What circumstances in the South led to the struggle of African Americans for equal rights?

Following the end of the American Civil War in 1865, the era of Reconstruction and emancipation brought initial freedoms to black Americans. However, following the end of Reconstruction in 1877, the lives of blacks were again negatively affected by southern state governments as restrictive legislature and political violence swept over the south. One such set of laws were Jim Crow laws that allowed for "separate but equal" treatment of blacks and forced segregation of southern society.

Although institutions were separate, they were never equal. Southern state governments allocated funds disproportionately to white and black institutions and continued to hamper the ability of black people to enjoy equal treatment. This was accomplished through policies including laws against interracial marriages, curfews, literacy tests at voting booths, laws against having black jurors, and discriminatory hiring practices.

After the arrest of Rosa Parks in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to move to the back of a public bus to make room for a white passenger, a boycott of the city’s buses ensued. One of the leaders of the boycott, Martin Luther King Jr., would rise to prominence and become a key figure in the civil rights movement.

But the fight for equal rights did not begin in 1955. Many black Americans had already enjoyed greater freedoms after serving in the military during WWI and II, while many more migrated north to work in factories such as those for the automotive industry in Detroit. This disparity in freedoms and living conditions began resonating among many people in the country who had, up until then, worked behind the scenes for equal treatment of black Americans.

After the scenes from Birmingham, Alabama, played out on national television, where police dogs attacked innocent protesters, things changed dramatically. The civil rights movement gained national momentum and widespread support, forcing political action at the federal level. This culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, guaranteeing equal rights for all Americans.