The struggle for civil rights in America was marked by systematic racial discrimination through Jim Crow laws, which enforced segregation across the Southern United States from the 1870s through the 1960s. These laws created a separate and unequal society, affecting every aspect of daily life for African Americans.
Jim Crow laws mandated racial segregation in public facilities, schools, transportation, and businesses. African Americans were forced to use separate water fountains, restrooms, and entrances to buildings. The laws also restricted Jim Crow voting through poll taxes, literacy tests, and other discriminatory practices designed to prevent Black citizens from exercising their right to vote. This system was different from Black codes, which were earlier restrictive laws enacted immediately after the Civil War. A pivotal moment came when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus in 1955, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott that lasted 381 days. Her brave act of civil disobedience helped launch the modern civil rights movement and brought national attention to segregation in public transportation.
The movement gained momentum in Birmingham, Alabama, which became known as Bombingham due to frequent racist attacks. The Birmingham campaign of 1963 included the powerful Children's Crusade, where young protesters faced fire hoses and police dogs in Kelly Ingram Park. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail became a defining document of the civil rights movement, written while he was imprisoned for leading nonviolent protests. The campaign involved key figures like Dorothy Cotton, who trained activists in nonviolent resistance, and was part of a broader strategy that included the earlier Albany Movement. These events, along with the brutal response from law enforcement, helped generate national support for civil rights legislation and ultimately contributed to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
