This book gives readers a comprehensive introduction to the topic of the Civil Rights Movement—arguably the most important political movement of the 20th century—and provides a road map for future study and historical inquiry. Civil Rights Movement provides a comprehensive reference guide to this momentous cultural evolution that starts in the 1930s. By beginning the story of how African Americans have long attempted to improve their lives while facing severe legislative, judicial, and political constraints, the author dispels the common misconception that black people only started their struggle to achieve equality in the mid 1950s. The book discusses all of the major campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s within the deep southern states, border states, and northern urban areas, thereby demonstrating that the African American struggle for equality was not solely in the South. Supplying a synthesis of the latest historical research and providing an accessible historical narrative of one of the most fascinating and inspiring periods of United States history, the book is appropriate for high-school students and general readers. Judicial victories significant to the movement and the shift in the portrayal of African Americans on television and in film are also addressed.