The fight against discrimination in the United States has always been a bumpy ride. In spite of the civil rights movement, discrimination against African-Americans is still palpable to this day. Not even with the installation of an African-American president in the White House is discrimination assured to be on the wane.

The American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968) refers to the reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring suffrage in Southern states. The movement has become a symbol of upholding racial dignity, economic and political self-sufficiency of black Americans, and their freedom from oppression by the white Americans – in other words, recognition of their basic human rights.

The Bureau of International Information Programs of the U.S. Department of State (The Washington File, n.d) states that the 1964 Civil Rights Act is a key moment in U.S. history because it represents Americans’ collective decision to harness federal power to the civil rights struggle. President John F. Kennedy initially thought that the Civil Rights March might exacerbate the already heightened racial tensions across the country. The March did push through and went on to become known as a resounding success.

The results were concrete: the ratification of the Twenty Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (outlawing the poll tax, a tax levied on individuals as a requirement for voting) and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (desegregating public institutions and outlawing employment discrimination).

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Via CNN