on a national, and even global level. I'm expecting that this idea will become even more apparent when I actually get to be in the places that these events occurred.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964#Continued_resistance
| Martin Luther King Jr. |