Black Americans faced ongoing discrimination and racism in the 1950s, particularly in the Southern states with Jim Crow laws enforcing segregation. Voting rights were undermined by violence and intimidation tactics. The NAACP campaigned for equal rights and challenged segregation through strategic court cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled that segregated schools were inherently unequal. However, desegregation led to resistance from states like Arkansas where the National Guard had to be deployed to enforce integration of Little Rock High School. The civil rights movement employed both non-violent and legal strategies to challenge discrimination and make progress, but full equality was still not achieved.

1. How far did black Americans go in achieving equality in civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s? (Part I)

16. Fin