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122 Civil Rights Movement Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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The Civil Rights Movement is a pivotal period in American history that brought about significant social and political changes. It is a topic that has captivated scholars, researchers, and students alike, as its impact on society continues to reverberate today. If you are tasked with writing an essay on the Civil Rights Movement and are struggling to find the perfect topic, look no further. In this article, we have compiled 122 essay topic ideas and examples that will help you explore different aspects of this influential movement.

• The role of grassroots organizations in the Civil Rights Movement.
• Examining the impact of Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on the bus.
• The significance of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the Civil Rights Movement.
• Analyzing the leadership styles of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
• The nonviolent philosophy of the Civil Rights Movement and its effectiveness.
• The influence of the Harlem Renaissance on the Civil Rights Movement.
• Investigating the role of women in the Civil Rights Movement.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on American society.
• The role of media coverage in shaping public opinion during the Civil Rights Movement.
• The impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision on school desegregation.
• The Freedom Rides and their contribution to the Civil Rights Movement.
• Comparing and contrasting the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power Movement.
• The role of music in inspiring and mobilizing the Civil Rights Movement.
• The influence of the Black Panther Party on the Civil Rights Movement.
• The Civil Rights Movement's impact on other social justice movements.
• The experiences of African American soldiers in World War II and their influence on the Civil Rights Movement.
• Examining the role of white allies in the Civil Rights Movement.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the feminist movement.
• The role of the Supreme Court in advancing civil rights.
• The Civil Rights Movement's impact on voting rights and political participation.
• The role of churches and religious leaders in the Civil Rights Movement.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
• Investigating the role of non-African American activists in the Civil Rights Movement.
• The role of education in promoting civil rights and equality.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the criminal justice system.
• The Civil Rights Movement's influence on the disability rights movement.
• The role of student activists in the Civil Rights Movement.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on immigration policies.
• The role of grassroots journalism in documenting the Civil Rights Movement.
• The influence of international events on the Civil Rights Movement.
• The Civil Rights Movement's impact on affirmative action policies.
• Examining the role of the National Urban League in the Civil Rights Movement.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on housing segregation.
• The role of boycotts in the Civil Rights Movement.
• The Civil Rights Movement's influence on the labor movement.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on Native American rights.
• The role of local activists in the Civil Rights Movement.
• The influence of the Civil Rights Movement on the fight against poverty.
• Examining the role of children and youth in the Civil Rights Movement.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on public transportation policies.
• The role of the Black Church in the Civil Rights Movement.
• The influence of international figures, such as Nelson Mandela, on the Civil Rights Movement.
• Examining the role of African American athletes in the Civil Rights Movement.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the representation of African Americans in the media.
• The role of the Civil Rights Movement in challenging stereotypes and promoting cultural pride.
• The influence of the Civil Rights Movement on the decolonization movement in Africa.
• Examining the role of the Civil Rights Movement in the fight against apartheid in South Africa.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the desegregation of public spaces.
• The role of the Civil Rights Movement in challenging discriminatory employment practices.
• The influence of the Civil Rights Movement on the development of Black Studies programs in universities.
• Examining the role of the Civil Rights Movement in promoting multiculturalism and diversity.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the representation of African American history in textbooks.
• The role of community organizing in the success of the Civil Rights Movement.
• The influence of the Civil Rights Movement on the development of ethnic studies programs.
• Examining the role of women in the leadership of the Civil Rights Movement.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the fight against police brutality.
• The role of literature and poetry in capturing the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement.
• The influence of the Civil Rights Movement on the development of Black-owned businesses.
• Examining the role of the Civil Rights Movement in the fight against environmental racism.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the representation of African Americans in politics.
• The role of the Civil Rights Movement in challenging discriminatory housing practices.
• The influence of the Civil Rights Movement on the development of multicultural education.
• Examining the role of the Civil Rights Movement in promoting interracial relationships.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the development of African American arts and culture.
• The role of the Civil Rights Movement in challenging discriminatory healthcare practices.
• The influence of the Civil Rights Movement on the development of African American studies programs.
• Examining the role of the Civil Rights Movement in promoting restorative justice practices.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the representation of African Americans in the military.
• The role of the Civil Rights Movement in challenging discriminatory lending practices.
• The influence of the Civil Rights Movement on the development of Black feminist theory.
• Examining the role of the Civil Rights Movement in promoting inclusive immigration policies.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the representation of African Americans in Hollywood.
• The role of the Civil Rights Movement in challenging discriminatory healthcare access.
• The influence of the Civil Rights Movement on the development of African American museums and cultural institutions.
• Examining the role of the Civil Rights Movement in promoting LGBTQ+ rights.
• The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on the representation of African Americans in sports.

These essay topic ideas provide a wide range of avenues for exploration within the Civil Rights Movement. Whether you are interested in the experiences of specific individuals, the impact on various social issues, or the movement's influence on other movements, you are sure to find a topic that suits your interests. Remember to conduct thorough research, cite reliable sources, and present a well-structured argument in your essay to effectively delve into the complexities of the Civil Rights Movement.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — History of the United States — Civil Rights Movement

Essays on Civil Rights Movement

Hook examples for civil rights movement essays, anecdotal hook.

Imagine standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, listening to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. This moment in history epitomized the Civil Rights Movement's power and importance.

Question Hook

What does it mean to fight for civil rights? Explore the complex history, key figures, and lasting impact of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

Quotation Hook

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. How did civil rights activists like King refuse to stay silent and ignite change?

Statistical or Factual Hook

Did you know that in 1964, the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin? Dive into the facts and milestones of the Civil Rights Movement.

Definition Hook

What defines a civil rights movement? Explore the principles, goals, and strategies that distinguish civil rights movements from other social justice movements.

Rhetorical Question Hook

Was the Civil Rights Movement solely about racial equality, or did it pave the way for broader social change and justice? Examine the movement's multifaceted impact.

Historical Hook

Travel back in time to the mid-20th century and uncover the roots of the Civil Rights Movement, from the Jim Crow era to the landmark Supreme Court decisions.

Contrast Hook

Contrast the injustices and systemic racism faced by African Americans prior to the Civil Rights Movement with the progress made through protests, legislation, and activism.

Narrative Hook

Meet Rosa Parks, a seamstress who refused to give up her bus seat, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Follow her courageous journey and the ripple effect it had on the Civil Rights Movement.

Controversial Statement Hook

Prepare to explore the controversies within the Civil Rights Movement, such as differing strategies among activists and debates over nonviolence versus militancy.

The Outsiders: Challenging Stereotypes

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Analysis of "Ain't I a Woman"

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Civil Rights Movement and The Struggles of African Americans During Those Times

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How The Civil Rights Movement Helped African Americans Achieve Their Rights

Martin luther king jr: influential figure in the civil rights movement, how martin luther king jr, rosa parks and malcolm x organized the civil rights movement, the role of the media in ushering the civil rights movement, development of racial tendencies in the united states, the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s, a deeper look at the civil rights movement in america, generation of the civil rights movement, black lives matter in the civil rights movement, the civil rights movement about african american people, the civil rights movement and african american discriminations, a report on the events that helped martin luther king jr.'s prominence in america to push the civil rights movement, the civil rights movement about national indentify, the influence of jazz musicians on the civil rights movement, rosa parks and the civil rights movement, the contribution of local grass-roots activists to the civil rights movement, rosa parks: the lady of the civil rights, brown vs board of education, the way rosa parks leadership style changed the history, rosa parks: how one bold decision made a world leader.

