Civil rights | Definition, Types, Activists, History, & Facts (2024)

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Written by

Rebecca Hamlin Assistant Professor of Political Science, Grinnell College. Her contributions to SAGE Publications's Encyclopedia of Governance (2007) formed the basis of her contributions to Britannica.

Rebecca Hamlin

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

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Key People:
John F. Kennedy
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Lyndon B. Johnson
Viola Desmond
Related Topics:
rights of privacy
freedom of information
legal rights
freedom of religion
freedom of expression

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Top Questions

What are civil rights?

Civil rights are an essential component of democracy. They’re guarantees of equal social opportunities and protection under the law, regardless of race, religion, or other characteristics. Examples are the rights to vote, to a fair trial, to government services, and to a public education. In contrast to civil liberties, which are freedoms secured by placing restraints on government, civil rights are secured by positive government action, often in the form of legislation.

Where do civil rights come from?

Unlike human rights or natural rights, in which people acquire rights inherently—perhaps from nature—civil rights must be given and guaranteed by the power of the state. Therefore, they vary greatly over time, culture, and form of government and tend to follow societal trends that condone or abhor types of discrimination. For example, the civil rights of the LGBTQ community have only recently come to the forefront of political debate in some democracies.

What is a civil rights movement?

When the enforcement of civil rights is found by many to be inadequate, a civil rights movement may emerge in order to call for equal application of the laws without discrimination.

What was the civil rights movement in the U.S.?

The marginalization of African Americans spurred the American civil rights movement, beginning in the 1950s and growing throughout the early 1960s. That movement, based mainly in African American churches and colleges of the South, involved marches, boycotts, and civil disobedience, such as sit-ins. Most efforts were local, but the impact was felt at the national level—a model of civil rights organizing that has since spread all over the globe.

civil rights, guarantees of equal social opportunities and equal protection under the law, regardless of race, religion, or other personal characteristics.

Examples of civil rights include the right to vote, the right to a fair trial, the right to government services, the right to a public education, and the right to use public facilities. Civil rights are an essential component of democracy; when individuals are being denied opportunities to participate in political society, they are being denied their civil rights. In contrast to civil liberties, which are freedoms that are secured by placing restraints on government, civil rights are secured by positive government action, often in the form of legislation. Civil rights laws attempt to guarantee full and equal citizenship for people who have traditionally been discriminated against on the basis of some group characteristic. When the enforcement of civil rights is found by many to be inadequate, a civil rights movement may emerge in order to call for equal application of the laws without discrimination. Members of the movement may also engage in identity politics.

Britannica QuizPop Quiz: 17 Things to Know About the American Civil Rights Movement

Unlike other rights concepts, such as human rights or natural rights, in which people acquire rights inherently, perhaps from God or nature, civil rights must be given and guaranteed by the power of the state. Therefore, they vary greatly over time, culture, and form of government and tend to follow societal trends that condone or abhor particular types of discrimination. For example, the civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community have only recently come to the forefront of political debate in some Western democracies.

The American civil rights movement

Civil rights politics in the United States has its roots in the movement to end discrimination against African Americans. Though slavery was abolished and former slaves were officially granted political rights after the Civil War, in most Southern states African Americans continued to be systematically disenfranchised and excluded from public life, leading them to become perpetual second-class citizens. By the 1950s the marginalization of African Americans, often taking an extremely violent form, had spurred a social movement of epic proportions. The American civil rights movement, based mainly in African American churches and colleges of the South, involved marches, boycotts, and extensive efforts of civil disobedience, such as sit-ins, as well as voter education and voting drives. Most of these efforts were local in scope, but the impact was felt at the national level—a model of civil rights organizing that has since spread all over the globe.

Civil rights movements across the globe

In the 1960s the Roman Catholic-led civil rights movement in Northern Ireland was inspired by events in the United States. Its initial focus was fighting discriminatory gerrymandering that had been securing elections for Protestant unionists. Later, internment of Catholic activists by the British government sparked both a civil disobedience campaign and the more radical strategies of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), resulting in the violent sectarian conflict that became known as the Troubles (1968–98).

A high-profile civil rights movement led to the end of the South African system of racial segregation known as apartheid. The resistance movement began in the 1940s and intensified in the 1950s and ’60s, when civil rights as a concept was sweeping the globe, but it was forced underground as most of its leaders were imprisoned, and it did not regain strength until the 1980s. International pressure combined with internal upheaval led to the eventual lifting of the ban on the African National Congress, the major Black party in South Africa, and the release from prison of Nelson Mandela in 1990. Mandela later became the first Black president of South Africa, in 1994.

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A more recent movement that has striking parallels to both the American civil rights movement and the South African struggle against apartheid is the civil disobedience and political activism of the Dalits in India. The Dalits—formerly known as "untouchables" and now officially designated Scheduled Castes—constitute some one-sixth of the Indian population. However, for centuries they were forced to live as second-class citizens, and many were not even considered to be a part of India’s varna system of social hierarchy. Dalit activism, including the efforts of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, led to great victories, including the election of Kocheril Raman Narayanan to the presidency. The fact that the president of India is elected by parliament, whose members come principally from the upper castes, underlines how much the mentality has changed.

In addition to these international movements, many groups in the United States have been inspired by the successes of the American civil rights movement to fight for government protections, with varying degrees of success. Most notably, women, having gained the right to vote in 1920 via constitutional amendment, also have made many gains in the area of employment rights. The women’s rights movement has thus far been stopped short of passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have codified equal rights for women in the U.S. Constitution. Since its failure to be ratified in 1982, women have seen many gains in court decisions that ruled against sex discrimination and have seen the passing of legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which established a commission designed to investigate the persistence of the “glass ceiling” that has prevented women from advancing to top management positions in the workplace.

