Chapter 4.4 The Civil Rights Struggle

Background of the Struggle After the Civil War, African Americans routinely faced discrimination, or unfair treatment based on prejudice against a certain group. The social separation of the races was known as segregation. It would take more than 100 years for African Americans to secure their civil rights – the rights of full citizenship and equality under the law.

continued The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) worked through the courts to challenge laws that denied African Americans their rights. The National Urban League helped improve opportunities for African Americans in cities.

continued These groups and other built a civil rights movement. It made an important gain when President Harry Truman ordered an end to segregation in the armed forces. In Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, NAACP lawyers successfully argued that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. It violated the 14 th Amendment’s principle of equal protection under the law.

continued Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a main leader of the civil rights movement. He believed in nonviolent resistance. He helped organize marches and boycotts. He inspired thousands with his “I Have a Dream” speech about hopes for racial equality and harmony.

continued African American students staged “sit-ins” at lunch counters that served only whites. White and African American “Freedom Riders” rode buses together to protest segregation. Such protests were met with violence by whites.

continued The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in public facilities, employment, education and voter registration. It banned discrimination by race, color, gender, religion and nation origin. The 24 th Amendment outlawed poll taxes. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 further protected access of minorities to the polls.

Ongoing Challenge Affirmative action programs were intended to make up for past discrimination. They encouraged the hiring and promoting of minorities and women, and the admission of more minority students to colleges.

continued Critics complained that affirmative action programs gave preferential treatment to women and minorities, amounting to discrimination against men and women. The struggle for equal rights continues. Many Americans are subject to racial profiling – being singled out as suspects because of the way they look. Some become victims of hate crimes.