On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat at the front of a bus to a white man. It was arguably this simple act of defiance that sparked the civil rights movement that lasted from 1955 to the 1960s and forever changed the face of our nation. After Rosa Parks was arrested for simply refusing, African-Americans in Montgomery began boycotting the bus system, one of the first major actions against racism in the 1950s. In the wake of the Brown segregation trial c. Board of Education which had ruled in favor of school integration, this boycott, which proved effective after the removal of segregated seating, effectively sparked the civil rights movement that we now know so well. The civil rights movement in America aimed to achieve civil rights and freedoms guaranteed by law but denied in society. Although the movement lasted from 1954 to 1968, it wasn't until the 1960s that other minorities, such as American Indians and women, began to join the fight. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s was probably the most important national social movement of the 20th century. At the very least, it was the most significant social confrontation to hit America since the Civil War. At the end of World War II, African American soldiers returned home from the war and were disappointed with the way they were treated in their own country. While in Europe, they were confronted with how black people were treated outside the United States and found that they enjoyed greater equality abroad than in their home countries. Realizing that other countries were so far advanced in their civil rights movements gave these African Americans...... middle of paper ... the law, and discrimination based on race was deemed unconstitutional. - Ohio History Central - A product of the Ohio Historical Society. Ohio History Central - An online encyclopedia of Ohio history - Ohio Historical Society. Ohio History Center. March 11, 2009. "The Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s - FamilyEducation.com." School resources and educational help by level and subject for parents - FamilyEducation.com. Family Education.Com. March 12, 2009. “Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement – ​​Timeline.” Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement - CORE, NAACP, SCLC, SNCC. Veterans of the Southern Freedom Movement. March 11. 2009 .