
What sparked the Civil Rights Movement?
Reasons for Civil Rights Movement. Several incidents and phenomenon acted as triggers to the Civil Rights Movement: Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – a landmark court case where the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional
What events started the Civil Rights Movement?
- Authorized the attorney general to stop Southern elected officials from interfering with African Americans registering to vote
- Established a federal Civil Rights Commission
- Created a civil rights enforcement division within the U.S. Justice Department.
How did the Civil Rights Movement change the world?
The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s shook America to its very foundations. It was a movement that touched every Black family in the U.S. including Malcolm X. This was a fight that had to be fought, commonly known as “Jim Crow.” The racist establishment created laws to restrict right to vote, organize, or even to assemble.
What is the origin of the Civil Rights Movement?
The Origin of the Civil Rights Movement Essay
- Origin of the Civil Rights Movement. Civil Rights To obtain access to basic privileges and the rights to U.S. ...
- The Voting Rights Act Of 1965. The Supreme Court rulings led to a number of acts which helped the civil rights movement attain its goals.
- Civil Liberties And Civil Rights Essay

What was the civil rights movement short summary?
The civil rights movement was an organized effort by Black Americans to end racial discrimination and gain equal rights under the law. It began in the late 1940s and ended in the late 1960s.
How did the civil rights movement start?
On December 1, 1955, the modern civil rights movement began when Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
What is known as the civil rights movement?
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.
What did the civil rights movement fight for?
The US Civil Rights Movement (1942-68) restored universal suffrage in the southern United States and outlawed legal segregation.
What are civil rights simple definition?
Civil rights are personal rights guaranteed and protected by the U.S. Constitution and federal laws enacted by Congress, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Civil rights include protection from unlawful discrimination.
What are 3 causes of the civil rights movement?
The civil rights movement is a legacy of more than 400 years of American history in which slavery, racism, white supremacy, and discrimination were central to the social, economic, and political development of the United States.
What led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
After the Birmingham police reacted to a peaceful desegregation demonstration in May 1963 by using fire hoses and unleashing police dogs to break up thousands of demonstrators, President Kennedy introduced the Civil Rights Act in a June 12 speech.
Who fought for civil rights?
Thurgood MarshallJulian Bond.Medgar Evers.Charles Hamilton Houston.James Weldon Johnson.Martin Luther King, Jr.Oscar Micheaux.Harry T. and Hariette Moore.Mary White Ovington.More items...
What was the most significant achievement of the civil rights movement?
The civil rights movement deeply affected American society. Among its most important achievements were two major civil rights laws passed by Congress. These laws ensured constitutional rights for African Americans and other minorities.
How the civil rights movement changed the world?
One of the greatest achievements of the civil rights movement, the Civil Rights Act led to greater social and economic mobility for African-Americans across the nation and banned racial discrimination, providing greater access to resources for women, religious minorities, African-Americans and low-income families.
How did the government respond to the civil rights movement?
In response to a new wave of protest, the U.S. Congress soon followed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The act focused on redressing the legacy of discrimination against African Americans' access to the ballot.
What successes and challenges faced the civil rights?
The main challenge faced by the Civil Rights Movement was racial prejudice, especially in the South. Virtually ever other obstacle stemmed from this. The two major successes of the Civil Rights Movement were the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
What events led up to the civil rights movement?
The American civil rights movement started in the mid-1950s. A major catalyst in the push for civil rights was in December 1955, when NAACP activist Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man.
What caused the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
After the Birmingham police reacted to a peaceful desegregation demonstration in May 1963 by using fire hoses and unleashing police dogs to break up thousands of demonstrators, President Kennedy introduced the Civil Rights Act in a June 12 speech.
What led to the beginning of the civil rights movement during the Progressive Era?
What led to the beginnings of the civil rights movement during the Progressive Era? African Americans faced discrimination and violence. How did Booker T. Washington work to improve the lives of African Americans?
Who created the civil rights movement?
President John F. Kennedy proposed the initial civil rights act. Kennedy faced great personal and political conflicts over this legislation. On the one hand, he was sympathetic to African-American citizens whose dramatic protests highlighted the glaring gap between American ideals and American realities.
When did the American civil rights movement start?
The American civil rights movement started in the mid-1950s. A major catalyst in the push for civil rights was in December 1955, when NAACP activis...
