Slavery in the United States officially ended in 1865 when the Civil War ended. But Black people were still treated badly.
By the start of the 1900s, a system had been made up to keep them “in their place.” This place was lower in society than White people in all ways. The system was called segregation. That means keeping the two races apart, or separated.
In the South, laws kept Black and White people apart. They had segregated schools, restaurants, and restrooms. They used separate drinking fountains and sat in the backs of buses. The North had unwritten rules about where Black people could live, work, and play. Two things kept segregation going. One was the threat of violence to Black people. The other was how the southern states kept Black people from voting.
From the start of segregation, Black people fought hard for their rights as U.S. citizens. But they didn’t get very far until the 1950s. Then, a series of peaceful protests began. Black people started to undo some of the wrongs that came out of slavery. These protests came to be known as the civil rights movement.

◀ Segregation made for some strange and sad situations. In the 1940s, the U.S. was at war with Germany. German prisoners of war were being taken from one prison to another in the South. During the trip, they stopped at a roadside café for lunch. The White enemy prisoners were served inside the restaurant. But not the Black soldiers who were guarding them. They had to pick up their food at the back door and eat it outside.
What are civil rights? They are the protections and privileges guaranteed by law to citizens of a country. In the United States, they include the right to vote. They also include the right to equal treatment by the law. In 1920, after a long fight, women won the right to vote. Famous Black Americans were part of the women’s suffrage movement. They included former slaves Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, who were formely enslaved. ▶

Civil rights protesters drew strength and joy from singing together. “We Shall Overcome” became the movement’s anthem.
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome some day;
Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe,
We shall overcome some day.


◀ The leaders of the civil rights movement planned to use only nonviolent protest. That’s also called peaceful protest. It means marches, big gatherings, and sit-ins to point out unfairness. Another part was civil disobedience. People would break a law they thought was unfair. They might even go to jail for it. Mohandas K. Gandhi (left) was an inspiration for the U.S. civil rights movement. He led a nonviolent movement that freed India from British domination in 1947.
Civil Rights Dictionary
Desegregation
Ending the policy of segregation
Discrimination
Treating people differently based on race or some other feature
Integration
Putting people of different groups together as equals
Prejudice
Judging or hating whole groups of people
Racism
A feeling of being better than a person of a different race, usually aimed at non-White people
Segregation
The policy of keeping racial groups apart from each other
Check It Out!
Who was Henry David Thoreau? What role did he play in the U.S. civil rights movement?
Henry David Thoreau was an American writer. Nonviolent protesters were inspired by his essay “Civil Disobedience.” He wrote that in 1849. Thoreau went to jail for refusing to pay taxes. It was his protest against slavery and the Mexican War.