This publication recounts how African-American slaves and their descendants struggled to win — both in law and in practice — the civil rights enjoyed by other Americans. It is a story of dignified persistence and struggle, a story that produced great heroes and heroines, and one that ultimately succeeded by forcing Americans to confront squarely the shameful gap between their universal principles of equality and justice and the inequality, injustice, and oppression faced by millions of their fellow citizens. This book was published in January 2009 by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.

◊ Historical Moments
- Brown v. Board of Education
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964
- 1963 March on Washington
- Voting Rights Act
- Montgomery Bus Boycott

◊ Little Rock Nine Celebrates Its Victory 50 Years Later
Following the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that school segregation is illegal, school systems in Arkansas took steps to comply. In Little Rock, in 1957, nine black teenagers volunteered to enroll at all-white Central High School, home to 2,000 students and renowned for its academics. Despite a progressive racial climate in Little Rock, the teenagers were met at Central by a hostile mob and by state National Guard troops ordered by the governor to bar their entry, an act that triggered a constitutional crisis. The dignity of the “Little Rock Nine” as they stood up for their rights woke the world to the civil rights movement in the United States.

◊ Photo Gallery: The U.S. Civil Rights Movement

◊ Civil Rights Act (1964)
This act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. This document was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.