Civil Rights Movement

George C Hayes Thurgood Marshall James Nabrit celebrating at the U.S. Supreme Court after winning the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case to legally end Separate But Equal practice

George C. Hayes, Thurgood Marshall & James Nabrit celebrating their U.S. Supreme Court victory of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case to legally end Separate But Equal practices; credit LOC

Civil Rights Movement by U.S. Cities

“Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America.”

– John Lewis

In this era of book banning, it is critical to remember and revere Black History in America. The blood and bravery of our ancestors purchased Black freedom and human rights. They overcame abhorrent challenges to start independent businesses beyond barbershops beauty salons, and funeral parlors.

Without them, there would be no foundation for the Modern Civil Rights Movement by U.S. Cities to defend and expand upon.

In 1954, Thurgood Marshall led a team of Black lawyers to win the Brown vs. Board of Education Case at the U.S. Supreme Court. That same year, President Eisenhower was pressured to send the National Guard to protect Black children who integrated public school in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Those achievements created a legal foundation for Rosa Parks to believe she was entitled to sit anywhere on a public bus without being lynched. Of course, she was arrested for the act, which led to the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, and a platform for Dr. Martin Luther King and many other Civil Rights leaders in the South to emerge.

Rosa Parks being fingerprinted for riding in the front of the bus in 1955

A tradition of Black bravery in all wars, threatened boycotts, Jackie Robinson bearing sports color barrier, and that 1954 Supreme Court decision helped influence President Eisenhower to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1957 establishing a Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Justice Department to begin protecting our right to vote when only 20% of Blacks were registered to vote.

Nevertheless, ongoing racial injustices energized the Nation of Islam towards Black Self-Suffiency & Separatism. From that cauldron of righteous discontentment, Malcolm X emerged as the “Critical Thinking Black Man” who could not be led astray, hoodwinked, or bamboozled.

In 1963, Asa Philip Randolph & Bayard Rustin organized the March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I Have A Dream” Speech. It revved up the Civil Rights Movement and won over many hearts & minds from White America.

In 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, John Lewis and many other brave souls that included movie & music celebrities Marched from Selma to Montgomery to make Voting Rights real across the South.

In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King went to the slums of Chicago in protest for better housing and job options for Blacks.

America traditionally viewed sports stars as influential heroes, provided they didn’t venture far into politics. In 1967, that custom changed in a profound way when Bill Russell, Jim Brown, Lew Alcindor, and other sports stars backed Muhammad Ali in his quest to not violate his religious beliefs by fighting in the Vietnam War against people who never attacked America nor called us the N-word.

Collectively, America passed the 1961 Executive Order expanding access to federal contracts, 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1965 Voting Rights Act, 1968 Fair Housing Act, 1970 Voting Right Act, 1971 Executive Order to develop a Minority Business Enterprise program, and 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act.

Those legendary marches, Congressional Acts and Executive Orders multiplied Black voting participation, housing choices, elected officials, job access, college access beyond HBCUs, and entrepreneurial business growth. With that background, you can better appreciate SoulOfAmerica’s lens of the Civil Rights Movement by U.S. Cities towards 21st-century progress and grapple with the racist backlash of today.