A number of other groups were the focus of civil rights movements since the 1960s. In 1968 the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Civil Rights Act. Latinos and Asian Americans fought for increased civil rights based on a history of discrimination over race, religion, language, and immigrant status. There were some successes in the form of provisions for bilingual education and affirmative action programs.

More recently, Arab Americans and the LGBTQ community took centre stage in the struggle to achieve equal protection and equal opportunity in American society. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Arab Americans suffered from heightened levels of discrimination and hate crimes and had to conform to government policies that restricted their liberties, as codified in the controversial USA PATRIOT Act of 2001.

The gay rights movement made some major gains in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Some states allowed same-sex marriage, and others granted benefits to same-sex civil partnerships, but at the beginning of the 21st century the majority of the U.S. population opposed same-sex marriage. Moreover, some social conservatives in the U.S. demanded a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. By 2010, however, about half of the U.S. population supported legalization of same-sex marriage, and, in June 2015 in its decision on the Obergefell v. Hodges case, the Supreme Court ruled that state bans on same-sex marriage and on recognizing same-sex marriages duly performed in other jurisdictions were unconstitutional under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, thereby legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states.

Almost all countries actively deny civil rights to some minority groups. Because civil rights are enforced by countries, it is difficult to establish an international standard for civil rights protection, despite the efforts of international governance bodies such as the United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948, includes civil rights language but is not binding on member states. Civil rights tend to increase as governments feel pressure, either from national movements or other countries, to enact change.

Rebecca Hamlin The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Civil rights | Definition, Types, Activists, History, & Facts (2024)

FAQs

Who are five civil rights activists? ›

Leaders in the Struggle for Civil Rights
  • Roy Wilkins. Introduced at the August 1963 March on Washington as "the acknowledged champion of civil rights in America," Roy Wilkins headed the oldest and largest of the civil rights organizations. ...
  • Whitney M. ...
  • A. ...
  • Bayard Rustin. ...
  • Martin Luther King Jr. ...
  • James Farmer. ...
  • John Lewis.

What are the 5 civil rights? ›

Our country's Constitution and federal laws contain critical protections that form the foundation of our inclusive society – the right to be free from discrimination, the freedom to worship as we choose, the right to vote for our elected representatives, the protections of due process, the right to privacy.

What is the meaning of civil rights activist? ›

A civil rights activist is a person who advocates for social and political equality for minority citizens who have been denied equal treatment. In U.S. history, one of the most iconic civil rights activist is Martin Luther King, Jr.

What are 10 civil rights examples? ›

Examples of civil rights include the right to vote, the right to a fair trial, the right to government services, the right to a public education, the right to gainful employment, the right to housing, the right to use public facilities, freedom of religion.

Who is the most famous woman in civil rights? ›

Rosa Parks (1913 – 2005)

Her act of defiance, and the 381-day bus boycott that followed, soon became keystones of the modern civil rights movement. In 1999 Congress honored her as "the first lady of civil rights."

What are the different types of activists? ›

Bill Moyer, a U.S. activist-educator, defines four stages and roles in social movements: 1) citizens; 2) rebels; 3) change agents; and 4) reformers.

What are the 3 major civil rights acts? ›

8 Key Laws That Advanced Civil Rights
  • 13th Amendment. Play Video. ...
  • Civil Rights Act of 1866. ...
  • 14th Amendment. ...
  • 15th Amendment. ...
  • Civil Rights Act of 1871. ...
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964. ...
  • Voting Rights Act of 1965. ...
  • Civil Rights Act of 1968.
Jan 26, 2022

What are the 10 civic rights? ›

Civil rights generally include ensuring peoples' physical and mental integrity, life, and safety, protection from discrimination, the right to privacy, the freedom of thought, speech, religion, press, assembly, and movement.

What are the big four civil rights? ›

1942 – Founded the Congress of Racial Equality, also known as CORE. 1960s – Established as one of the “Big Four” of the Civil Rights Movement along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young, and Roy Wilkins.

What are the three types of rights? ›

There are three types of primary rights. These are Natural rights, Moral rights & Legal rights. Legal rights can be defining in three categories. These are, Fundamental rights, Political rights & Social or civil rights.

What is civil rights in simple words? ›

Civil rights are personal rights guaranteed and protected by the U.S. Constitution and federal laws enacted by Congress, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Civil rights include protection from unlawful discrimination.

What is civil right vs human rights? ›

Civil rights are legal rights that protect individuals from discrimination based on race, sex, and other characteristics. Human rights are rights you are born with–you have them simply by being human, whether or not they have been put into the form of a law in the country where you reside.

What is considered a violation of civil rights? ›

Violations of these rights include excessive force by police, being passed over for a promotion because of a personal identity, denying housing to an individual because of personal identity, or efforts to impede your right to peacefully protest.

What does the 14th Amendment say? ›

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

What are the three most important civil rights? ›

Civil rights are an essential component of democracy. They're guarantees of equal social opportunities and protection under the law, regardless of race, religion, or other characteristics. Examples are the rights to vote, to a fair trial, to government services, and to a public education.

What was the big five of the civil rights movement? ›

The organization quickly moved to the forefront of the civil rights movement alongside several other major civil rights groups collectively known as the "Big Five:" the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Urban League (NUL), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ( ...

Who were the Big 6 civil rights groups? ›

The “Big Six,” as the march organizers came to be known, were the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Congress On Racial Equality, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and the National Urban ...

Who were the Big Four in the civil rights movement? ›

1942 – Founded the Congress of Racial Equality, also known as CORE. 1960s – Established as one of the “Big Four” of the Civil Rights Movement along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young, and Roy Wilkins.

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