Redefining Civil Rights

Contesting, Upholding, and Redefining Freedom, Rights, and Citizenship How has government evolved to expand the meaning of “We the People”? The rights of a country’s citizens are called civil rights. Many black Americans did not have civil rights for about 100 years after the end of slavery. The struggle for civil rights, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, is known as the civil rights movement. Many different people and events have changed and expanded the meaning of civil rights. Explore one of these people or events to help you define civil rights, including how the definition has changed over the years, and explore federal laws and Constitutional amendments relating to civil rights.