Civil Rights Movement

African Americans continued to live in fear for hundreds of years after the incredible but unsuccessful victory. They were still treated as being less than the "supreme" white race. This all ended in 1954 with the court case Brown vs. Board of Education where it was was ruled that segregation of schools was unconstitutional. In 1961, John F. Kennedy was elected as president. While he did not fight for rights for African Americans, he saw that things needed to change. Continuing after he had been admitted to office, African Americans throughout the south were denied the right to vote, barred from all public facilities, subjected to insults and violence, and could not expect justice from the courts. Then, a few courageous people decided to stand up against discrimination. Rosa Parks was the first. She refused to get off her seat in the bus. This started a monumental movement. Martin Luther King, Jr. was selected to lead the movement. Rosa Parks' acts were followed by the 381 day Montgomery bus boycott, sit-ins, the freedom riders, little rock nine, and the March on Washington. At this, King said, "I have a dream, that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed-we hold these truths self-evident, that all men are created equal." These actions caught the attention of Kennedy who then worked to get rights for African Americans and eventually, all schools were integrated and full rights were given to every individual, no matter what race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs