How Important Was The Civil Rights Movement In The 1960's

I think that the most influential moment in the 1960's was the civil rights movement. Early on in our nation's history blacks have succumbed to slavery and racism; even though President Lincoln "freed" the slaves back during the civil war, nothing really had changed until the 60's. During this time period segregation was in full swing. This idea of "separate but equal" affected everything from simple water fountains to schools. The question that must be asked though is, how equal was separation? In 1954 an African American girl walked into an all white school. The result was horrifying, grown people calling out racial slurs to her and pulling their children out of school. A court case was soon to follow, Brown v. Board of Education; in which Federal court judges demanded for a plan to desegregate schools in New Orleans. The remarkable part of the civil rights movement is that it wasn't pulled off by men; women and children played a major role in created change.
College students that took this journey were beaten and often arrested just for sitting on a bus. These people proved that just because a law is passed doesn't meant change will be seen. Steps had to be taken to show the courts; to show the nation that segregation and discrimination was real and not making any improvements. This was so significant because, it proved just how deep discrimination was, how things couldn't be changed over night. The Civil Rights movement brought people together, and it showed this country that change was happening there wasn't anything they could do about