United States

Racism, segregation, disenfranchisement, Jim Crow laws, socioeconomic inequality

W.E.B. Du Bois, Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Henry MacNeal Turner, John Oliver Killens

Civil rights movement was a struggle of African Americans and their like-minded allies for social justice in United States that came to national prominence during the mid-1950s. The purpose was to end legalized racial discrimination, disenfranchisement and racial segregation in the United States.

“Jim Crow” laws were established in the South beginning in the late 19th century with a purpose to separate Black people from white people. Black people couldn’t use the same public facilities as white people or go to the same schools. Although, Jim Crow laws weren’t adopted in northern states, Black people still experienced discrimination.

Forms of protest and civil disobedience included boycotts, such as the most successful Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956) that lasted for 381 days in Alabama; mass marches, such as the Children's Crusade in Birmingham in 1963 and Selma to Montgomery marches (1965) in Alabama; "sit-ins" such as the Greensboro sit-ins (1960) in North Carolina and Nashville sit-ins (1960) in Tennessee.

The Great March on Washington was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans. It was organized and attended by civil rights leaders such as A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin and Martin Luther King, Jr., who delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech.

On July 2, 1964, President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and later sexual orientation and gender identity. The act "remains one of the most significant legislative achievements in American history".

The civil rights movement had tragic consequences for two of its leaders. On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated at a rally and Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on his hotel room’s balcony on April 4, 1968.

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 was signed into law by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during the King assassination riots. It prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, and national origin.

The 20th-century civil rights movement produced an enduring transformation of the legal status of African Americans and other victims of discrimination.

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111 Civil Rights Movement Essay Topics

🏆 best essay topics on civil rights movement, ✍️ civil rights movement essay topics for college, 👍 good civil rights movement research topics & essay examples, 🎓 most interesting civil rights movement research titles, 💡 simple civil rights movement essay ideas, ❓ research question about the civil rights movement.

• Women Role in the Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement: Effects and Consequences
• The Civil Rights Movement’s Success
• The Causes and Effects of the Civil Rights Movement
• 1960’s Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement’s Causes and Effects
• Social and Personal Responsibility of Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement
• Rosa Parks: Mother of the Civil Rights Movement Rosa Parks’s life and deeds are indeed rousing and offer a clarion call for free-thinking people all over the world to emulate her struggles and wins for social equality, justice.
• Martin Luther King Jr.’s Impact on Civil Rights Movement Even though the Civil War of 1861-1865 had ended 90 years earlier, racial equality had never been established in America.
• The Civil Rights Movement The movement for equal rights and opportunities for every citizen of the United States has led to positive results and outstanding successes.
• The Civil Rights Movement History The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s considerably changed the nation by defending equality at the legislative and public levels.
• Praying for Sheetrock: Civil Rights Movement In the book “Praying for Sheetrock: A Work of Nonfiction” Melissa Fay Greene considers the problem of the Civil Rights Movement in the American South.
• The Influence of the African American Civil Rights Movement on Other Groups The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s began the struggle for freedom and equality, whose ideas remain relevant in today’s America.
• The American Civil Rights Movement in US History The need for the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s was contributed by the desire to end the Jim Crow segregation system in the Southern states.
• African American Civil Rights Movement The growth of the anti-racist and pacifist movements in the United States was reflected in the sentiments of African American fighters for Civil Rights.
• Researching of Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement aimed to eliminate racial discrimination and ensure that everyone has equal rights and opportunities regardless of skin color.
• Affirmative Action in Civil Rights Movement Affirmative action has been in the spotlight of the political, and in particular, liberal agenda, since the 1960s Civil Rights Movement.
• The Civil Rights Movement in American History The Civil Rights Movement is important in discussing American history because it effectively changed the nation with its impacts on minorities.
• The Civil Rights Movement from 1955 to 1968 In the period from 1955 to 1968, the Civil Rights movement gained considerable momentum, ultimately resulting in the implementation of the Voting Rights Act and Fair Housing Act.
• The Civil Rights Movement: Impact on the African American Citizens By building the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans managed to change not only the legal standards but also the social perspective, gaining the recognition that they deserved.
• The Great Depression vs. The Civil Rights Movement The Great Depression had an impact compared to the Civil Rights Movement because it affected many people, and transformed the American culture more profoundly.
• Civil Rights Movement and Construction of US Racism Racism is associated with slurs, Islamophobia, police brutality, and Donald Trump. This list signals that racism today is a more insidious, politicized form of discrimination.
• Analysis of the Civil Rights Movement By the early 1970s, the fascination with extreme forms of black nationalism was gradually waning, the influence of adventurous slogans and tactics was falling.
• Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement Martin Luther King, Jr. is the most well-known defender of black Americans’ civil rights; the movement he led has contributed significantly to the fight against racial segregation.
• The Civil Rights Movement: Minorities vs. Police An opposition between minorities and police appears to be a problem that started during the Civil Rights Movement and continues to modern days.
• Achievement of Civil Rights Movement The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s marked a new beginning in America’s history. Different minority groups came together in order to fight for equality.
• The Civil Rights Movement and Its Biggest Events The Civil Rights Movement was initiated to advance the clamor for social justice by ensuring equal entitlements for the black society under the U.S. statutes.
• Civil Rights Movement, Reconstruction, and the Gilded Age The Civil Rights movement of the 1950s-1960s became a struggle for social fairness. During the period of Reconstruction, Black Americans managed to receive political independence.
• The History of Civil Rights Movement One of the differences between the activities of Claudette Colvin and young BLM activists lies in distinctive political situations.
• Civil Rights Movement: Aims, Ideas, Impacts on Society The aim of the civil rights movement in the 1960s was to resist all forms of racial oppression as well as to abolish the legacy of slavery as an institution.
• The Civil Rights Movement Overview This paper focuses on the Civil Rights Movement, especially its origin and influence in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.
• Civil Rights Movement and Actual State of Human Rights Ending racial discrimination and equalization of rights between the variety of ethnic groups found on the territory of the United States is a struggle with a long history.
• Civil Rights Movement Analysis This paper describes the Civil Rights Movement that started as a response to racial segregation in the U.S.A. The main ideologists were Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
• Martin Luther King Civil Rights Movement: Impact on Modern Society The Civil Rights movement has had a significant impact on the history of the USA and played a significant role in forming modern society.
• Women’s Demands: Seneca Falls in 1848 and Civil Rights Movement No matter the amount of difference between the demands of women at Seneca Falls in 1848 with the demands of women in the 1960s-70s, at the fundamental demand they were the same.
• US Social Scientists and Civil Rights Movement One of the most important event of 1960s US was the Civil Rights Movement. The movement gave equal rights to African-Americans in the US which included right to vote.
• Civil Rights Movement & Modern Afro-American Life This essay will provide a brief overview of the civil rights movement and discuss its impact on the contemporary life of African Americans.
• Law in the Civil Rights Movement: Articles Review The article by Glennon seeks to prove that the mere act of prolonged protests during the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-1957 did not prevail on its own volition.
• Early Civil Rights Movement and Its Goals The Civil Rights Movement encompasses the actions and strategies used by different groups in the United States between 1954 and 1968.
• News Media Shaping Civil Rights Movement History African American journalists sacrificed their resources to support the Civil Rights Movement. This paper explains how the news media shaped history throughout this movement.
• The Civil Rights Movement and Reconstruction This paper discusses Morris’ analysis of the Civil Rights Movement development and strategies. It also discusses what did reconstruction entail and why was it eventually abandoned.
• Martin Luther King in Civil Rights Movement One should focus on the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King was able to raise people’s awareness about the destructive impacts of racial discrimination.
• Pauli Murray’s Input to the Civil Rights Movement Pauli Murray’s name is not commonly mentioned alongside many historical figures immortalized in their fight for equality and civil rights for minorities and women.
• Civil Rights Movement: Violence and Community This paper explores the role of violence in the context of the Civil Rights Movement and the way the bottom-up approach offers a different view of the Black struggle.
• The Civil Rights Movement in USA Civil rights can be traced to during the United States of American Reconstruction period which happened between late 1860s and 1870s.
• Civil Rights Movement in America One of the common elements of the history of the United States in the early years was racial discrimination against foreigners.
• Civil Disobedience and the Civil Rights Movement
• Muhammad Ali and the Civil Rights Movement
• Human Trafficking and the Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement: The Right for Educational Equity
• Barack Obama Reflects on the Deracialized Post-Civil Rights Movement Just
• Hate Crime and the Civil Rights Movement
• Angela Davis and the Civil Rights Movement
• Affirmative Action Programs and the Civil Rights Movement
• The American Civil Rights Movement Between 1955 to 1968
• Philadelphia and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement
• The Role of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in the Civil Rights Movement
• The Abolitionist Movement and the Civil Rights Movement
• Racism and Prejudice During the Civil Rights Movement
• The History of The Civil Rights Movement in The United States of America
• Black Lives Matter in The Civil Rights Movement
• Discrimination and the Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement and Its Impact on Gender
• Gender Inequality During the Civil Rights Movement
• Montgomery Bus Boycotts: Role of Women in the Civil Rights Movement
• Personalities Behind the Civil Rights Movement
• Non-violence During the Civil Rights Movement Assignment
• Industrial Workers Movements and Civil Rights Movement
• Martin Luther King’s Impact on the Civil Rights Movement
• Civil Rights Movement and African American Women’s Role
• Progressing the Civil Rights Movement With Aristotle’s Artistic Appeals
• The Role of The Media in Ushering The Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement and the Feminist Movement
• Analyzing the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War Assignment
• Photojournalism and the Civil Rights Movement
• African American Civil Rights Movement of 1955-1968
• Native Americans and the Civil Rights Movement
• Black Middle Class and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement
• The Contradicting Outcome of The Civil Rights Movement in America
• Civil Rights Movement and The Struggles of African Americans During Those Times
• The Civil Rights Movement and the Biblical Oppression
• Harriet Tubman and the American Civil Rights Movement
• Bernie Sanders and the Civil Rights Movement
• Relationship Between Civil Rights Movement & Feminist Agenda
• The Civil Rights Movement and African American Discriminations
• Reconstruction Era and the Civil Rights Movement
• How Has the Civil Rights Movement Changed the United States?
• What Role Did the Americans Play in the Civil Rights Movement From the 1950s to the 1960s?
• How Did the Civil Rights Movement and Anti-Vietnam Campaigns Impact Society and Law Enforcement During the 1960s and 1970s?
• What Changed After the Civil Rights Movement?
• How Has the Meaning of Civil Rights in the United States Changed Over Time?
• Why Did the American Civil Rights Movement End?
• How Did the Civil Rights Movement Cause Social Change?
• What Was the Most Significant Achievement of the Civil Rights Movement?
• Was the Non-violent Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s Successful?
• How Did the Civil Rights Movement Develop After 1961?
• What Were the Similarities and Differences Between the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement?
• How Far Was Peaceful Protest Responsible for the Success of the Civil Rights Movement in the Years 1955-1964?
• Why Did the Civil Rights Movement Fall Apart?
• In What Ways and for What Reasons Did the Civil Rights Movement in the United States Make Significant Progress in the Period 1950 to 1964?
• How Important Was Martin Luther King to the Success of the Civil Rights Movement?
• What Made the Civil Rights Movement Successful?
• How Did the Civil Rights Movement Change American Culture?
• What Events Led to the Civil Rights Movement?
• Did the Civil Right Movement Change the World?
• Who Has the Biggest Impact on the Civil Rights Movement?
• Why Did the Civil Rights Movement in the United States Become Fragmented After 1966?
• Is the Civil Rights Movement Still Going On Today?
• What Were the Causes and Effects of the Civil Rights Movement?
• How Did the Civil Rights Movement Affect the World?
• What Was the Most Important Event During the Civil Rights Movement?

