| When John F. Kennedy became president in 1961, African Americans throughout much of the South were denied the right to vote, barred from public facilities, subjected to insults and violence, and could not expect justice from the courts. In the North, black Americans also faced discrimination in housing, employment, education, and many other areas. We often think the protests of the 1960’s gave birth to the Civil Rights Movement and it ended when the Civil Rights Bill was signed into law When President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill into effect July 2, 1964, seven months after the assassination of JFK on November 22, 1963. Our history is full of the precious and dangerous work done by Democrats, students and Civil Rights Leaders of the sixties, which continues today. However, the struggle for equality had begun years before. Eleanor Roosevelt joined the fight in 1939 when she resigned in protest from the Daughters of the American Revolution. DAR had denied Marian Anderson the opportunity to sing before an integrated crowd at Constitutional Hall. Instead, Mrs. Roosevelt arranged to have Mrs. Anderson sing at the Lincoln Memorial. Below is a link to an interactive timeline of Civil Rights from the John F. Kennedy Library website. Now it is our time to continue the fight and finish the timeline for Equality for All. Civil Rights Timeline |
Civil Rights Movement – Striving for Equality
