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Jorja Baker and Yene Reyot pose in meme-like stances, with Jorja imitating a thonk face and Yene imitating the famous "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson eyebrow raise."

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Here we have a photo of Jorja Baker and I, whose lives without the Civil Rights Act would have been filled with many more hardships, and made life slightly more eventful for us, albeit at the cost of our dignity and our rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, making discrimination of many kinds illegal. Now, everyone was legally required to be given the same opportunities, regardless of what they looked like and who they were. President John. F. Kennedy proposed it in June 1963, and Lyndon B. Johnson pushed the bill to law after his assassination. This is, quite possibly, one of the most important reforms ever passed. Without it, society would be built on a lack of diversity and inclusiveness. Many people wouldn't be given the same chances as white men, and would never be able to see their talents and abilities appreciated and shown in society. Without it, there's a high chance I wouldn't be here, and instead be learning in a low-quality, segregated, neglected school.

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In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed the Social Security Act, providing people with a source of income as they grow old. The program uses American taxes to go to a "trust fund" of sorts, which will provide citizens that are eligible with benefits. The money from the trust fund can be received in different ways: you can either be retired, living with a disability that prohibits you from working, or be the spouse or child of a worker that died. The amount you earn depends on many things, such as how much you made in your lifetime, the age you start earning benefits, and more. This money allows people to be supported throughout times where they may not be able to support themselves as much. The act also gave everyone a card as a personal ID card of sorts, which is now crucial to earn a job, earn your social security benefits, and more. It's highly likely most of us here will be living of of Social Security sometime in our future, and without it, many people who can't sustain themselves on their own wouldn't have adequate living conditions.

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On March 25, 1911, a factory designed to manufacture shirtwaists burned down in a tragic fire, most likely triggered by an unextinguished cigarette butt, spreading quickly and killing 123 women and 23 men, mostly due to locked doors to prevent people from taking breaks, which inadvertently prevented people from leaving. This prompted a complete overhaul of fire protocols in workplaces and in everyday life. In October of 1911, the Sullivan-Hoey Fire Prevention Law was passed, which required factory owners to install sprinkler systems, improve building exits in case of emergency, improve guidelines, and install fire extinguishers. This also prompted a lot of awareness to be spread on fire safety. What you see here is a link to a video made by FEMA on how to prepare for a fire in your home and what to do if a real fire occurs.

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In the year of 2020, a new, wide-spreading virus rampaged our world, known as SARS-CoV-2, aka COVID-19. This virus resulted in the deaths of 6.28 million people worldwide, and that number is growing as we speak. It also required a lot of businesses to be shut down, affecting how their business functioned, a reduction in customers, or just closing for good. However, as time passed, some things were able to reopen, albeit with some protocols to protect everyone involved. On July 1, 2021, a mask mandate in PA was signed, which mandated masks in many locations, such as indoor spaces, in public areas, at sites of work, and more. With this order, a critical tool in reducing the spread of COVID was mandated for all, which helped to slow the spread of COVID. In hindsight, it does rely on people actually following the orders and wearing them, and there were a fair share of people that didn't wear them, but there were a fair share of people that did, fulfilling its purpose. Without masks, many more people would have caught COVID, and possibly die from it.

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Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007/Energy Star

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Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007/Energy Star

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In 2007, the Energy Independence and Security Act was passed. This act was intended to lower U.S. energy usage, which it accomplishes by setting strict requirements on products in terms of energy efficiency if they want to sell in the U.S. It also provided monetary incentive for companies to start using clean energy, such as bonuses and grants to automobile companies that switch to electric-powered cars, as well as lots of funding for renewable energy research such as solar, geothermal, and hydro-electric. It also required all lighting in federal buildings to use Energy Star products. These days, you might find an "Energy Star" sticker on your refrigerator, microwave, or other appliance. Energy Star is a program ran by the government made with the intention of providing information on different products' energy consumption. Without these two acts, there wouldn't be a regulation on energy consumption, and less incentive for companies to switch to renewable energy. This would lead to a lot more, non-renewable energy being consumed, negatively impacting our environment and the air we breathe in.

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As shown with my artifacts, America's government has stepped its foot in certain aspects of our lives, leading to positive outcomes. It led to the Civil Rights Act, guaranteeing freedoms for all, Social Security, protecting our populations' most vulnerable, mask mandates, slowing the spread of COVID-19, the Sullivan-Hoey Fire Prevention Law, providing stricter fire safety guidelines, and the Energy Independence and Security Act, helping to lower America's energy consumption. All of these are controversial to some, but these reforms have clearly helped America in many ways. The reforms we'll see later in the future have yet to be seen, but if our country keeps on the right track, these reforms will bring about well-needed change that will improve our country for the better.