Civil Rights Movement In The 1950's

With the progression of time, things are constantly changing. The weather, fashion trends, gas prices, and society. The mid 1900’s can be seen as the era of American history with the most societal change. During this time, specifically the 1950’s-1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement raged on bringing an end to unjust laws and ringed in a newfound sense of equality for African Americans. Civil rights activists rose past the oppression and segregation they faced for hundreds of years and effectively fought for social change. Now, some 60 years later, future generations can learn from the doings of the strong men, women and children that fought for their rights. The Civil Rights Movement set the stage for effective social change in many ways. The

The Civil Rights Act of 1957, signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, was the first civil rights legislation passed since The Civil Rights Act of 1875. With this act, the Civil Rights Division was established in the Justice Department, federal officers were empowered to litigate those who conspired against voting, and a six-member U.S Civil Rights Commission was created to investigate voter infringement.(Civil Rights Act of 1957 1) The support and commitment to the cause of the civil rights movement was crucial in obtaining equality and civil rights. With the government on their side, civil rights leader had the influence they needed to help their cause and get others to join. Another example of the government bringing justice and social change during the Civil Rights Movement was the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. In 1951, Linda Brown was not allowed to attend Topeka, Kansas’s all-white elementary schools and her father sued, claiming schools for African American children were not being maintained as they should be under the 14th Amendment. Ratified in 1896, the 14th Amendment made “separate but equal” facilities legal throughout the country. Mr. Brown, the father of Linda stated, “schools for black children were not equal to the white schools, and that segregation violated the so-called ‘equal protection clause’ of the 14th Amendment, which holds that no state can ‘deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.’” (Brown v. Board of Education 1) Thurgood Marshall, the head of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, was the attorney for the Browns and four other similar cases that were tied together. This issue went to the Supreme Court and school segregation was unanimously decided against. When Supreme Court judge Earl Warren publicly issued the decision, he wrote, “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’