The Civil Rights Movement

Beginning with an overview of the status of African Americans in the post-Reconstruction South, this course traces the struggle for African American civil rights from the late nineteenth century to the present. Students will examine the collective efforts of African-Americans to overcome legal segregation and racial discrimination since the Civil War. How were black protest movements organized? Why did they succeed or fail? Did the movement come to a conclusion at the end of the 1960’s or did it continue on? We will focus on the role that ideological, strategic, and cultural factors played in the success or failure of the range of African American movements. We will also discuss how black movements have mirrored and/or shaped relations of race, class, and gender within both the African American community and the larger society. Finally, we will discuss what lessons can be drawn from African American efforts to achieve social and economic equality in the next century.

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