The American Dream In The 1960's

The American dream states that anyone can succeed through hard work and has the potential to lead a happy, successful life.(wisegeek.org) This is true for African Americans today, however it has not always been this way. The concept of the American dream has changed throughout history. Blacks have been through a lot during history, from slavery to the civil rights act to having the first African American president. The American dream for African Americans in the 1950’s and 60’s was to get rid of segregation, mainly in the south. Segregation is the action or state of setting someone or something apart from other people or things or being set apart. Black people did not have equal rights as White people; this included the right to vote, schooling, employment, or the right to go to certain public places. Everything they did was limited and controlled. In 1954 the supreme court case Brown vs the board of education outlawed segregated education. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Congress of Racial Equality, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee were a few groups that were formed to help stop segregation. Martin Luther King provided a leadership to the movement. He wanted to publicize the civil right activities …show more content…
King was arrested and thrown into jail for protesting the treatment of blacks in Birmingham. He wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail," defending nonviolent protest. Now blacks get paid the same a whites, they can get the same jobs, and can use the same bathrooms. They are now able to vote, able to go to public locations without any difficulties, and they are also able to go to the same school as white people. King's dream was for equality between blacks and whites. Barack Obama is the first black president of the United States and he got elected for two