Malcolm Little was born on the 19th of May, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. In his childhood, his family had to flee from white terrorists, not dissimilar to the KKK, and his father was subsequently lynched, when he was six. Little had six siblings; and, after his mother was put in a mental institution, he spent his remaining adolescence separated from them in various foster homes. He eventually settled with his sister in Michigan, having dropped out of high school.

Little had a difficult early life. After moving to Harlem in 1943, Little was forced into drug dealing and prostitution due to a lack of money. From here he began engaging in thievery, and was prisoned in Charleston in 1946.

In prison, Little converted to Islam, and changed his name to Malcolm X - the 'X' representing the lost African name stolen from him in his grandparent's slavery. Here he began his correspondence with Elijah Mohammed, the leader of the Nation of Islam. It was at this point that the FBI began to monitor X.

It was in prison whereby X adopted his beliefs about race: part of the Nation of Islam doctrine included ideas about how black people were the original and spiritually pure race - as opposed to the white, "devils". X also developed ideas about full segregation from whites, and a black state by which all black people could live free from white supremacy. 

Malcolm X worked himself up through the religious organisation, and in 1954, began his forth congregation in Harlem, New York, where he had previously lead a life of crime. It was in Harlem that X settled, and his congregation rapidly grew. It was at this time that X began to gain press - and managed to use his influence to free black people from police custody when wrongfully detained.

X eventually split from the Nation in 1964 for a number of reasons. Rumors of Elijah Mohammed's sexual misconduct and the Nation's censoring of X after his remarks about Kennedy undoubtedly contributed. In the aftermath of his emancipation, X travelled to Mecca (all Muslim men are meant to travel there at least once in their lives), and there he saw people of all different races interacting in their faith. This changed X's mind about Black Supremacy: he realized that widespread acceptance of multiracialism could only aid the advancement of black people, not hinder.

It was at this time also that the Nation of Islam began delivering threats to X and his family, and on February 21st, 1965, X was assassinated while delivering a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in New York.

Malcolm X was remembered for his strong opinions, unbreakable spirit, and charisma. Martin Luther King, in a statement on X's death, mentioned how saddened he was to hear of his murder. X left behind seven children.

"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."

- Malcolm X

Lyndon B Johnson was born on the 27th of August, 1908. Born in Stonewall, Texas, a place named for its famous confederate general, "Stonewall" Jackson, Johnson had a typical southern upbringing. He attended both high school and Texas State University, where he became interested in politics, but made several halts in both his schooling and political involvement to work as an educator. Johnson was not born into money, and needed the teaching jobs in order to pay for a costly university education.

Johnson began his official political career as a Democrat campaign assistant, and from there, worked up to becoming a congressman. Johnson's political career was once again interrupted, however, this time it was by the Second World War. After fighting its duration, Johnson returned as the Texas State congressman until the 1960 presidential primary election. Losing out to Kennedy, Johnson thought that his national career had ended - until Kennedy invited Johnson to become his campaign partner. When the two won, Johnson was made Vice President.

When Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in November, 1963, Johnson was sworn in only two hours later, next to Jackie Kennedy, who still had her husband's blood on her dress. Johnson was somewhat unprepared for presidency as he hadn't actually been given a large role as a deputy to Kennedy, but stepped up to the plate nonetheless.

At the time of Kennedy's assassination the former president had been trying to pass a Civil Rights Bill, which Johnson took through the courts to completion. The bill was enacted on the 2nd of June, 1964, and prohibited discrimination in employment, schools, hospitals, and privately owned businesses open to the general public, and also banned discrimination on the basis of sex. The bill was followed by the Voting Rights Act in 1965, after heavy protests in Selma, Alabama (see here) . This meant that congress was now able to monitor the votes in the places where discrimination was practiced.

Johnson's plan for aiding the African American activists fell under a bigger picture: his vision for a 'great society'. Something perhaps comparable to a Hugo-esque claim, Johnson began his famed War On Poverty, as well as healthcare, crime, and educational reform. Whether these reforms really made a great deal of progress in the areas of enfranchisement is arguable, but as other events (economic depression and a swing towards Conservative boom-bust cycles in the 1970's and '80's) intervened it is difficult to say with conviction of Johnson's long term social effects.

Johnson, for all his attempts at the advancement of civil rights and social change, did have one major flaw as president: Vietnam. President Johnson escalated the involvement in Vietnam dramatically, and as 1.3 million Vietnamese and over 50,000 American soldiers died, many were turned against him from then on. In 1969, after occupying the presidential seat for the maximum of two terms, Johnson stepped down. He died in 1973.

"The guns and the bombs, the rockets and the warships, are all a sign of human failure."

