To What Extent Had African Americans Achieved Equal Civil Rights by 1940? The civil rights of black Americans have improved greatly since the first pioneers of the civil rights movement began their quest for equality. Though most people associate black civil rights with the radical movements of the 1950's and 60's, the African American fight for equal human rights had actually begun almost two hundred years earlier. In 1776, the white American colonists demanded freedom from the …showed first 75 words of 1041 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1041 total…and social under-class throughout America, particularly in the South, where they lacked any political power. They also did not have many nationally known and recognised organisations or leaders. But by 1940, there had been a clear and dramatic increase in black consciousness and activism. Although segregation and political inequality remained in the South, Southern white supremacy was slowly disappearing, and the groundwork was set for the dramatic black civil rights movements of the 1950's and 60's.