RP103 The Civil Rights Movement in the United States

 RP103 The Civil Rights Movement in the United States

Even after slavery ended in 1865, African-Americans in the United States still faced discrimination. The policy of segregation kept them separate from whites. It was hard for African-Americans to vote. They couldn't use the same restaurants, hotels, pools, or train cars as whites. They were even forced to sit at the back of the bus.

People knew that this wasn't right, so they started fighting for racial equality under the law. Their efforts came to be known as the Civil Rights Movement.

Many of the heroes of the Civil Rights Movement were just ordinary people. One was Rosa Parks, a black woman who refused to move to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. When she was arrested, thousands of people boycotted Montgomery buses. The city lost money, and segregation on buses was stopped the following year.

Then there was the "Little Rock Nine." Nine black teenagers were determined to attend an all-white school in Arkansas. On their first day of class in 1957, they were blocked by an angry mob of people. Two weeks later, the president of the United States sent soldiers to protect them. These soldiers remained at the school the entire year.

The most recognizable figure of the Civil Rights Movement was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was known for organizing nonviolent protests, putting "freedom riders" on segregated buses, and arranging sit-ins at restaurants. In 1963, hundreds of thousands of people marched on Washington, D.C., to demand equality. There, Dr. King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a huge victory for the movement. It made it illegal to discriminate against people based on their race. But it can take a long time for people's attitudes to catch up to the law. Even to this day, there's still work to be done.