The Civil Rights Movement was a social and political struggle by African Americans to end racial segregation and discrimination, primarily in the 1950s and 1960s.

It challenged the system of 'Jim Crow' laws in the South, which enforced strict racial segregation.

The landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision in 'Brown v. Board of Education' declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional, providing a major legal catalyst for the movement.

The movement's dominant strategy was nonviolent civil disobedience, championed by leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Key organizations included the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Major campaigns included the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Greensboro sit-ins, and the Freedom Rides.

Activists often faced violent resistance from white segregationists and local law enforcement.

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 was a high point of the movement, where Dr. King delivered his 'I Have a Dream' speech.

The movement led to the passage of landmark federal legislation.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 dismantled the legal basis for segregation and disenfranchisement.