8.6 Postwar Civil Rights

Legal Foundations of Civil Rights

The postwar civil rights movement built on legal victories like Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared school segregation unconstitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson's 'separate but equal' doctrine. Activists used litigation, nonviolent protest, and grassroots organizing to challenge Jim Crow laws. Groups like the NAACP, SCLC, and SNCC pursued different but complementary strategies for racial equality.

Nonviolent Protest and Federal Action

Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. organized boycotts, sit-ins, and marches (Montgomery Bus Boycott, March on Washington) to pressure the federal government. This activism led to landmark legislation: the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (banned discrimination in public places/employment) and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (eliminated barriers like literacy tests). President Johnson's Great Society expanded federal civil rights enforcement.

Diverging Approaches and Other Movements

By the late 1960s, some activists embraced Black Power, emphasizing self-determination and racial pride over integrationist tactics (e.g., Malcolm X, the Black Panther Party). Inspired by African American activism, other groups—including Chicano, American Indian, and women's rights movements—organized to fight discrimination and expand civil rights protections in their own communities.

Key terms

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Supreme Court case declaring segregated public schools unconstitutional, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Federal law banning discrimination in employment and public accommodations based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Legislation eliminating literacy tests and other discriminatory voting barriers; authorized federal oversight of elections.

Black Power movement

Late 1960s movement emphasizing racial pride, self-determination, and sometimes separatism over integrationist strategies.

SNCC and SCLC

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Southern Christian Leadership Conference — key civil rights organizations using nonviolent protest and grassroots activism.

Try an AP-style question

Truman's Executive Order 9981 (1948)…

1. ended school segregation
2. segregated federal offices
3. banned the Klan
4. desegregated the armed forces