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"The Times They Are a-Changin'": The Civil Rights Movement

(1950-1970)

Sit Ins

Sit Ins: The Students Report, compiled by Jim Peck. Designed by Jerry Goldman. New York: Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), May 1960.

Bridgewater College Special Collections

Sit Ins: The Students Report, compiled by Jim Peck. Designed by Jerry Goldman. New York: Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), May 1960.

The Civil Rights Movement had a major influence on the 1971 Virginia Constitution. Without questioning the status quo, Jim Crow laws would have permeated society for even longer than they did. Such laws included the segregation and disenfranchisement that was codified in the earlier 1902 Virginia Constitution.

CORE Pamphlet

Booklet containing the account of six students who took part in the Civil Rights Movement, compiled by Jim Peck. Designed by Jerry Goldman. New York: Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), May 1960.

Bridgewater College Special Collections

Booklet containing the account of six students who took part in the Civil Rights Movement, compiled by Jim Peck. Designed by Jerry Goldman. New York: Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), May 1960.

A major advancement occurred when the United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It ended segregation in public places and banned discrimination based on race, religion, sex, and later sexual orientation. Yet, this fight for equality was still a long and arduous one for African Americans, and the fight for equality extends past the Civil Rights era and into today.

Let us take a moment to step back and look at some of the examples of the Civil Rights Movement here in Virginia:

  • For the connection between civil rights and the Church of the Brethren, click here.
  • For information on the Danville Protests, click here.