Civil rights

Civil rights campaigns challenged the gap between America's promise of equal opportunity and the discrimination experienced by African Americans. Segregation meant separating people by race. In the South, state and local authorities enforced racial separation through Jim Crow laws, which affected schools, parks, libraries, drinking fountains, toilets, transport and restaurants.

Civil rights are the rights that protect equal treatment and participation in society. By the mid-1960s, campaigning had brought important legal changes, but a change in the law did not automatically produce equal opportunities. Black Americans could still face discrimination when looking for a home or a job, receive poorer education and experience hostility from police and local officials.

Formal promises of equality therefore did not guarantee that people could exercise their civil rights.