The emergence of the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-twentieth century marks a profound turning point in American history. Although one might trace the roots of the Civil Rights Movement back to the abolition movement of the nineteenth century, historians pinpoint the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, as the beginning of this momentous era. The 1950s and 60s saw significant changes with regard to cultural and social perceptions of race, the extent to which American citizens could and should be protected under the law, and the place of protest in a fair and civil society. By reviewing the strategies utilized by civil rights leaders, the role of the federal government throughout the struggle, and the ways in which the movement began to lose momentum, one can accurately and critically examine the tremendous successes and growth of the American Civil Rights Movement.

It is within the first significant civil rights success, the ruling in Brown v. Board of education, that one finds one of the more successful strategies employed by activists of the period: directly challenging the legal principle which upheld various forms of systemic racism. In this case, the accomplished lawyer and future Supreme Court judge Thurgood Marshall argued that the standard of “separate but equal,” which had been in place since the late nineteenth century and essentially legalized the practice of segregation in public and private spaces, was inherently unfair, damaging, and antithetical to the principles of the United States (Foner, 973). The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that, indeed, the segregation of the public school system violated the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law (Foner, 973). While it did not address matters of segregation in other arenas nor provide a template for ending public school segregation, it did signal the entrance of the federal government into the fight for civil and rights set in motion a wave of activism which would, in part, define the coming decade.

Another strategy widely used by civil rights activists and leaders is also closely linked to the movement’s most significant successes as well as the movement’s increasing visibility on the national stage. Civil disobedience strategies which utilize peaceful, non-aggressive tactics were embraced among several activist groups, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) (Wikipedia Contributors, “African-American civil rights movement”). Those who used this strategy practiced boycotting (as with the Montgomery, AL bus boycott of 1955-56), sit-ins (the most famous of which being the sit-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, NC), and peaceful assemblies and marches (such as the march from Montgomery to Selma, AL in 1965) (Cozzens, web). These protests raised public consciousness because of the violent reaction from those opposed to the aims of the Civil Rights Movement. These violent reactions, in turn, created critical situations that forced the public and the government to analyze and resolve the ways in which the African American community had repeatedly been marginalize and oppressed. These situations also presented an opportunity for activists, government officials, and the public at large to engage in productive, wide-spread dialogue about the place of race in the United States (Cozzens, web). Merely facilitating that dialogue might be considered a success in and of itself.

As the Civil Rights Movement gained traction and the notice of the public, significant leaders within the movement also emerged. Their actions, along with the protests organized by grassroots organizers, should be considered in concert with one another to reveal the multiple approaches to civil reform undertaken by the movement. The most recognizable figure of the Civil Rights Movement is, of course, Martin Luther King, Jr., who led organized several large marches—most notably the 1963 March on Washington.

Prior to the 1963 March, the federal government under the Kennedy administration had been somewhat reluctant to engage with the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement because foreign affairs (namely, the increasingly hostilities of the Cold War) were more pressing and Kennedy was concerned about alienating the Southern Democrats which helped place him in the White House (Patterson, web). In response to violent Southern reaction to desegregation and demonstrations, however, Kennedy ordered both a martial response to end violent situations and the creation of a new federal civil rights bill which would end racial discrimination in public spaces (Patterson, web). King and Kennedy held a meeting following the March on Washington to discuss the passage of such a bill. Although President Kennedy was assassinated prior to bill’s passage, his successor, President Johnson, took up the torch. Under his administration, the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were passed; the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity were established; and several other far-reaching reforms were enacted which helped dismantle American systemic racism (Wikipedia Contributors, “African-American civil rights movement (1954-1968)). These all stand as substantial successes for the Civil Rights Movement and help demonstrate the ways in which the movement’s leadership engaged with the federal government to achieve their goals.

It was also under the Johnson administration, unfortunately, that the Civil Rights Movement began to fracture and decline. Forces from outside (namely the pressing matter of the Vietnam War) and within (namely the assassination of MLK, Jr. and drastic differences over ways to approach the movement’s goals) ultimately affected the unity of the movement. The onset of the Vietnam War splintered the political coalition which led to Johnson’s ability to secure necessary civil rights reform. Without that coalition, future progress became more difficult. The slowness of reform, in turn, gave rise to groups frustrated with nonviolent approach to civil rights protest. The most famous of these groups is the Black Panthers, a black power movement which advocated militaristic protest tactics and black separatism (Wikipedia contributors. “Black Power.”). Such groups aliened both the overarching organization of the civil rights movement and necessary white allies who largely provided financial assistance to the movement (Patterson, web). While the struggle for civil rights for people of color has certainly persisted, it has lost a great deal of the momentum it possessed at mid-century.

In all, the Civil Rights Movement did achieve a great deal of success with regard to bringing the public’s attention to the plight of African Americans, forcing the government to expand civil rights protections, and laying the foundation for recognition of African Americans’ many contributions to American history and culture. In the decades since the height of the civil rights struggle, however, several historical and contemporary wrongs against the African American communities have yet to be resolved. The federal government has not adequately responded to housing and employment disparities and has, indeed, created legislation which predominantly affects the African American community in a negative way. While the events and achievements of the Civil Rights era are something to admire and emulate, it also bears noting that there is still much work to be done.