The Civil Rights Movement in America

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I. Introduction Segregation was an issue in the past that a lot of the population did not wanted to deal with. Even some presidents did not touch the topic because it could cost them their re-election, but as time went on, the topic of African Americans wanting equality in all aspects of life increased among audiences and since then nothing has been the same. II. The civil rights movement grows. African Americans participated and contributed to the outcome of World War II. They were part of the force that fought for justice in the War and when they came back home, they realized their world, from a social point of view, was still the same; this made it look like their efforts weren’t enough. African Americans and other ethnic groups such as Latinos, or Asians proved during WWII that their abilities were part of their great efforts and not just their skin color. The belief that something in society had to be changed lingered in the depths of African Americans, but after WWII, many of those beliefs started to resurface and became part of the push for a reform movement. Many challenges had to be faced during the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s; one of those challenges being the case of Brown v. Board of Education, which tested the ruling in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson back in the year 1896 proclaiming segregation to be constitutional as long as it was “separate but equal”. In this particular case, Thurgood Marshall claimed that forcing African Americans to used separate education facilities was violating the 14th Amendment which gave the right of equality to all citizens under the law of the United States. As the Civil Rights movement continued to grow, it provided more inspiration and made it possible for increasi... ... middle of paper ... ...providing federal enforcement on the matter. Another achievement was made a year later when congress signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965; which outlawed discriminatory practices when voting and the government would also oversee elections and voter registrations in the South. Conflict did not disappear with the passing of these laws that protected and promoted the rights of African Americans, but even among such conflict, progress could still be seeing because the effort of the Civil Rights movement still lingers to this day. Works Cited • http://www.history.com/topics/montgomery-bus-boycott • http://pavansatya.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/gandhis-influence-on-american-civil-rights-movement/ • http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/publication/2009/01/20090106142830jmnamdeirf0.6788446.html#axzz2nnSqZ5xR • http://mlkday.gov/plan/library/communications/quotes.php

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