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Civil Rights Movement

By: History.com Editors

Updated: January 22, 2024 | Original: October 27, 2009

The civil rights movement was a struggle for social justice that took place mainly during the 1950s and 1960s for Black Americans to gain equal rights under the law in the United States. The Civil War officially abolished slavery , but it didn’t end discrimination against Black people—they continued to endure the devastating effects of racism, especially in the South. By the mid-20th century, Black Americans, along with many other Americans, mobilized and began an unprecedented fight for equality that spanned two decades.

Jim Crow Laws

During Reconstruction , Black people took on leadership roles like never before. They held public office and sought legislative changes for equality and the right to vote.

In 1868, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution gave Black people equal protection under the law. In 1870, the 15th Amendment granted Black American men the right to vote. Still, many white Americans, especially those in the South, were unhappy that people they’d once enslaved were now on a more-or-less equal playing field.

To marginalize Black people, keep them separate from white people and erase the progress they’d made during Reconstruction, “ Jim Crow ” laws were established in the South beginning in the late 19th century. Black people couldn’t use the same public facilities as white people, live in many of the same towns or go to the same schools. Interracial marriage was illegal, and most Black people couldn’t vote because they were unable to pass voter literacy tests.

Jim Crow laws weren’t adopted in northern states; however, Black people still experienced discrimination at their jobs or when they tried to buy a house or get an education. To make matters worse, laws were passed in some states to limit voting rights for Black Americans.

Moreover, southern segregation gained ground in 1896 when the U.S. Supreme Court declared in Plessy v. Ferguson that facilities for Black and white people could be “separate but equal."

World War II and Civil Rights

Prior to World War II , most Black people worked as low-wage farmers, factory workers, domestics or servants. By the early 1940s, war-related work was booming, but most Black Americans weren’t given better-paying jobs. They were also discouraged from joining the military.

After thousands of Black people threatened to march on Washington to demand equal employment rights, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 on June 25, 1941. It opened national defense jobs and other government jobs to all Americans regardless of race, creed, color or national origin.

Black men and women served heroically in World War II, despite suffering segregation and discrimination during their deployment. The Tuskegee Airmen broke the racial barrier to become the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps and earned more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses. Yet many Black veterans were met with prejudice and scorn upon returning home. This was a stark contrast to why America had entered the war to begin with—to defend freedom and democracy in the world.

