Civil Rights Era
By Jessica McElrath, About.com Guide to African-American History
Here you'll find information about the leaders, participants, and events that were a part of the civil rights movement.
Civil Rights Movement Basics
The civil rights movement, which began in the late 1950s, was a nonviolent protest movement to end racial segregation in the South. Movement leaders sought change through a combination of methods, including legal redress, nonviolent demonstrations, and legislation.
- When did the civil rights movement begin?
- What was the purpose of the civil rights movement?
- What were the major demonstrations/events during the civil rights movement?
- Who were the major leaders of the civil rights movement?
- When did the civil rights movement end?
- Civil Rights Movement Timeline
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws were racial segregation laws in the South that were imposed on African Americans.
- Overview of Jim Crow Laws
- Creation of the Jim Crow South
- Plessy v. Ferguson: The Legalization of Jim Crow Laws
- Photos of Racial Segregation Laws
- Sample Jim Crow Laws
- Summary of Brown v. Board of Education
- Overview of McLaurin v. Oklahoma
- Overview of Sweatt v. Painter
- Overview of Buchanan v. Warley
- Overview of Guinn v. U.S.
- Overview of Cumming v. County Board of Education
- Overview of Plessy v. Ferguson
Voting Rights
Blacks were denied the right to vote through grandfather clauses, literacy tests, and poll taxes. Widespread disenfranchisement of blacks ended after the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
- History and Interpretation of the Fifteenth Amendment
- What was a Grandfather Clause?
- What were Literacy Tests?
- What was a Poll Tax?
- Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama
Protest Movements/Events
The success of the civil rights movement was in part a result of the protest movements that helped instigate change.
- 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
- Birmingham Campaign
- Brown v. Board of Education
- Murder of Emmett Till
- Freedom Rides
- Freedom Summer -- Mississippi Burning
- James Meredith's Admission to Ole Miss
- Desegregation of Little Rock High
- Lunch Counter Sit-Ins
- March on Washington
- Montgomery Bus Boycott
- Orangeburg Massacre
- Bloody Sunday: Voting Rights in Selma, Alabama
Leaders & Activists
The success of the civil rights movment was a result of the people who participated.
Organizations
Out of the civil rights movement, emerged various organizations that served to promote and assist in civil rights goals.
Photos
Photos of important events during the civil rights movement.
- Civil Rights Movement Photos
- School Desegregation Photos
- March on Washington Photos
- Photos of Racial Segregation Signs
Timelines
Timelines of important people and events during the civil rights movement.
