Racism School Desegregation Laws and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States

The African-American Civil Rights Movement 1955--1968 refers to the social movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against black Americans and restoring voting rights to them This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968 particularly in the South The emergence of the Black Power Movement which lasted roughly from 1966 to 1975 enlarged the aims of the Civil Rights Movement to include racial dignity economic and political self-sufficiency and freedom from oppression by white Americans

The movement was characterized by major campaigns of civil resistance Between 1955 and 1968 acts of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience produced crisis situations between activists and government authorities Federal state and local governments businesses and communities often had to respond immediately to these situations that highlighted the inequities faced by African Americans Forms of protest andor civil disobedience included boycotts such as the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott 1955--1956 in Alabama sit-ins such as the influential Greensboro sit-ins 1960 in North Carolina marches such as the Selma to Montgomery marches 1965 in Alabama and a wide range of other nonviolent activities

Noted legislative achievements during this phase of the Civil Rights Movement were passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964 that banned discrimination based on race color religion or national origin in employment practices and public accommodations the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that restored and protected voting rights the Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965 that dramatically opened entry to the US to immigrants other than traditional European groups and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 that banned discrimination in the sale or rental of housing African Americans re-entered politics in the South and across the country young people were inspired to action

Desegregation busing in the United States also known as forced busing or simply busing is the practice of assigning and transporting students to schools in such a manner as to redress prior racial segregation of schools or to overcome the effects of residential segregation on local school