Who were some key figures of the American civil rights movement?
Martin Luther King, Jr., was an important leader of the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a whi...
What did the American civil rights movement accomplish?
The American civil rights movement broke the entrenched system of racial segregation in the South and achieved crucial equal-rights legislation.
What were some major events during the American civil rights movement?
The Montgomery bus boycott, sparked by activist Rosa Parks, was an important catalyst for the civil rights movement. Other important protests and d...
What are some examples of civil rights?
Examples of civil rights include the right to vote, the right to a fair trial, the right to government services, the right to a public education, a...
What was the Civil Rights Movement?
World War II accelerated social change. Work in wartime industry and service in the armed forces, combined with the ideals of democracy, and spawned a new civil rights agenda at home that forever transformed American life.
When did the women's suffrage movement begin?
The history of the US woman suffrage movement is usually told as a national one. It begins with the 1848 Seneca Falls convention; follows numerous state campaigns, court battles, and petitions to Congress; and culminates in the marches and protests that led to the Nineteenth Amendment. This narrative, however, overlooks how profoundly international the struggle was from the start.
Why did the FEPC protest?
The formation of the FEPC also led to the first legal case centered on civil rights issues regarding equal employment for Hispanics, whose leaders appeared before the FEPC and protested the exclusion of Hispanics from many war industries because employers considered them "aliens" despite their American citizenship.
What did Truman do in 1946?
In 1946, Truman commissioned a study of racial inequities that called for an end to segregation in America. Completed in 1947, To Secure These Rights as well as legal victories in Supreme Court cases paved the way for the Second Reconstruction.
Why did Eisenhower sign the Civil Rights Act?
September 9, 1957: Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law to help protect voter rights. The law allows federal prosecution of those who suppress another’s right to vote.
Why did President Johnson sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
August 6, 1965: President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to prevent the use of literacy tests as a voting requirement. It also allowed federal examiners to review voter qualifications and federal observers to monitor polling places.
What year did the Greensboro Sit In happen?
February 1, 1960: Four African American college students in Greensboro, North Carolina refuse to leave a Woolworth’s “whites only” lunch counter without being served. The Greensboro Four—Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil—were inspired by the nonviolent protest of Gandhi. The Greensboro Sit-In, as it came to be called, sparks similar “sit-ins” throughout the city and in other states.
What were the black and white people who took bus trips through the South in 1961?
1961: Throughout 1961, Black and white activists, known as freedom riders , took bus trips through the American South to protest segregated bus terminals and attempted to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters. The Freedom Rides were marked by horrific violence from white protestors, they drew international attention to their cause.
What was the act of 1968?
April 11, 1968: President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, also known as the Fair Housing Act, providing equal housing opportunity regardless of race, religion or national origin.
What happened on September 15, 1963?
September 15, 1963: A bomb at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama kills four young girls and injures several other people prior to Sunday services. The bombing fuels angry protests.
Who wrote to Thomas Jefferson urging justice for African Americans?
Benjamin Banneker writes to Thomas Jefferson, urging justice for African Americans. June 11, 1963: Governor George C. Wallace stands in a doorway at the University of Alabama to block two Black students from registering. The standoff continues until President John F. Kennedy sends the National Guard to the campus.
What was the Civil Rights Movement?
American civil rights movement, mass protest movement against racial segregation and discrimination in the southern United States that came to national prominence during the mid-1950s. This movement had its roots in the centuries-long efforts of enslaved Africans and their descendants to resist racial oppression and abolish the institution ...
What did the American civil rights movement accomplish?
The American civil rights movement broke the entrenched system of racial segregation in the South and achieved crucial equal-rights legislation.
Who were some key figures of the American civil rights movement?
Martin Luther King, Jr., was an important leader of the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white customer, was also important. John Lewis, a civil rights leader and politician, helped plan the March on Washington.
What did Lincoln do to abolish slavery?