As the Cold War began, President Harry Truman initiated a civil rights agenda, and in 1948 issued Executive Order 9981 to end discrimination in the military. These events helped set the stage for grass-roots initiatives to enact racial equality legislation and incite the civil rights movement.

On December 1, 1955, a 42-year-old woman named Rosa Parks found a seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus after work. Segregation laws at the time stated Black passengers must sit in designated seats at the back of the bus, and Parks complied.

When a white man got on the bus and couldn’t find a seat in the white section at the front of the bus, the bus driver instructed Parks and three other Black passengers to give up their seats. Parks refused and was arrested.

As word of her arrest ignited outrage and support, Parks unwittingly became the “mother of the modern-day civil rights movement.” Black community leaders formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) led by Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr ., a role which would place him front and center in the fight for civil rights.

Parks’ courage incited the MIA to stage a boycott of the Montgomery bus system . The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted 381 days. On November 14, 1956, the Supreme Court ruled segregated seating was unconstitutional. 

Little Rock Nine

In 1954, the civil rights movement gained momentum when the United States Supreme Court made segregation illegal in public schools in the case of Brown v. Board of Education . In 1957, Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas asked for volunteers from all-Black high schools to attend the formerly segregated school.

On September 4, 1957, nine Black students, known as the Little Rock Nine , arrived at Central High School to begin classes but were instead met by the Arkansas National Guard (on order of Governor Orval Faubus) and a screaming, threatening mob. The Little Rock Nine tried again a couple of weeks later and made it inside, but had to be removed for their safety when violence ensued.

Finally, President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened and ordered federal troops to escort the Little Rock Nine to and from classes at Central High. Still, the students faced continual harassment and prejudice.

Their efforts, however, brought much-needed attention to the issue of desegregation and fueled protests on both sides of the issue.

Civil Rights Act of 1957

Even though all Americans had gained the right to vote, many southern states made it difficult for Black citizens. They often required prospective voters of color to take literacy tests that were confusing, misleading and nearly impossible to pass.

Wanting to show a commitment to the civil rights movement and minimize racial tensions in the South, the Eisenhower administration pressured Congress to consider new civil rights legislation.

On September 9, 1957, President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law, the first major civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. It allowed federal prosecution of anyone who tried to prevent someone from voting. It also created a commission to investigate voter fraud.

Sit-In at Woolworth's Lunch Counter

Despite making some gains, Black Americans still experienced blatant prejudice in their daily lives. On February 1, 1960, four college students took a stand against segregation in Greensboro, North Carolina when they refused to leave a Woolworth’s lunch counter without being served.

Over the next several days, hundreds of people joined their cause in what became known as the Greensboro sit-ins. After some were arrested and charged with trespassing, protesters launched a boycott of all segregated lunch counters until the owners caved and the original four students were finally served at the Woolworth’s lunch counter where they’d first stood their ground.

Their efforts spearheaded peaceful sit-ins and demonstrations in dozens of cities and helped launch the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to encourage all students to get involved in the civil rights movement. It also caught the eye of young college graduate Stokely Carmichael , who joined the SNCC during the Freedom Summer of 1964 to register Black voters in Mississippi. In 1966, Carmichael became the chair of the SNCC, giving his famous speech in which he originated the phrase "Black power.”

Freedom Riders

On May 4, 1961, 13 “ Freedom Riders ”—seven Black and six white activists–mounted a Greyhound bus in Washington, D.C. , embarking on a bus tour of the American south to protest segregated bus terminals. They were testing the 1960 decision by the Supreme Court in Boynton v. Virginia that declared the segregation of interstate transportation facilities unconstitutional.

Facing violence from both police officers and white protesters, the Freedom Rides drew international attention. On Mother’s Day 1961, the bus reached Anniston, Alabama, where a mob mounted the bus and threw a bomb into it. The Freedom Riders escaped the burning bus but were badly beaten. Photos of the bus engulfed in flames were widely circulated, and the group could not find a bus driver to take them further. U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (brother to President John F. Kennedy ) negotiated with Alabama Governor John Patterson to find a suitable driver, and the Freedom Riders resumed their journey under police escort on May 20. But the officers left the group once they reached Montgomery, where a white mob brutally attacked the bus. Attorney General Kennedy responded to the riders—and a call from Martin Luther King Jr.—by sending federal marshals to Montgomery.

On May 24, 1961, a group of Freedom Riders reached Jackson, Mississippi. Though met with hundreds of supporters, the group was arrested for trespassing in a “whites-only” facility and sentenced to 30 days in jail. Attorneys for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ) brought the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reversed the convictions. Hundreds of new Freedom Riders were drawn to the cause, and the rides continued.

In the fall of 1961, under pressure from the Kennedy administration, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations prohibiting segregation in interstate transit terminals

March on Washington

Arguably one of the most famous events of the civil rights movement took place on August 28, 1963: the March on Washington . It was organized and attended by civil rights leaders such as A. Philip Randolph , Bayard Rustin and Martin Luther King Jr.

More than 200,000 people of all races congregated in Washington, D. C. for the peaceful march with the main purpose of forcing civil rights legislation and establishing job equality for everyone. The highlight of the march was King’s speech in which he continually stated, “I have a dream…”

King’s “ I Have a Dream” speech galvanized the national civil rights movement and became a slogan for equality and freedom.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 —legislation initiated by President John F. Kennedy before his assassination —into law on July 2 of that year.

King and other civil rights activists witnessed the signing. The law guaranteed equal employment for all, limited the use of voter literacy tests and allowed federal authorities to ensure public facilities were integrated.

Bloody Sunday

On March 7, 1965, the civil rights movement in Alabama took an especially violent turn as 600 peaceful demonstrators participated in the Selma to Montgomery march to protest the killing of Black civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson by a white police officer and to encourage legislation to enforce the 15th amendment.

As the protesters neared the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were blocked by Alabama state and local police sent by Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, a vocal opponent of desegregation. Refusing to stand down, protesters moved forward and were viciously beaten and teargassed by police and dozens of protesters were hospitalized.

The entire incident was televised and became known as “ Bloody Sunday .” Some activists wanted to retaliate with violence, but King pushed for nonviolent protests and eventually gained federal protection for another march.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

When President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965, he took the Civil Rights Act of 1964 several steps further. The new law banned all voter literacy tests and provided federal examiners in certain voting jurisdictions. 

It also allowed the attorney general to contest state and local poll taxes. As a result, poll taxes were later declared unconstitutional in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections in 1966.

Part of the Act was walked back decades later, in 2013, when a Supreme Court decision ruled that Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional, holding that the constraints placed on certain states and federal review of states' voting procedures were outdated.

Civil Rights Leaders Assassinated

The civil rights movement had tragic consequences for two of its leaders in the late 1960s. On February 21, 1965, former Nation of Islam leader and Organization of Afro-American Unity founder Malcolm X was assassinated at a rally.

On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on his hotel room's balcony. Emotionally-charged looting and riots followed, putting even more pressure on the Johnson administration to push through additional civil rights laws.

Fair Housing Act of 1968

The Fair Housing Act became law on April 11, 1968, just days after King’s assassination. It prevented housing discrimination based on race, sex, national origin and religion. It was also the last legislation enacted during the civil rights era.

