to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and
1960s. With nearly a century having passed
since the end of the Civil War, it became more
and more difficult to justify the ‘‘separate but
equal’’ doctrine that the U.S. Supreme Court
had established in 1896. Under this standard,
blacks and whites could be kept separated in
social situations because they would, at least in
theory, be given equal opportunities in their own
areas. This resulted in segregated housing, travel
accommodations, and educational facilities,
down to separate movie theaters and drinking
fountains for ‘‘whites’’ and for ‘‘coloreds.’’ What
this policy did not establish was a standard for
equality; usually, the opportunities for African
Americans were far below those available for
their white counterparts. The unfairness of this
situation was brought to the nation’s attention in
the 1950s, when several factors converged:
Southern blacks who had served in Europe in
World War II had seen the balance of racial
equality in other countries; young whites,
unhampered by the economic depression and
war that had occupied the country for decades,
traveled to the southern states to challenge
the fairness of separatist doctrines; television
brought awareness of the fight for civil rights to
those who lived in areas where there was no
racial diversity; and civil rights groups such as
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Southern Chris-
tian Leadership Conference pursued the prob-
lem with diligence. The result was heightened
awareness of the nation’s racial differences and
of the racial inequality of American society that
grew throughout the 1950s and 1960s. By the
1970s, the civil rights movement had made tre-
mendous gains, from Rosa Parks’s refusal to
vacate her seat for a white person on a bus in
Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 to the Civil
Rights Acts passed by Congress in 1957, 1964,
and 1968.
As the country grew to recognize the ways in
which African American rights had been sup-
pressed, increased awareness spread to other
social groups. The late 1960s saw the rise of the
women’s rights movement, culminating in the
passage in Congress of the Equal Rights Amend-
ment in 1972. This proposed amendment to the
Constitution, which had been introduced to every
session of Congress since 1923, was intended to
guarantee gender equality, but it failed to become
law when only thirty-five of the needed thirty-
eight state legislatures agreed to ratify it.
From these two pillars of social awareness
arose other struggles for social recognition
among those traditionally excluded from Amer-
ican society. Native American, Hispanic, and
Asian American groups fought the stereotypes
that had been assigned to them over the centuries
by the dominant culture. Homosexuals fought
for their right to be recognized, as did persons
with disabilities. While the 1980s would witness
a backlash from people who resented what they
saw as enforced ‘‘political correctness,’’ theCOMPARE
&
CONTRAST 1970s:The traditional literature taught in
schools is mostly written by Caucasian men.
Today:School reading lists reflect greater
cultural diversity.
1970s:The foods of many different cultures
are considered exotic and may only be avail-
able, if at all, in specialty restaurants.
Today:Advanced transportation and refrig-
eration techniques have made exotic foodsand ingredients readily available. Magazines
and television shows frequently feature rec-
ipes from a variety of cultures.
1970s:Cockroaches are thought to carry
germs and spread disease.
Today:It has been shown that cockroaches
give off an allergen that is one of the most
severe triggers of asthma in children.St. Roach