The Civil Rights Movement

This section explains the role the civil rights movement played in ending racial discrimination in the USA. The civil rights movement was a struggle by African Americans and other racial justice advocates to challenge the systemic discrimination and segregation that had permeated American society for centuries. While the fight for racial equality had been ongoing since the end of slavery, it gained significant momentum in the 1950s and 1960s, thanks to a combination of grassroots activism, key events, and leadership. This period saw significant strides toward racial equality, as activists and communities made courageous efforts to demand justice and equal rights.

Grassroots Activism

The civil rights movement was not a singular, top-down movement led by one person or organisation. It was a collaborative effort involving activists, local communities, and numerous organisations. Ordinary people, from local ministers to students, played crucial roles in the fight for equality. Many activists were willing to make significant sacrifices, facing violence, imprisonment, and social ostracism to fight for freedom and justice.

The movement gained national attention and momentum in the mid-1950s, sparked by a series of pivotal events. These included the struggle for school desegregation, the tragic murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955, and the highly significant Montgomery Bus Boycott.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott

In Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks, a local activist and secretary of the NAACP, became a central figure in the civil rights movement. On 1 December 1955, Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, in violation of the city’s segregation laws. This act of defiance sparked outrage in the African American community.

In response, the Montgomery NAACP and the Women’s Political Council organised a boycott of the city's buses. This was not just a protest one act of injustice, but a broader stand against racial discrimination. To organise the boycott, local black leaders formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and elected Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a young Baptist minister, as its president.

The boycott lasted for 381 days. African Americans refused to ride the buses, severely hurting the financial viability of the bus company. The boycott also relied on legal action. In 1956, the Supreme Court ruled that segregated buses were unconstitutional. The success of the boycott led to the desegregation of buses in Montgomery and became a model for other protests across the South.

Non-Violent Direct Action

A central strategy of the civil rights movement was non-violent direct action. Activists employed civil disobedience, refusing to comply with unjust laws while remaining peaceful, even in the face of violent opposition. This approach helped draw attention to the deep-seated racism in the South and exposed the brutality African Americans faced daily.

The media played a key role in this. Images of peaceful protesters being attacked by dogs, fire hoses, and police officers were broadcast across the country, shocking many Americans and increasing national support for civil rights.

Key Activist Efforts and Campaigns

In February 1960, four black students in Greensboro, North Carolina, sat at the “whites-only” counter at their local Woolworth's store, sparking a wave of similar sit-ins across the South. By April, over 50,000 students participated in these sit-ins, challenging segregation in public spaces.

Following the sit-ins, Ella Baker, a prominent civil rights activist, encouraged young people to form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). The SNCC would go on to play a central role in many of the movement’s campaigns.

In 1957, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. helped to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which became a major force in the fight for civil rights. The SCLC aimed to “redeem the soul of America” through non-violent resistance.

In April 1963, the SCLC launched a desegregation campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, a city notorious for its racist policies. The campaign involved mass meetings, marches, and sit-ins. Fire hoses and police dogs were used against peaceful demonstrators, and the harrowing images of this violence were broadcast on television, stirring sympathy for the movement and increasing support for change.

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, held in August 1963, became one of the largest and most influential civil rights protests in American history. An estimated 250,000 people gathered to demand jobs and freedom. This iconic event was televised nationwide and featured numerous speeches, including Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

In 1965, the SCLC organised a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to demand voting rights for African Americans. The marchers were viciously attacked by local police, in an event known as “Bloody Sunday”. The violence sparked widespread outrage and garnered national support for civil rights legislation.

Civil Rights Legislation

The tireless activism of the civil rights movement put immense pressure on the federal government to pass legislation that would ensure the constitutional rights of African Americans. Several landmark laws were passed in the 1960s, often under the leadership of President Lyndon B. Johnson. These laws aimed to dismantle the systems of segregation and discrimination that had long been entrenched in American society.

1964 Civil Rights Act: This law outlawed discrimination in public places and employment, effectively ending Jim Crow segregation. It made it illegal to segregate public facilities and prohibited employment discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin.

1965 Voting Rights Act: In many Southern states, African Americans had been denied the right to vote using literacy tests, poll taxes, and intimidation. The Voting Rights Act abolished these practices and introduced federal supervision to ensure fair voting rights for African Americans.

1968 Civil Rights Act: This legislation extended the protections of civil rights to Native Americans and guaranteed their right to equal treatment. It also included the Fair Housing Act, which prohibited discrimination in the sale or rental of housing based on race, religion, or national origin.