The civil rights movement was an empowering yet precarious time for Black Americans. The efforts of civil rights activists and countless protesters of all races brought about legislation to end segregation, Black voter suppression and discriminatory employment and housing practices.

A Brief History of Jim Crow. Constitutional Rights Foundation. Civil Rights Act of 1957. Civil Rights Digital Library. Document for June 25th: Executive Order 8802: Prohibition of Discrimination in the Defense Industry. National Archives. Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-In. African American Odyssey. Little Rock School Desegregation (1957).  The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute Stanford . Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Global Freedom Struggle. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute Stanford . Rosa Marie Parks Biography. Rosa and Raymond Parks. Selma, Alabama, (Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965). BlackPast.org. The Civil Rights Movement (1919-1960s). National Humanities Center. The Little Rock Nine. National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior: Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site. Turning Point: World War II. Virginia Historical Society.

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Introductory Essay: Continuing the Heroic Struggle for Equality: The Civil Rights Movement

To what extent did Founding principles of liberty, equality, and justice become a reality for African Americans during the civil rights movement?

• I can explain the importance of local and federal actions in the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.
• I can compare the goals and methods of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLS), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Malcolm X and Black Nationalism, and Black Power.
• I can explain challenges African Americans continued to face despite victories for equality and justice during the civil rights movement.

Essential Vocabulary

Continuing the heroic struggle for equality: the civil rights movement.

The struggle to make the promises of the Declaration of Independence a reality for Black Americans reached a climax after World War II. The activists of the civil rights movement directly confronted segregation and demanded equal civil rights at the local level with physical and moral courage and perseverance. They simultaneously pursued a national strategy of systematically filing lawsuits in federal courts, lobbying Congress, and pressuring presidents to change the laws. The civil rights movement encountered significant resistance, however, and suffered violence in the quest for equality.

During the middle of the twentieth century, several Black writers grappled with the central contradictions between the nation’s ideals and its realities, and the place of Black Americans in their country. Richard Wright explored a raw confrontation with racism in Native Son (1940), while Ralph Ellison led readers through a search for identity beyond a racialized category in his novel Invisible Man (1952), as part of the Black quest for identity. The novel also offered hope in the power of the sacred principles of the Founding documents. Playwright Lorraine Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun , first performed in 1959, about the dreams deferred for Black Americans and questions about assimilation. Novelist and essayist James Baldwin described Blacks’ estrangement from U.S. society and themselves while caught in a racial nightmare of injustice in The Fire Next Time (1963) and other works.

World War II wrought great changes in U.S. society. Black soldiers fought for a “double V for victory,” hoping to triumph over fascism abroad and racism at home. Many received a hostile reception, such as Medgar Evers who was blocked from voting at gunpoint by five armed whites. Blacks continued the Great Migration to southern and northern cities for wartime industrial work. After the war, in 1947, Jackie Robinson endured racial taunts on the field and segregation off it as he broke the color barrier in professional baseball and began a Hall of Fame career. The following year, President Harry Truman issued executive orders desegregating the military and banning discrimination in the civil service. Meanwhile, Thurgood Marshall and his legal team at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) meticulously prepared legal challenges to discrimination, continuing a decades-long effort.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund brought lawsuits against segregated schools in different states that were consolidated into Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka , 1954. The Supreme Court unanimously decided that “separate but equal” was “inherently unequal.” Brown II followed a year after, as the court ordered that the integration of schools should be pursued “with all deliberate speed.” Throughout the South, angry whites responded with a campaign of “massive resistance” and refused to comply with the order, while many parents sent their children to all-white private schools. Middle-class whites who opposed integration joined local chapters of citizens’ councils and used propaganda, economic pressure, and even violence to achieve their ends.

A wave of violence and intimidation followed. In 1955, teenager Emmett Till was visiting relatives in Mississippi when he was lynched after being falsely accused of whistling at a white woman. Though an all-white jury quickly acquitted the two men accused of killing him, Till’s murder was reported nationally and raised awareness of the injustices taking place in Mississippi.

In Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks (who was a secretary of the Montgomery NAACP) was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus. Her willingness to confront segregation led to a direct-action movement for equality. The local Women’s Political Council organized the city’s Black residents into a boycott of the bus system, which was then led by the Montgomery Improvement Association. Black churches and ministers, including Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rev. Ralph Abernathy, provided a source of strength. Despite arrests, armed mobs, and church bombings, the boycott lasted until a federal court desegregated the city buses. In the wake of the boycott, the leading ministers formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) , which became a key civil rights organization.

Rosa Parks is shown here in 1955 with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the background. The Montgomery bus boycott was an important victory in the civil rights movement.

In 1957, nine Black families decided to send their children to Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Governor Orval Faubus used the National Guard to prevent their entry, and one student, Elizabeth Eckford, faced an angry crowd of whites alone and barely escaped. President Eisenhower was compelled to respond and sent in 1,200 paratroops from the 101st Airborne to protect the Black students. They continued to be harassed, but most finished the school year and integrated the school.

That year, Congress passed a Civil Rights Act that created a civil rights division in the Justice Department and provided minimal protections for the right to vote. The bill had been watered down because of an expected filibuster by southern senators, who had recently signed the Southern Manifesto, a document pledging their resistance to Supreme Court decisions such as Brown .

In 1960, four Black college students were refused lunch service at a local Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina, and they spontaneously staged a “sit-in” the following day. Their resistance to the indignities of segregation was copied by thousands of others of young Blacks across the South, launching another wave of direct, nonviolent confrontation with segregation. Ella Baker invited several participants to a Raleigh conference where they formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and issued a Statement of Purpose. The group represented a more youthful and daring effort that later broke with King and his strategy of nonviolence.

In contrast, Malcolm X became a leading spokesperson for the Nation of Islam (NOI) who represented Black separatism as an alternative to integration, which he deemed an unworthy goal. He advocated revolutionary violence as a means of Black self-defense and rejected nonviolence. He later changed his views, breaking with the NOI and embracing a Black nationalism that had more common ground with King’s nonviolent views. Malcolm X had reached out to establish ties with other Black activists before being gunned down by assassins who were members of the NOI later in 1965.

In 1961, members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) rode segregated buses in order to integrate interstate travel. These Black and white Freedom Riders traveled into the Deep South, where mobs beat them with bats and pipes in bus stations and firebombed their buses. A cautious Kennedy administration reluctantly intervened to protect the Freedom Riders with federal marshals, who were also victimized by violent white mobs.

Malcolm X was a charismatic speaker and gifted organizer. He argued that Black pride, identity, and independence were more important than integration with whites.

King was moved to act. He confronted segregation with the hope of exposing injustice and brutality against nonviolent protestors and arousing the conscience of the nation to achieve a just rule of law. The first planned civil rights campaign was initiated by SNCC and taken over mid-campaign by King and SCLC. It failed because Albany, Georgia’s Police Chief Laurie Pritchett studied King’s tactics and responded to the demonstrations with restraint. In 1963, King shifted the movement to Birmingham, Alabama, where Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor unleashed his officers to attack civil rights protestors with fire hoses and police dogs. Authorities arrested thousands, including many young people who joined the marches. King wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” after his own arrest and provided the moral justification for the movement to break unjust laws. National and international audiences were shocked by the violent images shown in newspapers and on the television news. President Kennedy addressed the nation and asked, “whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities . . . [If a Black person]cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place?” The president then submitted a civil rights bill to Congress.

