Civil Rights Movement In The 1960's

In the early 1960’s there were many major events in the civil rights movement. During this time, college students had become the most compelling force for social change. In 1960, young black and some white activists in Raleigh, North Carolina, formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Their top priority was to replace segregation with a “beloved community” of racial justice and give blacks control over the decisions that affected them.In 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality established the Freedom Rides. This organization was made up of integrated groups that traveled on buses going into the Deep South to force compliance with court orders barring segregation of transportation. Angry mobs attacked them and burned the buses. The Freedom Rides forced the federal desegregation of interstate transportation. In late 1961, SNCC and other groups started a nonviolent campaign against racial discrimination in Georgia. These protests lasted a year. In late 1962, a court ordered the University of Mississippi to accept a black student by the name of James Meredith. A mob, encouraged by the state’s governor, rioted violently and the state police stood by …show more content…
This event is considered by many the high point of the civil rights movement. It was created by an organization of civil rights, labor, and church groups. It was the largest protest in American history during that time. The marchers wanted to pass a civil rights bill in Congress. It called for a public works program that would fight unemployment,a law banning discrimination in employment and a minimum wage increase. The march portrayed the movement’s potential and the unity between blacks and whites. However. it also showed the movement’s limits. Organizers pressed John Lewis, leader of SNCC, to take out militant messages from his speech. Despite the critical role of women in this movement, all of the speakers were