The Civil Rights Movement, which took place between 1946 and 1968, involved a variety of initiatives to guarantee full unbiased, social, educational an economic opportunities for the African - American population. 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. In such a scenario, the continued resistance by African Americans across all levels of the society in the form of activism and protest, led not just to the passing of the Civil Rights act but registered the rise of iconic figures such as Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X .