Analyze The Changes In The Civil Rights Movement Between 1916 And 1980

Between 1916 and 1980 there was a significant increase in the rights of African Americans. These changes in de jure rights could be argued as revolutionary to a certain degree. To judge the success of change between 1918 and 1960 it is necessary to consider the social, political, and economic status of African Americans along with their black consciousness.
Jim Crow laws were the main factor preventing African Americans from living freely in the Southern States. These laws existed solely in the Southern states and enforced legal segregation which prohibited African Americans living alongside white people. Black people were stopped from sitting in the same areas as white people in restaurants, or on public transport. Jim Crow laws were in place
The 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed all segregation of public facilities, and discrimination in employment. The end of de jure segregation opened many opportunities for African Americans and gave them an increased level of freedom compared to what they had pre-1964 Civil Rights Act. However only ended legal segregation; not changing the issue of de facto segregation which existed nationwide. Segregation and discrimination could still occur in private settings so although revolutionary change had come about in a legal sense, attitudes in the USA were unchanged and discrimination still existed. The 1968 Fair Housing Act aimed to end discrimination in the purchase of property. Black people would often be refused housing in white, upper or middle class neighbourhoods. This enforced and strengthened de facto segregation. The fair housing act had the potential to contribute to the complete end of de jure segregation, though the act was never fully enforced and as a result discrimination still occurred in a large percentage of housing transactions. Should the act have been fully passed it may have been influential in lessening the extent of de facto segregation as black people begun to integrate