Although Lincoln did not initially seek to abolish slavery, his determination to punish the rebellious states and his increasing reliance on Black soldiers in the Union army prompted him to issue the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) to deprive the Confederacy of its enslaved property. After the American Civil War ended, Republican leaders cemented the Union victory by gaining the ratification of constitutional amendments to abolish slavery ( Thirteenth Amendment) and to protect the legal equality of formerly enslaved persons ( Fourteenth Amendment) and the voting rights of male ex-slaves ( Fifteenth Amendment ). Despite those constitutional guarantees of rights, almost a century of civil rights agitation and litigation would be required to bring about consistent federal enforcement of those rights in the former Confederate states. Moreover, after federal military forces were removed from the South at the end of Reconstruction, white leaders in the region enacted new laws to strengthen the “ Jim Crow ” system of racial segregation and discrimination. In its Plessy v. Ferguson decision (1896), the Supreme Court ruled that “separate but equal” facilities for African Americans did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment, ignoring evidence that the facilities for Blacks were inferior to those intended for whites.
What was the Southern system of white supremacy?
The Southern system of white supremacy was accompanied by the expansion of European and American imperial control over nonwhite people in Africa and Asia as well as in island countries of the Pacific and Caribbean regions. Like African Americans, most nonwhite people throughout the world were colonized or economically exploited and denied basic rights, such as the right to vote. With few exceptions, women of all races everywhere were also denied suffrage rights ( see woman suffrage ).
What did the white leaders do after the end of Reconstruction?
Moreover, after federal military forces were removed from the South at the end of Reconstruction, white leaders in the region enacted new laws to strengthen the “ Jim Crow ” system of racial segregation and discrimination. In its Plessy v.
What rights did individual states have?
Individual states, which determined most of the rights of American citizens, generally limited voting rights to white property-owning males, and other rights—such as the right to own land or serve on juries —were often denied on the basis of racial or gender distinctions.
What was the strategy of the Civil Rights Movement during the first half of the 20th century?
The strategy of public education, legislative lobbying, and litigation that had typified the civil rights movement during the first half of the 20th century broadened after Brown to a strategy that emphasized " direct action ": boycotts, sit-ins, Freedom Rides, marches or walks, and similar tactics that relied on mass mobilization, nonviolent resistance, standing in line, and, at times, civil disobedience.
What were the roles of African American women in the Civil Rights Movement?
African-American women in the civil rights movement were pivotal to its success. They volunteered as activists, advocates, educators, clerics, writers, spiritual guides, caretakers and politicians for the civil rights movement; leading and participating in organizations that contributed to the cause of civil rights. Rosa Parks 's refusal to sit at the back of a public bus resulted in the year-long Montgomery bus boycott, and the eventual desegregation of interstate travel in the United States. Women were members of the NAACP because they believed it could help them contribute to the cause of civil rights. Some of those involved with the Black Panthers were nationally recognized as leaders, and still others did editorial work on the Black Panther newspaper spurring internal discussions about gender issues. Ella Baker founded the SNCC and was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement. Female students involved with the SNCC helped to organize sit-ins and the Freedom Rides. At the same time many elderly black women in towns across the Southern US cared for the organization's volunteers at their homes, providing the students food, a bed, healing aid and motherly love. Other women involved also formed church groups, bridge clubs, and professional organizations, such as the National Council of Negro Women, to help achieve freedom for themselves and their race. Several who participated in these organizations lost their jobs because of their involvement.
What was the inspiration for the Long March?
Due to policies of segregation and disenfranchisement present in Northern Ireland many Irish activists took inspiration from American civil rights activists. People's Democracy had organized a "Long March" from Belfast to Derry which was inspired by the Selma to Montgomery marches. During the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland protesters often sang the American protest song We Shall Overcome and sometimes referred to themselves as the "negroes of Northern Ireland".
What happened to the black people in 1965?
A few days after the act became law, a riot broke out in the South Central Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts. Like Harlem, Watts was a majority-black neighborhood with very high unemployment and associated poverty. Its residents confronted a largely white police department that had a history of abuse against blacks.
What was the Albany movement?
The Albany movement was shown to be an important education for the SCLC, however, when it undertook the Birmingham campaign in 1963. Executive Director Wyatt Tee Walker carefully planned the early strategy and tactics for the campaign. It focused on one goal—the desegregation of Birmingham's downtown merchants, rather than total desegregation, as in Albany.
What was the purpose of the Freedom Ride?
Virginia (1960), which rule d that segregation was unconstitutional for passengers engaged in interstate travel. Organized by CORE, the first Freedom Ride of the 1960s left Washington D.C. on May 4, 1961, and was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on May 17.