In late August 1963, more than 250,000 people joined the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in solidarity for equal rights. From the Lincoln Memorial steps, King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. He stated, “I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’”

After Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, President Lyndon Johnson pushed his agenda through Congress. In the early summer of 1964, a 3-month filibuster by southern senators was finally defeated, and both houses passed the historical civil rights bill. President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, banning segregation in public accommodations.

Activists in the civil rights movement then focused on campaigns for the right to vote. During the summer of 1964, several civil rights organizations combined their efforts during the “ Freedom Summer ” to register Blacks to vote with the help of young white college students. They endured terror and intimidation as dozens of churches and homes were burned and workers were killed, including an incident in which Black advocate James Chaney and two white students, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, were murdered in Mississippi.

In August 1963, peaceful protesters gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial to draw attention to the inequalities and indignities African Americans suffered 100 years after emancipation. Leaders of the march are shown in the image on the bottom, with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the center.

That summer, Fannie Lou Hamer helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) as civil rights delegates to replace the rival white delegation opposed to civil rights at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City. Hamer was a veteran of attempts to register other Blacks to vote and endured severe beatings for her efforts. A proposed compromise of giving two seats to the MFDP satisfied neither those delegates nor the white delegation, which walked out. Cracks were opening up in the Democratic electoral coalition over civil rights, especially in the South.

Fannie Lou Hamer testified about the violence she and others endured when trying to register to vote at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Her televised testimony exposed the realities of continued violence against Blacks trying to exercise their constitutional rights.

In early 1965, the SCLC and SNCC joined forces to register voters in Selma and draw attention to the fight for Black suffrage. On March 7, marchers planned to walk peacefully from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery. However, mounted state troopers and police blocked the Edmund Pettus Bridge and then rampaged through the marchers, indiscriminately beating them. SNCC leader John Lewis suffered a fractured skull, and 5 women were clubbed unconscious. Seventy people were hospitalized for injuries during “Bloody Sunday.” The scenes again shocked television viewers and newspaper readers.

The images of state troopers, local police, and local people brutally attacking peaceful protestors on “Bloody Sunday” shocked people across the country and world. Two weeks later, protestors of all ages and races continued the protest. By the time they reached the state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, their ranks had swelled to about 25,000 people.

Two days later, King led a symbolic march to the bridge but then turned around. Many younger and more militant activists were alienated and felt that King had sold out to white authorities. The tension revealed the widening division between older civil rights advocates and those younger, more radical supporters who were frustrated at the slow pace of change and the routine violence inflicted upon peaceful protesters. Nevertheless, starting on March 21, with the help of a federal judge who refused Governor George Wallace’s request to ban the march, Blacks triumphantly walked to Montgomery. On August 6, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act protecting the rights to register and vote after a Senate filibuster ended and the bill passed Congress.

The Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act did not alter the fact that most Black Americans still suffered racism, were denied equal economic opportunities, and lived in segregated neighborhoods. While King and other leaders did seek to raise their issues among northerners, frustrations often boiled over into urban riots during the mid-1960s. Police brutality and other racial incidents often triggered days of violence in which hundreds were injured or killed. There were mass arrests and widespread property damage from arson and looting in Los Angeles, Detroit, Newark, Cleveland, Chicago, and dozens of other cities. A presidential National Advisory Commission of Civil Disorders issued the Kerner Report, which analyzed the causes of urban unrest, noting the impact of racism on the inequalities and injustices suffered by Black Americans.

Frustration among young Black Americans led to the rise of a more militant strain of advocacy. In 1966, activist James Meredith was on a solo march in Mississippi to raise awareness about Black voter registration when he was shot and wounded. Though Meredith recovered, this event typified the violence that led some young Black Americans to espouse a more military strain of advocacy. On June 16, SNCC leader Stokely Carmichael and members of the Black Panther Party continued Meredith’s march while he recovered from his wounds, chanting, “We want Black Power .” Black Power leaders and members of the Black Panther Party offered a different vision for equality and justice. They advocated self-reliance and self-empowerment, a celebration of Black culture, and armed self-defense. They used aggressive rhetoric to project a more radical strategy for racial progress, including sympathy for revolutionary socialism and rejection of capitalism. While its legacy is debated, the Black Power movement raised many important questions about the place of Black Americans in the United States, beyond the civil rights movement.

After World War II, Black Americans confronted the iniquities and indignities of segregation to end almost a century of Jim Crow. Undeterred, they turned the public’s eyes to the injustice they faced and called on the country to live up to the promises of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and to continue the fight against inequality and discrimination.

Reading Comprehension Questions

• What factors helped to create the modern civil rights movement?
• How was the quest for civil rights a combination of federal and local actions?
• What were the goals and methods of different activists and groups of the civil rights movement? Complete the table below to reference throughout your analysis of the primary source documents.

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Course: US history   >   Unit 8

Introduction to the civil rights movement.

• African American veterans and the Civil Rights Movement
• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
• Emmett Till
• The Montgomery Bus Boycott
• "Massive Resistance" and the Little Rock Nine
• The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
• SNCC and CORE

Black Power

• The Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement is an umbrella term for the many varieties of activism that sought to secure full political, social, and economic rights for African Americans in the period from 1946 to 1968.
• Civil rights activism involved a diversity of approaches, from bringing lawsuits in court, to lobbying the federal government, to mass direct action, to black power.
• The efforts of civil rights activists resulted in many substantial victories, but also met with the fierce opposition of white supremacists .

The emergence of the Civil Rights Movement

Civil rights and the supreme court, nonviolent protest and civil disobedience, the unfinished business of the civil rights movement, what do you think.

• See Richard S. Newman, The Transformation of American Abolitionism: Fighting Slavery in the Early Republic (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002).
• See C. Vann Woodward, The Strange Career of Jim Crow (New York: Oxford University Press, 1955).
• See Edward L. Ayers, The Promise of the New South: Life After Reconstruction (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992).
• See Daniel Kryder, Divided Arsenal: Race and the American State during World War II (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000); and Stephen Tuck,  Fog of War: The Second World War and the Civil Rights Movement (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012).
• See Michael J. Klarman, Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Movement (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007).
• See Peniel E. Joseph, Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America (New York: Henry Holt, 2006).
• See Michael Eric Dyson, The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016).
• See Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (New York: The New Press, 2010).
• See Tavis Smiley, ed., The Covenant with Black America: Ten Years Later (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc., 2016).

