The Influence of African-American Women on Education During the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968

Abstract

In the past, African Americans endured dreadful living circumstances that include poverty, racism, and inequality among the white people in their homelands, they suffered a significant amount of discrimination and injustice that deprived them from the most basic humanistic rights in history. The oppression and slavery they suffered from pushed them to start a civil movement to demand their rights in liberty and equality. Their claim to freedom was seen as a revolutionary act that was led by brave African American men in public and brave black women in secret. One of their most basic and important demands was education. While the majority of black people still see education as a crucial step toward their freedom and liberation, many white people see it as a threat to their dominating position. Women played a significant role in the civil rights movement. The present study highlights the historical role of African American women in education during the civil rights movement during the late 1950s and early 1960s.As it sheds lights on black women’s struggle against slavery, inequality and sexism, and how their political participation contributed to the development of the black women education through history through the use of descriptive and analytical research methods.