HIST 350-01, The Civil Rights Movement, Fall 1998

Abstract

The Civil Rights era is considered by many as the most tumultuous yet empowering period for blacks in the United States. To explain this phenomena, the course will examine the social, political, and economic climate of the 1950s through the 1960s, and analyze how both blacks and whites were affected. Specifically, the course will focus on various organizations and the strategies they implemented which resulted in events such as the Brown v. Board of Education case, the Greensboro sit-ins, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Additionally, the course will analyze the subtle and not-so-subtle reactions to initiatives that allowed African-Americans to attain many of the rights and privileges that have become commonplace in today’s society.