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Chapter 3

Little-Known Civil Rights Leaders

So far in this book, we have been traveling through earlier periods of American history. Even though the “civil rights movement” as we understand it isn’t linked to times like the 1700s, 1800s, and even the early 1900s, the movement’s core beliefs were alive in abolitionist and likeminded groups. However, the civil rights movement as we know it began in the 1940s and grew to its zenith in the 1960s.

Conventional wisdom would tell us that the movement ended in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s with the murders of several civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and several others, including regular, everyday citizens like Emmett Till who were killed for simply being Black. But that’s where conventional wisdom is wrong. The civil rights movement continues today with social media-turned-real world groups such as Black Lives Matter, Dream Defenders, and others.

But before we get into the present and future, we must understand the foremothers and forefathers who laid the groundwork. We must give thanks to those who put their lives on the line to create better opportunities for us today.

Unsung Heroes

We know the usual names: Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Congressman John Lewis. You have to wonder what the rest of the movement was like beyond these usual suspects. What are the stories we either haven’t heard or know very little about?