The purpose of this essay is to describe the major events of the African American Civil Rights Movement. Specifically, the focus will be on key activists involved in the movement such as Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks and major civil resistance campaigns. The Civil Rights Movement refers to movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against Africans. Americans and restore voting rights in the Southern states. African Americans were able to gain rights on issues such as equal access to public transportation, the right to vote, the right to a fair trial, and many others. The many movements lasted from approximately 1955 to 1968. During this time, African Americans were constantly degraded and reminded of their lower status than whites. This was done in various ways through racial segregation; where, by law, public facilities, transportation, and services such as education were divided into separate “white” and “black” sections, Operation; widespread economic oppression of Blacks, Latinos, and Asians. They were denied economic opportunities and faced widespread employment discrimination and disenfranchisement, where black voters were forced off the voting rolls until the number of African-American voters fell so significantly that they were unable to elect representatives. In the mid-1950s, the civil rights movement challenged inequality using boycotts, marches, and nonviolent resistance to try to persuade the government to change laws and get the rights they deserve. The Montgomery bus boycott began on December 1, 1955. Segregation on public transportation helped give black people a daily reminder of their inferior status. After paying for their fare at the front of the bus, ...... middle of paper ......, religion, sex or national origin" in employment practices and public places. December 10, 1964 , Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest man to receive the award at age 35. He received the Nobel Peace Prize for leading nonviolent resistance to racial prejudice in the United States. United States. watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/civilrights-55-65/index.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_Civil_Rights_Movement_(1955%E2%80%931968)http://en .wikipedia.org /wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_NixonThe Civil Rights Movement - Nigel RitchieMartin Luther King I - Anita Ganerihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Peck_( pacifist)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_on_Washington_for_Jobs_and_Freedomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_a_Dream