How did Jim Crow affect the Civil Rights Movement?
The Jim Crow system employed "terror as a means of social control," with the most organized manifestations being the Ku Klux Klan and their collaborators in local police departments. This violence played a key role in blocking the progress of the civil rights movement in the late 1950s. Some black organizations in the South began practicing armed self-defense. The first to do so openly was the Monroe, North Carolina, chapter of the NAACP led by Robert F. Williams. Williams had rebuilt the chapter after its membership was terrorized out of public life by the Klan. He did so by encouraging a new, more working-class membership to arm itself thoroughly and defend against attack. When Klan nightriders attacked the home of NAACP member Albert Perry in October 1957, Williams' militia exchanged gunfire with the stunned Klansmen, who quickly retreated. The following day, the city council held an emergency session and passed an ordinance banning KKK motorcades. One year later, Lumbee Indians in North Carolina would have a similarly successful armed stand-off with the Klan (known as the Battle of Hayes Pond) which resulted in KKK leader James W. "Catfish" Cole being convicted of incitement to riot.
What is the literature on the Civil Rights Movement?
76 The literature on the civil rights movement is vast, accessible, and well documented. Standard treatments include Taylor Branch’s three-volume history, which uses Martin Luther King, Jr., as a lens through which to view the movement: Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954–63 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988); Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963–65 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998); At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965–68 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006). See also David J. Garrow, Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (New York: William Morrow, 1986); William H. Chafe, Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle for Freedom (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980), an account of one of the protest movement’s seminal moments. For an overview of the movement and its impact on late-20th-century black America see Manning Marable, Race, Reform, and Rebellion: The Second Reconstruction and Beyond in Black America, 1945–2006, 3rd edition (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2007). For the evolution of civil rights legislation in Congress, see Robert Mann, When Freedom Would Triumph: The Civil Rights Struggle in Congress, 1954–1968 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2007)—an abridged version of Mann’s The Walls of Jericho: Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Russell and the Struggle for Civil Rights (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1996); Hugh Davis Graham, The Civil Rights Era: Origins and Development of National Policy, 1960–1972 (New York: Oxford, 1990): especially pages 125–176; and James L. Sundquist, Politics and Policy: The Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson Years (Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 1968): 221–286. A useful overview of Congress and civil rights is Timothy N. Thurber, “Second Reconstruction,” in The American Congress: The Building of Democracy, ed. by Julian E. Zelizer (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Company, 2004): 529–547. Another useful secondary work, which touches on aspects of the voting rights reform legislative effort, is Steven F. Lawson’s Black Ballots: Voting Rights in the South, 1944–1969 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976).
What was the impact of the Civil Rights Movement on African Americans?
A grassroots civil rights movement coupled with gradual but progressive actions by Presidents, the federal courts, and Congress eventually provided more complete political rights for African Americans and began to redress longstanding economic and social inequities.
What was the impact of the backlash to Truman's civil rights policies?
The backlash to Truman’s civil rights policies contributed to the unraveling of the solid Democratic South. A faction of southern Democrats, upset with the administration’s efforts, split to form the States’ Rights Democratic Party, a conservative party that sought to preserve and maintain the system of segregation.
How did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 affect African Americans?
Coupled with the “one man, one vote” standard , which set off a round of court-ordered redistricting, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 reshaped the electoral landscape for African Americans. In southern states, particularly in cities such as Atlanta, Houston, and Memphis, the creation of districts with a majority of African-American constituents propelled greater numbers of African Americans into Congress by the early 1970s. In northern cities, too, the growing influence of black voters reshaped Congress. African Americans constituted a growing percentage of the population of major U.S. cities (20 percent in 1970 versus 12 percent in 1950), partly because in the 1960s white residents left the cities in droves for the suburbs. 113 In 1968 Louis Stokes (Cleveland), Bill Clay (St. Louis), and Shirley Chisholm (Brooklyn) were elected to Congress from redrawn majority-black districts in which white incumbents chose not to run. 114 By 1971, the number of African-American Members in the House was more than double the number who had served in 1965.
What was the second reconstruction?
