If the Civil Rights Movement is new to you, you can access our dictionary page from any page in the entire web site by clicking here.
Imagine that you are an African being captured and stuffed into the
bottom of a ship. Many of your friends have died and were thrown overboard
to a watery grave. The ship is so crowded, and you are chained down.
You can hardly eat the rotten food because the smell from all the dirty, seasick
captives, waste, and rats is making you sick.
When you get off the ship, you can hardly walk. You are led to an auction block. The crowd yells out bids on you and the other slaves. You cry as you see that other masters are taking your parents, while you go with your new master. You realize that you might never see your parents again!
Your master yells at you, but you don't understand his directions, so he whips
you. He refuses to teach you to read and write, and he makes you work in
the fields picking cotton all day. You get 
pricked by the cotton branches
and you're hot, tired, sweaty, and bleeding, but you can't stop working.
You wonder what your mom and dad are doing and if you'll ever see them again.
This is what your life might have been like before the Civil War. If no one had fought against slavery, life still might be like this today. But even after slavery ended, black people in the United States were still not treated equally.
A hundred years after slavery ended, black people still made less money than Whites. They were forced to use separate drinking fountains that were dirty, rusty pipes coming out of the sides of buildings. In restaurants, theaters, and buses, Blacks were forced to sit in the back while Whites got the better seats and service in the front. Although Blacks had the right to vote, Whites in the South tried to stop them from voting.
You might just be imagining this, but slaves like Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, and Sojourner Truth really had to live a life like this. Along with other abolitionists, they fought to end slavery and won. During the 1960's, Civil Rights Movement leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, President Kennedy, and Jesse Jackson fought for Blacks to be treated as equals.
Out website will teach you about these famous leaders and how they fought for slavery to end and for equality. Like the Underground Railroad, our website has different ways to get through. There are three routes through our website: a timeline, a list of leaders, and a list of important civil rights issues.
Timeline
RouteThe timeline goes from before the Civil War to today and includes all the important civil rights activists, opponents to the Civil Rights Movement, court decisions, famous documents, and much, much more! You can see all the important events of the Civil Rights Movement at a glance through time.
Leaders
RouteWhat would the Civil Rights Movement be without leaders? From John Brown to Martin Luther King, Jr., from Malcolm X to Harriet Tubman, this route through our website lets you read about the leaders that interest you most.
Issues
RouteThere are many issues civil rights leaders have fought for. Learn how they helped all people get an equal education and equal treatment in restaurants, in movie theaters, and on buses. Read about the exciting court battles over integrating schools and the black children who risked their lives to fight for a better education. Remember the battles to end slavery and discrimination.
Civil
Rights DictionaryIf the Civil Rights Movement is new to you, click on the dictionary to learn what all those new words mean!
GamesWe also have games to play after you have read all of our information! There are six fun games to play, including a word search, crossword puzzle, and two interactive quizzes that you can play with your friends.
BibliographyVisit our bibliography to learn where we got our information.
About
Us, Thank You, Contact
Us, and Guestbook
Visit the about us page to learn a little about the creators of this website. We also have a thank you page that thanks all the people who helped us make this website the best. Don't forget to visit our guestbook to see what other people are saying about Free at Last: The Civil Rights Movement in the United States. You can write to us, too, by clicking on the envelopes at the bottom of any page on this website!
