Between 1946 and 1968, the Civil Rights Movement encompassed a wide range of activities aimed at ensuring complete socio - economic and political freedom for African Americans. Whether through filing lawsuits in court to petitioning the government, widespread general strikes, and with the rise of nationalist black power, civil rights activism took many forms. Beginning from the era of reconstruction, African Americans had their rights hindered by white supremacists who kept introducing discriminatory laws such as the Jim Crowe laws in a bid to prevent them from faring socio – economically and enjoy their political rights.