The Civil Rights Movement: What Progress Has Been Made Since The 1950s?

Abstract

The study of United States history, Post Civil War Reconstruction and the emerging Jim Crow Era in particular, brings into sharp focus the great divide – between races and ideologies. Stories of inequality, brutality, struggle and hardship abound, and students, researchers, and educators continue to examine and explore the many implications of the “house divided.” The Supreme Court, Federal Government, and general society, especially in the southern states, launched a systematic campaign of regression and oppression that would span decades and lead to the modern Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s. This thesis project examines and uncovers an era of history with a specific focus on race relations in America. Discussion ranges from legal battles, Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. the Board of Education, to military and social programs and initiatives, which highlight the strained relationship between whites and blacks in America. As it examines this section of history it considers this simple question -- what progress has been made since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s? The project concludes with a short application to current classroom efforts to “connect” students to history through personal observation and experience.