The Civil Rights Movement of 1954-1965 echoed the goals of the NAACP and was successfully accomplished through multiple nonviolent acts. The movement first saw progress when President Truman issued an executive order that abolished segregation in the armed forces and ordered full integration of all the services. This break through gave others more confidence to step out and fight for equal rights. In 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The civil rights peaceful protests continued to rise when Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. became universal leaders of the movement. Malcolm X was a key spokesman for the civil rights movement and embodied the “Black …show more content…
In the first two years of his presidency he did not take any initiative to help the civil rights movement. Though, he began to take notice to the movement when he was trying not to lose the votes from the whites and black southerners. In 1961, MLK was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia for protesting, and Kennedy took a personal initiative to have him safely released. After JFK lend a helping hand to the icon of the civil rights movement, more than 70 percent of African Americans voted for him in his next presidential election. He came out victorious and African Americans had high hopes for him. Throughout his term, JFK was slightly reluctant to continue helping the African American society, but after immense pressure his administration was compelled to act. In May, 1961 the Congress of Racial Equality organized Freedom Riders to end segregation in interstate transportation. Two years later the movement for equality was still thriving. On August 28, 1963, MLK gave his infamous “I Have a Dream Speech”. This speech was given to a massive group of civil rights marchers gather around the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC. While it seemed major stepping stones were being created through member of society and within the government, not every race was in agreement. JFK was continuously making progress in the civil rights movement until he was assassinated during his presidential campaign in Texas. After the shocking sudden death of JFK, Lyndon B. Johnson stepped in to fulfill the role as President. Johnson was left with big shoes to fill and a lot of unfished work. To continue wheat JFK started, LBJ agreed to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which declared that discrimination for any reason be ended. He then went on to create a set of domestic programs known as the, “Great Society”, which aimed to eliminate poverty and racial injustice within the United States. This opened up job opportunities for African Americans that