A History of the Civil Rights Movement

FEDERAL LAWS PROTECT CIVIL RIGHTS

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even if they were not as obvious as in the past. There was still work to be done. After the death of Martin Luther King, people like Jesse Jackson, Ralph Abernathy, Julian Bond, John Lewis, and others con tinued the struggle to ensure African-American civil rights. Many people who took part in the

In 1986, Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a national holiday in the United States. It is celebrated on the third Monday of January. Did You Know?

Civil Rights Movements were overjoyed on January 20, 2009, when Barack Obama was inaugurated as the first African-American president of the United States. However, serious problems remain for African Americans today. Many blacks are poor and are poorly educated. A high percentage of young African-American men are in prison, many on drug-related charges. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s has helped to shape American history over the past five decades. The heroes of that movement proved that even the most challenging problems can be overcome, through bravery, hard work, and a willingness to keep fighting to ensure that every American is treated equally and with dignity.