The civil rights Act was a landmark piece of legislation passed in 1964. It prevents discrimination based on race, religion, sex, and nationality. Its passage made segregation illegal throughout the United States and banned discrimination in situations like housing, employment, and voting.

The Freedom Riders were a group of Civil Rights activists who protested interstate bus segregation. Even though the Supreme Court had ruled that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional, many local governments failed to enforce the law. The first group of Freedom Riders boarded a Greyhound bus in Washington, DC, bound for New Orleans. Along the way, the bus was surrounded by angry mobs, and the riders were attacked. Many other Freedom Riders met a similar fate.

Jim Crow laws were instated in the Southern United States following the defeat of the Confederacy in the Civil War. These laws enforced racial segregation, implying a “separate but equal” society where Black people and white people had access to the same services like public education and transportation. However, the options for Black people were often significantly worse than those for white people, and the laws ensured discrimination and oppression.