Background: inequality after slavery
After the Civil War, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments ended slavery and promised equal protection and voting rights. But after Reconstruction ended in 1877, Southern states passed Jim Crow laws that enforced segregation in schools, buses, restaurants and even drinking fountains.
In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court allowed "separate but equal" facilities. In reality, facilities for Black Americans were almost always worse. Poll taxes, literacy tests and violence kept most Black Southerners from voting. Lynchings and terror by groups like the Ku Klux Klan targeted Black communities.
Discrimination also existed outside the South, in housing, jobs and schools.
Key events of the movement
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1954 | Brown v. Board of Education: the Supreme Court rules school segregation unconstitutional, overturning Plessy |
| 1955 | the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi shocks the nation |
| 1955–56 | Montgomery Bus Boycott: after Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat, Black residents boycott the buses for 381 days; the Supreme Court rules bus segregation unconstitutional |
| 1957 | Little Rock Nine: federal troops escort nine Black students into Central High School in Arkansas |
| 1960 | Greensboro sit-ins: students sit at a whites-only lunch counter; sit-ins spread across the South |
| 1961 | Freedom Rides: activists ride interstate buses to challenge segregation and are attacked |
| 1963 | Birmingham campaign: police use dogs and fire hoses on young protesters; King writes "Letter from Birmingham Jail" |
| 1963 | March on Washington: about 250,000 people gather; Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech |
| 1964 | Civil Rights Act of 1964 |
| 1965 | Selma to Montgomery marches: marchers attacked on "Bloody Sunday" |
| 1965 | Voting Rights Act of 1965 |
| 1968 | King is assassinated; the Fair Housing Act bans housing discrimination |
Strategies
Nonviolent resistance
Leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and Christian teachings, used nonviolent resistance: boycotts, sit-ins, marches and civil disobedience. Peaceful protesters facing violent attacks on television helped win public support.
Organizations
- NAACP: legal challenges, such as Brown v. Board, led by Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first Black Supreme Court justice
- SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference): led by King
- SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee): young activists organizing sit-ins and voter registration
- CORE: organized the Freedom Rides
Other voices
- Malcolm X argued for Black pride, self-defence and independence from white institutions, and later supported broader human rights.
- The Black Power movement (late 1960s) emphasized pride, self-determination and community control.
- Women such as Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer and Diane Nash were key organizers, though often overlooked.
Achievements
- Civil Rights Act of 1964: banned discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex or national origin in employment and public places, and outlawed segregation in public accommodations.
- Voting Rights Act of 1965: banned literacy tests and gave federal oversight of elections in areas with histories of discrimination. Black voter registration in the South rose dramatically.
- Desegregation of schools, transportation and public places.
Limits and legacy
- Many schools stayed segregated for years, and economic inequality persisted.
- In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act, leading to ongoing debates about voting access.
- The movement inspired other struggles for rights: women’s, Latino, Indigenous, disability and LGBTQ+ rights movements.
Connections to Canada
Canada had its own history of segregation and racism, including segregated schools in Ontario and Nova Scotia (the last closed in 1983 in Nova Scotia). Viola Desmond challenged segregation at a theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, in 1946, nine years before Rosa Parks. She now appears on Canada’s $10 bill.
Try it yourself
- Create a timeline of the Civil Rights Movement with at least eight events.
- Analyze why nonviolent resistance was effective. Use at least two examples.
- Compare the approaches of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
- Compare Viola Desmond’s and Rosa Parks’s acts of resistance.
Quick recap
- Jim Crow laws enforced segregation after Reconstruction.
- Brown v. Board (1954) began dismantling legal segregation.
- Boycotts, sit-ins, Freedom Rides and marches used nonviolent resistance.
- The Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) were major victories.
- The struggle for equality continues, and inspired movements worldwide.