During the period from the end of World War II until the late 1960s, often referred to as America’s “Second Reconstruction,” the nation began to correct civil and human rights abuses that had lingered in American society for a century. A grassroots civil rights movement coupled with gradual but progressive actions by Presidents, the federal courts, and Congress eventually provided more complete political rights for African Americans and began to redress longstanding economic and social inequities. While African-American Members of Congress from this era played prominent roles in advocating for reform, it was largely the efforts of everyday Americans who protested segregation that prodded a reluctant Congress to pass landmark civil rights legislation in the 1960s. 76
When was the congressional committee system consolidated?
84 The congressional committees system was consolidated after passage of the 1946 Legislative Reorganization Act.
When was the Voting Rights Act passed?
Johnson Presidential Library/National Archives and Records Administration On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. The legislation suspended the use of literacy tests and voter disqualification devices for five years, authorized the use of federal examiners to supervise voter registration in states that used tests or in which less than half the voting-eligible residents registered or voted, directed the U.S. Attorney General to institute proceedings against use of poll taxes, and provided criminal penalties for violations of the act.
What civil rights movement happened in 1958?
1958. June 29 – Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, is bombed by Ku Klux Klan members. June 30 – In NAACP v. Alabama, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the NAACP was not required to release membership lists to continue operating in the state.
What happened before the Civil Rights Movement?
The Pre-Civil Rights South. The pre-Civil Rights era bridges the gap between the end of the Civil War (1865) and the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement (1955).
When was the Civil Rights Act signed?
Lyndon Johnson Signs The Civil Rights Act of 1964. Having broken the filibuster, the Senate voted 73-27 in favor of the bill, and Johnson signed it into law on July 2, 1964. “It is an important gain, but I think we just delivered the South to the Republican Party for a long time to come,” Johnson, a Democrat, purportedly told an aide later ...
What Is the Civil Rights Act?
Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation on the grounds of race, religion or national origin was banned at all places of public accommodation, including courthouses, parks, restaurants, theaters, sports arenas and hotels. No longer could Black people and other minorities be denied service simply based on the color of their skin.
What laws were passed in 1965 to prevent discrimination?
It also paved the way for two major follow-up laws: the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited literacy tests and other discriminatory voting practices, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which banned discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of property. Though the struggle against racism would continue, legal segregation had been brought to its knees in the United States.
What amendments were passed after the Civil War?
Following the Civil War, a trio of constitutional amendments abolished slavery (the 13 Amendment ), made the formerly enslaved people citizens ( 14 Amendment) and gave all men the right to vote regardless of race ( 15 Amendment ).
When was segregation banned?
Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation on the grounds of race, religion or national origin was banned at all places of public accommodation, including courthouses, parks, restaurants, theaters, sports arenas and hotels.
When did the South become a Republican state?
Having broken the filibuster, the Senate voted 73-27 in favor of the bill, and Johnson signed it into law on July 2, 1964. “It is an important gain, but I think we just delivered the South to the Republican Party for a long time to come,” Johnson, a Democrat, purportedly told an aide later that day in a prediction that would largely come true.
Who was the first president to pass the Voting Rights Act?
First proposed by President John F. Kennedy, it survived strong opposition from southern members of Congress and was then signed into law by Kennedy’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson. In subsequent years, Congress expanded the act and passed additional civil rights legislation such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
What was the significance of the Civil Rights Movement in 1963?
1963 was a crucial year for the Civil Rights Movement. Social pressures continued to build with events such as the Birmingham Campaign, televised clashes between peaceful protesters and authorities, the murders of civil rights workers Medgar Evers and William L. Moore, the March on Washington, and the deaths of four young girls in the bombing of Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church. There was no turning back. Civil rights were firmly on the national agenda and the federal government was forced to respond.
What was the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the nation's premier civil rights legislation. The Act outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, required equal access to public places and employment, and enforced desegregation of schools and the right to vote.
What was the response to the report of the Commission on Civil Rights?
In response to the report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, President John F. Kennedy proposed, in a nationally televised address, a Civil Rights Act of 1963. A week after his speech, Kennedy submitted a bill to Congress addressing civil rights (H.R. 7152). He urged African American leaders to use caution when demonstrating since new violence might alarm potential supporters. Kennedy met with businessmen, religious leaders, labor officials, and other groups such as CORE and NAACP, while also maneuvering behind the scenes to build bipartisan support and negotiate compromises over controversial topics.
Which Supreme Court case found that state laws requiring racial segregation were "separate but?