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Civil Rights Movement Essay Titles

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• Study of the Civil Rights Movement in Selma: The Historical Accuracy of Ava DuVernay
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• The America Civil Rights Movement’s Contradictory Outcome
• The Montgomery Bus Boycott Movement and The Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement and the Role of the Police
• The Supreme Court’s Role in the Civil Rights Movement

Fascinating Civil Rights Movement Topics to Write about

• The Civil Rights Movement’s Progressive Reform Stages
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• African Americans in the Civil Rights Movement Adopted Both Violent and Nonviolent Protest Methods
• The Civil Rights Movement’s Role and Importance of Grassroots Organizers
• The Civil Rights Movement’s Fight for Aid
• The Civil Rights Movement’s Success in the 1950s
• The Reconstruction Era Laws and the Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement and The New York Times
• White Opposition to Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement’s Impact on Black Women
• The Civil Rights Movement in America versus Australia
• Civil Rights Movement Successes and Failures
• The Black Middle Class and the Civil Rights Movement
• The Origins and Impact of the Niagara Movement on the American Civil Rights Movement
• How Significant Was Grassroots Activism in Growing the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s
• The Civil Rights Movement: A History, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
• The Importance of Civil Rights Movement Research
• The Civil Rights Movement’s True Face

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The Civil Rights Movement in the United States Essay

The “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a powerful message that remains relevant to both the United States and the world even today. The speech is full of outrage, contains allusions to the Bible and the US Declaration of Independence. It is considered one of the best in the history of mankind. The main theses of King’s political speeches were not only the equalization of the rights of Whites and Blacks, but also a more global idea – world peace for the sake of the prosperity of humanity. According to Corbett et al. (2017), King’s speech became the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, legitimizing its goals.

The March was organized by Philip Randolph and Bayard Ruston to advocate for the civil and economic rights of the blacks in the United States. In the United States, the 1960s was characterized by the rise of Civil Rights Movements, the aim of which was to suppress and end discrimination and racial segregation against African Americans.

It was during the 1960s that the African Americans began realizing accomplishments in their struggle for civil rights, and using them as a base for fighting further. Galvin (2020) states that “the basic narrative of justice is of a brutally oppressed people who took the initiative, defined their own needs, and demanded freedom” (p. 1). The most used strategies by the Civil Rights Movement included freedom rides, boycotts, voter registration drives, marches, and sit-ins. This article seeks to discuss the impact of the 1960s Civil Rights Movements on the nation and minority groups and whether the ideas of the 1960s still have relevance today.

The Civil Rights Movements of the 1960s did not effectively change the nation. Some might argue that African Americans did not benefit that much from the new regulations brought by the movement. According to Bloom and Hatcher (2019), “the Civil Rights Movement confronted the denial of political rights to Blacks, forced segregation, and the degradation of Blacks to second-grade class citizenship” (p. 5). However, the White people were still significantly more privileged than the Black Americans, remaining on top of society. The biggest failure of the Civil Rights Movement was in relation to poverty and economic discrimination.

There was still a high prevalence of discrimination in employment and housing despite the laws being passed. Further, the business owned by minority groups were still denied equality in regards to access to financing, markets, and capital. As a result, many African Americans and other minority groups remained poor and further frustrated by never-ending police harassment, discrimination, and low standards of living. From these, many boycott groups arose, such as, for example, Black Panthers.

The Civil Rights Act had a large impact on the minority groups across the continent. The action initiated a greater federal role in protecting the rights of the minorities by increasing the protection of their voting rights. The Jim Crow laws ended with the establishment of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Moreover, federal penalties for those who violated the civil rights of people, especially working class, were established by the Civil Rights Act of 1968. It further outlawed discrimination of minorities in the sale and rental of about eighty percent of housing in the United States.

The tactics and strategies that were used in the 1960s by civil rights activists would not apply to today’s racial and ethnic conflicts. As stated earlier, some of the popular strategies adopted by the Civil Rights Movement in their fight against racial and ethnic conflicts were based on the notion of non-violent civil disobedience. Pineda (2021) claims that “the Civil Rights Movement is not only a powerful example of civil disobedience, but also a horizon of judgement of all civil disobedience” (p. 1). These methods of protests included freedom rides, boycotts, sit-ins, voter registration drives, and marches. As we are aware by now, these strategies by Civil Rights Movements were not effective in regards to implementation. Therefore, since it was not successfully implemented in the 1960s, then there are higher chances that it may not be effective in solving the racial and ethnic conflicts of today.

It is worth mentioning that racial and ethnic conflicts are on the rise today in the United States and other parts of the world. In order to effectively reduce the racial and ethnic prejudice experienced today, the strategies to be applied needs to address both institutional and individual sources of prejudice. Further, the strategies should receive the support and active participation of those with authority and power in any given setting. In addition, these strategies need to examine similarities and differences across and within racial and ethnic groups. This includes differences related to gender, social class, and language.

The ideas of the 1960s still have relevance in the current era despite the tremendous progress witnessed in the United States since then. For example, African-American students still experience racial discrimination in the field of education even today. According to the U.S Department of Education’s Civil Rights office, there is still opportunity gaps existing in public schools across the United States. In addition, there are some discriminatory policies and practices that still exist in schools that prevent students of color from accessing quality education. In addition, racial inequality and poverty among African Americans are still prevalent.

One relevant example is that Hurricane Katrina mainly affected the African Americans who were concentrated in poor neighborhoods, as was still the case in the 1960s. There have been activities in the current era which have been inspired by the Civil Rights Movements, including the immigrant rights demonstrations and the formation of various Latino civil rights and women’s rights movements.

Although this historical event happened a long time ago, the general idea of the Civil Rights Movement is modern and relevant to this day. As stated by Martin Luther King, it is impossible to win by responding with violence to violence. Martin Luther King’s insistent calls for unity and nonviolent action in response to oppression and brutality are worthy of deep respect and long memory. His speeches have become key moments in American history in the struggle for racial justice. The Civil Rights Movement can also have a major impact on diversity in America today. Civil rights vary greatly over time, culture, and form of government.

Therefore, they tend to follow societal trends that condemn particular types of discrimination. For example, the LGBTQ+ community, which has been actively advocating for the rights of all queer people for the last fifty years. Aside from fighting against discrimination in the LGBTQ society, the Civil Rights Movement can help fight the discrimination against Arab Americans, which rose after the terror attacks of the 11th of September, 2001, otherwise known as 9/11.

Bloom, J. M., & Hatcher, R. G. (2019). Class, race, and the Civil Rights Movement . Indiana University Press.

Corbett, P. S., Janssen, V., Lund, J. M., Pfannestiel, T. J., & Vickery, P. S. (2017). U.S. history. OpenStax, Rice University.

Galvin, R. (2020). “ Let justice roll down like waters”: Reconnecting Energy Justice to its roots in the Civil Rights Movement . Energy Research & Social Science , 62 , 101385. Web.

Pineda, E. R. (2021). Seeing like an activist: Civil disobedience and the Civil Rights Movement . Oxford University Press.

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IvyPanda. (2022, December 8). The Civil Rights Movement in the United States. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-civil-rights-movement-in-the-united-states/

"The Civil Rights Movement in the United States." IvyPanda , 8 Dec. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/the-civil-rights-movement-in-the-united-states/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'The Civil Rights Movement in the United States'. 8 December.

IvyPanda . 2022. "The Civil Rights Movement in the United States." December 8, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-civil-rights-movement-in-the-united-states/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Civil Rights Movement in the United States." December 8, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-civil-rights-movement-in-the-united-states/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Civil Rights Movement in the United States." December 8, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-civil-rights-movement-in-the-united-states/.

