Youth in the Civil Rights Movement

Firemen attempt to control a civil rights protest by spraying demonstrators with a hose in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. April 6th, 1963.
Young black civil rights demonstrators protest outside of the Princess Theatre in downtown Gadsden, Alabama while a group of white teenagers block them off. 1963.
Junior NAACP activists participate in a sit-in at a segregated movie theater in Farmville, Virginia. 1963.
Two sit-in demonstrators from the Congress of Racial Equality are being dragged from the Federal Building by deputy US marshals. March 9, 1965.
Young NAACP members picketing in Edenton, North Carolina. 1961.

Youth Participation in the Civil Rights Movement

Major contributions to the desegragation effort included various protests, boycotts, and other acts of nonviolent civil disobedience. They would not have been possible without the mobilization of Black youth to participate. How did the youth collaborate with civil rights leaders of the 1960s to make such momentous change?

This site is a student-produced project that was composed within seven weeks. It is not at all comprehensive of 1960s youth desegragation movements in the United States and only focuses on select areas, events, and topics.

This section of the website is broken up into three different parts, all with an emphasis on youth participation in the Civil Rights Movement: Freedom Schools, Grassroots Efforts by the Youth, and the NAACP.

Youth in the Civil Rights Movement

Youth Participation in the Civil Rights Movement

This section of the website is broken up into three different parts, all with an emphasis on youth participation in the Civil Rights Movement: Freedom Schools, Grassroots Efforts by the Youth, and the NAACP.

Where was this Happening?

Link to Fullscreen Map