15.6 – Read the Text #4: Putting It All Together

READING TEXT
Module 15: Civil Rights and Beyond

After the end of the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), there was a period of Reconstruction (1865-1877). During Reconstruction, several Constitutional amendments were passed. These amendments gave Black Americans more rights. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. The 14th Amendment gave citizenship to formerly enslaved people, and the 15th Amendment said that men of all races were allowed to vote.

However, as Black Americans gained more freedom and rights, they faced additional barriers. Some states passed laws that allowed segregation. Black people had to be in separate schools, hospitals, and neighborhoods. Black Americans were also separated from white Americans in public places like restaurants and transportation. Other laws made it hard for Black people to vote, such as asking Black Americans to pass a literacy test or to pay a tax to vote. These limiting laws were sometimes enforced violently. Many Black Americans were lynched by white mobs if they resisted the system.

Black Americans continued to fight for justice and equality. In the 1950s and 1960s, the civil rights movements in the United States grew stronger. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and many community members took action against racial and economic segregation and inequality. For example, Rosa Parks, a community leader, was arrested by police for refusing to leave her seat at the front of a public bus for a white person. She was part of an organized boycott of buses led by Black people in Montgomery, Alabama. This boycott lasted over a year, and the bus companies lost a lot of money. As a result of pressure from these boycotts, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in buses was unconstitutional.

Community members and civil rights leaders also demanded that schools should not be segregated by race. After years of protest, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools would be illegal. However, some states and white people in the community still made it very difficult for Black students to attend unsegregated schools. Finally, after years of community efforts, the Civil Rights Act became a law in 1964. This act legally prohibited segregation and discrimination based on race. In 1965, the federal government also passed the Voting Rights Act. This act legally reduced barriers to make sure that all Americans, no matter their skin color, could vote freely.

Throughout U.S history, other groups within the civil rights movements have been fighting for equality and against discrimination. For example, women and Native Americans have had a long struggle for equal rights, especially the right to vote. The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution only allowed men to vote. Women organized and protested. Although, some white women leaders did not include Black women in the voting rights movement. They thought that they would not get support from white men if Black women joined their movement. Women won the right to vote in 1920 after Congress passed the 19th Amendment. But Native Americans were still denied the right to vote until 1924. At that time, Native Americans won the right to full citizenship and could finally vote in U.S. elections. However, states still made it difficult for Native Americans, Black Americans, and other people of color to vote until the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Individuals and groups continue to organize to protect the rights for all humans, regardless of a person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or language. For example, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 to protect the rights of people with disabilities. Today, people with and without physical limitations can use ramps and elevators to access buildings that once only had stairs. Disability rights groups and other movements show that changes in laws are possible when dedicated individuals organize and demand action.

NEXT: Think about and apply what you learned from the module text!