CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

    Up until the 1950's, African Americans were legally considered second-class citizens. Although the Civil War, which was fought nearly a century before the Civil Rights Movement, had prohibited slavery, African Americans were still subjects of discrimination and violence. The promise of "Freedom", apparently, meant that African Americans would be free from their slaveholders, not free from social and economic problems, as well as white superiority. Not until the 1950's did African Americans finally rebel against their second-class citizenship. Civil rights advocates and its many supporters quickly gained momentum, and the African American community were lead by Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X. Organizations such as the Black Panthers and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) also sprang up. Although it can be argued that African Americans are, today, still considered second-class citizens in certain parts of the country, there is little doubt that the Civil Rights Movement was a positive advance for the entire Black community.