These were upheld by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson (1895), which found state laws requiring racial segregation that were "separate but equal" to be constitutional. This finding help continue legalized discrimination well into the 20th century.
Who signed the Civil Rights Act?
President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act, July 2, 1964. Cecil Stoughton, White House Press Office. The real battle was waiting in the Senate, however, where concerns focused on the bill's expansion of federal powers and its potential to anger constituents who might retaliate in the voting booth.
Which amendments outlawed slavery?
Although the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments outlawed slavery, provided for equal protection under the law, guaranteed citizenship, and protected the right to vote, individual states continued to allow unfair treatment of minorities and passed Jim Crow laws allowing segregation of public facilities. These were upheld by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson (1895), which found state laws requiring racial segregation that were "separate but equal" to be constitutional. This finding help continue legalized discrimination well into the 20th century.
What was the NAACP's role in the Civil Rights Movement?
The NAACP played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. One of the organization’s key victories was the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education that outlawed segregation in public schools.
What was the NAACP's role in the 1963 March on Washington?
history, and had a hand in running 1964’s Mississippi Freedom Summer, an initiative to register Black Mississippians to vote.
Why did the NAACP march in 1917?
In 1917, some 10,000 people in New York City participated in an NAACP-organized silent march to protest lynchings and other violence against Black people. The march was one of the first mass demonstrations in America against racial violence.
What did the NAACP do in 1964?
During this era, the NAACP also successfully lobbied for the passage of landmark legislation including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, barring racial discrimination in voting.
What was the NAACP's goal?
The NAACP’s Early Decades. Since its inception, the NAACP has worked to achieve its goals through the judicial system, lobbying and peaceful protests. In 1910, Oklahoma passed a constitutional amendment allowing people whose grandfathers had been eligible to vote in 1866 to register without passing a literacy test.
What was the NAACP's early decade?
The NAACP’s Early Decades. Anti-Lynching Campaign. Civil Rights Era. NAACP Today. Sources. The NAACP or National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was established in 1909 and is America’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. It was formed in New York City by white and Black activists, partially in response to ...
Did the NAACP get a law passed?
Ultimately, the NAACP was unable to get a federal anti-lynching law passed ; however, its efforts increased public awareness of the issue and are thought to have contributed to an eventual decline in lynchings.

Overview
The civil rights movement was a political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United States. The movement had its origins in the Reconstruction era during the late 19th century, although it made its largest legislative gains in the 1960s after years of direct actions and grassroot…
Background
Before the American Civil War, eight serving presidents had owned slaves, almost four million black people remained enslaved in the South, generally only white men with property could vote, and the Naturalization Act of 1790 limited U.S. citizenship to whites. Following the Civil War, three constitutional amendments were passed, including the 13th Amendment (1865) that ended slavery; the 14th Amendment (1869) that gave black people citizenship, adding their total for Congression…
History
In the spring of 1951, black students in Virginia protested their unequal status in the state's segregated educational system. Students at Moton High School protested the overcrowded conditions and failing facility. Some local leaders of the NAACP had tried to persuade the students to back down from their protest against the Jim Crow laws of school segregation. When the students did not b…
Characteristics
African-American women in the civil rights movement were pivotal to its success. They volunteered as activists, advocates, educators, clerics, writers, spiritual guides, caretakers and politicians for the civil rights movement; leading and participating in organizations that contributed to the cause of civil rights. Rosa Parks's refusal to sit at the back of a public bus resulted in the year-long Montgo…
Popular reactions
Many in the Jewish community supported the civil rights movement. In fact, statistically, Jews were one of the most actively involved non-black groups in the Movement. Many Jewish students worked in concert with African Americans for CORE, SCLC, and SNCC as full-time organizers and summer volunteers during the Civil Rights era. Jews made up roughly half of the white northern and west…
Political responses
While not a key focus of his administration, President Eisenhower made several conservative strides toward making America a racially integrated country. The year he was elected, Eisenhower desegregated Washington D.C. after hearing a story about an African American man who was unable to rent a hotel room, buy a meal, access drinking water, and attend a movie. Shortly after this act, E…
In popular culture
The 1954 to 1968 civil rights movement contributed strong cultural threads to American and international theater, song, film, television, and folk art.
Activist organizations
• Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
• Deacons for Defense and Justice
• Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR)
• Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR)