Civil Rights and Equality Struggles in Postwar America (1945–1980)

African American Civil Rights Movement

A long campaign (especially mid-1950s through late 1960s) using courts, mass protest, organizing, and federal legislation to end racial discrimination and secure equal citizenship for Black Americans.

De jure segregation

Segregation “by law,” enforced through formal rules (e.g., Jim Crow laws) requiring separation and inequality in schools, public facilities, and voting.

De facto segregation

Segregation “in fact,” produced by housing patterns, economic inequality, and local practices even without explicit segregation laws (common in many Northern and Western cities).

Double V idea

A World War II–era argument for “victory” over fascism abroad and racism at home, strengthening moral and political demands for civil rights.

NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

A leading civil rights organization that pursued a major legal strategy against segregation, using litigation to challenge discriminatory laws and practices.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Supreme Court decision ruling that racial segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, undermining the logic of “separate but equal.”

Massive resistance

Efforts by many white Southern leaders to slow or block desegregation after Brown using state laws, school closures, and intimidation.

Nonviolent direct action

A strategy of peaceful protest that confronts unjust laws or practices to create public attention and political crisis, pressuring authorities to respond.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956)

Mass boycott of segregated buses after Rosa Parks’s arrest; succeeded through sustained community organization (carpools, church leadership) and helped elevate Martin Luther King Jr.

SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)

Civil rights organization associated with Martin Luther King Jr. that coordinated nonviolent protest campaigns, often through church-based leadership networks.

SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

Youth-led civil rights organization formed to coordinate sit-ins and grassroots organizing; became a major force in community-level activism.

Freedom Rides (1961)

Integrated activist rides on interstate buses to test federal rulings against segregation in interstate travel; violent reactions increased pressure on the Kennedy administration to act.

March on Washington (1963)

Major demonstration linking civil rights to jobs and economic justice; helped build national momentum for federal civil rights legislation.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark federal law prohibiting segregation and discrimination in key areas of public life, including public accommodations and employment, backed by stronger federal enforcement.

Title VII (Civil Rights Act of 1964)

Provision that banned employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin—later crucial for both civil rights and women’s rights enforcement.

EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

Federal agency created to help enforce employment anti-discrimination provisions, especially under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA)

Federal law targeting barriers to Black voting—especially in the South—by banning discriminatory devices and enabling strong federal oversight and enforcement.

Literacy tests

Supposed “qualification” exams used in many Southern jurisdictions to disfranchise Black voters through selective, discriminatory administration; targeted by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

24th Amendment (ratified 1964)

Constitutional amendment banning poll taxes in federal elections, removing a major financial barrier to voting.

Fair Housing Act (Civil Rights Act of 1968)

Federal law aimed at reducing housing discrimination, addressing a key driver of de facto segregation and urban inequality.

Black Power

Mid-to-late 1960s current emphasizing racial pride, community control, and (for some) self-defense, reflecting debates over the limits of integrationist and nonviolent strategies.

Malcolm X

Influential Black nationalist figure who criticized gradualism and emphasized Black self-determination; helped shape the broader shift toward Black Power ideas.

United Farm Workers (UFW)

Farmworker labor union associated with César Chávez and Dolores Huerta that used organizing, strikes, and boycotts to challenge poor working conditions and discrimination.

Delano grape strike (began 1965)

Farmworker strike and boycott campaign that used consumer pressure to force grape growers to negotiate, illustrating economic leverage as a protest tactic.

American Indian Movement (AIM)

Native activism organization founded in 1968 focusing on treaty rights, tribal sovereignty, and self-determination, while confronting poverty and police harassment.