Civil-Rights Movement

The civil-rights movement, which took place largely during the 1950s and 1960s, was a fight for Black people to obtain equal rights under the law in the United States. During this time, activists employed a variety of tactics, such as orchestrating sit-ins, marches, and freedom rides to shed light on racial discrimination and the need for radical change. Key figures associated with the civil-rights movement include: Bayard Rustin, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin, and Thurgood Marshall. Key groups associated with the civil-rights movement include: the Little Rock Nine, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Due to the civil-rights movement, the following federal acts were passed: the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (also known as the Fair Housing Act).