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Civil Rights Essay Topics

• Essay Topics

Civil Rights Research Topics

• Theatre During the Civil Rights Movement
• To What Extent Can the 1950s Be Seen As A Major Success For the Civil Rights Movement?
• The Progressive Reform Stages In the Civil Rights Movement
• America’s Civil Rights Movement’s Contradictory Outcome
• The Civil Rights Movement and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
• The Civil Rights Movement’s Fight For Aid
• The Civil Rights Movement’s Long-Term Impact
• Violent and Nonviolent Protest Methods Adopted By African Americans During the Civil Rights Movement
• The Supreme Court’s Role In the Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement’s Success In the 1950s
• Civil Rights: Women’s Movement
• The American Civil Rights Movement and Its Influence on African Americans
• The Southern Jewish-Black Relationship and the Civil Rights Movement
• The Role of Students In the Civil Rights Movement
• Ava Duvernay’s Historical Accuracy In Selma , A Drama Film
• White Opposition To the Civil Rights Movement
• The Influence of Rock and Roll on the Civil Rights Movement
• Religion and African Americans During the Civil Rights Movement
• The Historical Accuracy of Ava Duvernay’s Civil Rights Movement Portrayal In Selma , A Drama Film

Interesting Civil Rights Essay Topics

• The Drug War and the Civil Rights Movement
• The Black Middle Class and the Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement and the Role of the Police
• The Civil Rights Movement’s Peaceful Protest Achievements
• Comparing and Contrasting the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement’s True Face
• The Civil Rights Movement: Origin of NAACP
• Civil Rights Movement Successes and Failures
• Women’s Role and Visibility In the Civil Rights Movement Historiography
• The Civil Rights Movement and the Relationship between Activism and the Federal Government
• How Significant Was Grassroots Activism In Growing the Civil Rights Movement In the 1950s and 1960s?
• The Importance of Studying the Civil Rights Movement
• A History of the United States Civil Rights and Feminist Movements
• The Origins and Impact of the Niagara Movement on the American Civil Rights Movement
• Black Women’s Role In the Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement’s Role and Importance of Grassroots Organizers
• The Impact of Society on the Civil Rights Movement and the World of Doubt
• The Civil Rights Movement’s Importance and Impact on Public Policy
• The Civil Rights Movement and the New York Times
• Comparing America and Australia In the Civil Rights Movement
• Reconstruction-Era Laws and the Civil Rights Movement
• Democracy In the United States and the Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Movement Essay Questions

• How Successful Was the Early Civil Rights Movement In the Advancement of Black Civil Rights from 1880 To 1990?
• What Was the Role of Jews In the American Civil Rights Movement?
• How Did the 1950s African American Civil Rights Movement Work?
• Did Minority Right Campaigners Copy the Black American Civil Rights Movement’s Tactics?
• What Impact Has the NAACP Had on the American Civil Rights Movement?
• What Impact Did Gandhi Have on the Civil Rights Movement?
• Can the 1950s Be Considered A Great Success For the Civil Rights Movement?
• To What Extent Did Internal Divisions Limit the Effectiveness of the Civil Rights Movement In the 1960s?
• How Did the Cold War Influence the American Civil Rights Movement, and How Did It Affect Change?
• To What Extent Did Martin Luther King Bear Responsibility For the Civil Rights Movement?
• What Was Civil Disobedience’s Importance In the Civil Rights Movement?
• What Impact Did the Civil Rights Movement Have on America?
• How Far Had the Civil Rights Movement Progressed By the Late 1960s?
• Did Black Power Groups Harm America’s Civil Rights Movement?
• How Important Was Grass-Roots Activism In the Spread of the Civil Rights Movement In the 1950s and 1960s?
• What Impact Did Kennedy’s Administration Have on the Civil Rights Movement?
• Did the Civil Rights Movement Benefit Or Suffer Due To the Black Power Movement?
• How Did the Civil Rights Movement Affect Women?
• What Are the Outcomes of the Civil Rights Movement’s Efforts?
• What Impact Did Martin Luther King Have on the Civil Rights Movement?
• Are the Problems Confronting the Feminist and Sexual Emancipation Movements Similar To Those Confronting the Civil Rights Movement, Or Are there Significant Differences?
• How Successful Was the Civil Rights Movement?
• How Much Has America Changed Since the Civil Rights Movement?
• What Explained the Civil Rights Movement’s Success By 1965?
• How Did Religion Affect Martin Luther King, Jr’s Leadership of the Civil Rights Movement?
• How Important Was Martin Luther King Jr. To the African-American Civil Rights Movement?
• What Impact Did Martin Luther King Jr’s Death Have on the Civil Rights Movement?
• How Important Was Martin Luther King’s Addition To the Civil Rights Movement?
• Has the Civil Rights Movement Impacted How Authorities Treat Minorities?
• Did the Civil Rights Movement Fail or Succeed?

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Home / Essay Samples / History / History of The United States / Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Movement Essay Examples

Emmett till: the murder that changed america.

For every citizen to have the same importance, privileges and prospects would mean to have equality. The lack thereof became the determination to obtain for black woman and men in the US, on a platform known as the Civil Rights Movement. Contrary to popular belief...

Martin Luther King Jr.: a Legacy of Civil Rights and Social Justice

Martin Luther King Jr. is an iconic figure in American history, celebrated for his tireless efforts in advancing civil rights and social justice. His life and work continue to inspire and resonate with people around the world. This essay delves into the remarkable journey of...

Civil Rights Movement and Civil Rights Act of 1964

Considering the topic 'Civil Rights Movement and Civil Rights Act of 1964 Essay' we can say that the main aims of the Civil Rights movement in the classic ‘Montgomery to Memphis’ period of 1955-1968 were to establish laws and public institutions in an attempt to...

Causes and Effects of the Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement was a period committed to activism for equal rights and treatment of African-Americans in the United States. During this period, many people revitalized for social, lawful and political changes to deny separation and end isolation. Numerous significant occasions including victimization African-Americans...

Discussion About Was the Civil Rights Movement Successful

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress”. The civil rights movement had many successes along with some failures as well. Successes included ending segregation and the important advance in equal rights legislation. Failures of the movement included a continued deep-rooted racism towards African...

The Success of the Civil Rights Movement: a Struggle for Equality

The Civil Rights Movement in the United States was a watershed moment in history, seeking to dismantle racial segregation, discrimination, and ensure equal rights for all citizens. This essay explores the achievements of the Civil Rights Movement, examining its impact on legal reforms, social attitudes,...

Civil Unjust in United States in 1968

Martin Luther King Jr. quotes, “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right.” This generation had civil unjust, no trust in the...

Civil Right Acts after Civil War

In my essay, I will be writing about racism in the united states between the blacks and the white and how the blacks are treated unfairly compared to the whites. So, what exactly is racism about? In layman terms racism is the belief of one...

Gender Ineguality in the America

This assignment will compare the sociological perspectives between functionalism and feminism and contrast them. It shall be analysing their views on families. Although feminism began in 1792, when Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) wrote a book ‘a vindication of the rights of women’ stating that women were...

The African Americans in Custer Died for Your Sins

In Chapter 8 of Custer Died For Your Sins, Deloria sets the foundation of how African Americans and Natives were treated by the white man and effectively highlights the differences between both minority groups. The Civil Rights movement was a “huge” accomplishment for African Americans...

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About Civil Rights Movement

United States

W.E.B. Du Bois, Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Henry MacNeal Turner, John Oliver Killens

Unfortunately, there's still a lot of discrimination in our society. The modern civil rights movement is working to address the less visible but very important inequities in our society, such as gender inequality, discrimination of the disabled, ageism, police brutality, etc.

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