Civil Rights Movement: Brown Vs. Board Of Education

Civil Rights Movement

Between Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954 and the passage of the Voters Right Act in 1965, the civil rights movement brought about significant changes in American society. At the end of this period, the movement integrated public schools, ended legal segregation, and gave African Americans voter rights. During this time African Americans endured many of those significant changes that made such huge impact on society today. Although the civil rights movement brought about many significant changes in American society economic inequalities were left unchanged. There were many events such as Brown vs. Board of Education, Emmitt Till, Montgomery Bus Boycott, and March on Washington that gave birth to the civil rights movement

Board of Education in 1954 took place in Topeka, Kansas, was the first great step in giving equality to African Americans. During this time segregation in the school system was widely accepted. The Brown vs. Board of Education was the Supreme Court decision which overturned “separate but equal” in public schools. (Carson, C 344). Thurgood Marshall was a NAACP lawyer who led the campaign for school integration. Thurgood Marshall along with the NAACP fought for school integration. Earl Warren the Chief of Justice of the United States Supreme ruled against segregated schools and called it unconstitutional (Halberstam, D 444). Brown vs. Board of Education gave many African Americans hope but this was just the beginning. There was still major trouble with integration. “In Mississippi, the most reactionary of the southern states, the resistance to integration was immediate and overwhelming on the parts of whites (Halberstam, D 430). There were also some African Americans that didn’t agree with the civil rights movement. There were African American teachers that couldn’t support the movement because they were afraid of having their names printed in the newspaper and losing their jobs (Halberstam, D 10). Although all public schools were supposed to be integrated many schools didn’t integrate right

An African American college student named Joseph McNeill was refused service at a lunch counter in Woolworths in Greensboro, South Carolina. Joseph McNeill along with three other classmates came back to sit at the counter the next day until they were served. This drew many more protesters along with an article that was printed in the New York Times. They were also congratulated in a letter sent by John F. Kennedy who was a senator at the time. Those sit-ins and protest lead to Woolworth revising their policy regarding racial segregation. John F. Kennedy soon after became the President of the United States of America. When John F. Kennedy ran for president this made African Americans hold high expectations in the election. John F. Kennedy defeated Nixon and became president. The marches and the civil rights movement were in effect at this time. President Kennedy’s had little contact with African Americans because he was a wealthy man from the north. President Kennedy and his brother Robert Kennedy viewed civil rights as a political issue not a moral issue (Halberstam, D 464). Although they had little contact with African Americans Kennedy made some very important changes while he was in office. The booming of the freedoms rides bus caught his attention and he addressed it. He also had to send federal Troops to the University of Mississippi to escort James Meredith in to the college. This was