- Lyndon B Johnson (I'm sorry, I really can't forgive him for Vietnam)

A common tactic of those pushing for social change was one of passive resistance. The idea behind is that when faced with violent situations, an activist adopts a position of non-violence, usually for two main, but not exclusive, reasons -

a) The first idea is that to use violence in the face of violence is not the way to approach change. Mahatma Ghandi, one of the biggest pushers for non-violent protest, used the phrase, "Be the change you wish to see," meaning that to create a world without racial violence, it was necessary to refrain from putting more violence into that world.

b) The other reason is that it would stop media outlets and the population of racist whites from finding another reason to demonize black people. In an atmosphere that would latch onto any minor transgression, or search for evidence to prove that black people were not to be trusted with equal rights or anything of the same strain, it was important to stay on the moral high ground. Despite the fact that white people, especially white law enforcement, were predominantly the aggressors, and used violent tactics frequently, the racism present meant that it was inherently 'different' depending on which race used violence.

This gave black people general precedent to deny inciting situations where people got hurt, and provided evidence that black people were being discriminated against at equal-rights protests.

The Freedom Rides were, essentially, bus journeys whereby black and white passengers challenged the durability of supreme court decisions, such as Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia (1946) and Boyton v. Virginia (1960). These decisions ruled that segregation on interstate buses was unconstitutional, but the southern states completely ignored these rulings and kept the old Crow system. The bulk of the activists would be paired black-white on double seats, with one black passenger sitting at the very front of the bus, as an aggravator, and another black passenger at the back, so that at least one would not be arrested and could contact the media/lawyers.

The journey began on May 4th, 1961, and lasted twenty days. During these twenty days, passengers were attacked, bombed, set on fire and harassed as they travelled through the south. One of the most notable of these assaults was on the 14th - Mother's Day, when the first coach was firebombed. Those responsible also tried to hold the doors shut so that the passengers inside would burn to death. Luckily the activists managed to escape, but were physically beaten by the Klansmen, some of whom were still in their church attire, as they exited the burning carriage onto the highway.

The bus' passengers changed frequently as the threat of violence increased. In Birmingham, a mob with weapons such as bike chains and iron pipes beat the passengers, while police stood by. President Kennedy had to order state governors several times to send in their respective national guards. The ride gained more national attention as Martin Luther King, Jr, made a speech in Montgomery, on the day that showed ambulance drivers refusing to take beaten riders to hospitals.

By the time the bus reached its destination in Mississippi, there were over 300 reported Freedom Riders. One student, Diane Nash, commented on how important it was that the bus reached the end of the journey, stating that if it didn't, "the movement would be set back years." The Riders reached Jackson, Mississippi, on May 24th, marking the end of the first Freedom Ride. Many Rides have taken place since.

A Sit-In is a form of peaceful protest whereby resistors occupy a space and refuse to move. Born out of Southern segregation frustration, Sit-Ins have been recorded as early as the 1940's, where black activists would go to libraries, lunch halls and other 'white only' establishments. These activists would often encounter harassment but in the nature of a Sit-In - refusing to move or react for anything - kept with the non-violence.

Notable Sit-Ins include the Jackson, Missouri sit-in in a Woolworth's, with three students - one white, one Native American and one black, in 1963; in Durham, NC, in 1957, and in Oklahoma city, in 1958. A member from the Jackson sit-in, Walter Grey recounts,

"A huge mob gathered, with open police support while the three of us sat there for three hours. I was attacked with fists, brass knuckles and the broken portions of glass sugar containers, and was burned with cigarettes. I'm covered with blood and we were all covered by salt, sugar, mustard, and various other things."

Sit-Ins, as the source states, were usually unpleasant. Activists partaking were quite often arrested: in the famous case of Durham, the seven resistors were put on trial three times, and found guilty that same number.

Despite this, the tactic had many successes, and many establishments were desegregated due to it. Sit-Ins have been used since their birth in the civil rights era - perhaps most well known examples would be the Occupy movement, The Hong-Kong disruption of 2014, and in Pakistan last year also. Sit-Ins have also been adapted: the crudely named 'Die-In', developed in the AIDs crisis, no-doubt borne from the fourties' passive defiance.

Oxford English Dictionary:

plural noun

1. The rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.

Civil rights, in their most basic form, are laws. These laws enable legal citizens (and, to an extent, those who are not citizens) personal protections. In the US, these laws are made at state, federal and supreme court level. To explain in simple terms, states are allowed to pass laws. These laws exist only within their own state (eg. Missouri), and are managed by local government. Federal law made at supreme court level supersedes state law. To put this into perspective, take the recent same-sex marriage ruling. Prior to the supreme court's decision, states were able to choose whether they enacted the law that allowed people of the same gender** to marry. This rate of legalization was slow and meant that across the states progress was unequal. When the law was passed at the supreme court, it was mandatory for every state to take up the bill, regardless of their current position on the topic.

Examples of this are Roe vs Wade and Gitlow vs New York.

Civil rights are not the same as civil liberties. Civil liberties refer to restrictions on the government limiting personal freedoms, for example, the second amendment. The second amendment states that every man has a right to bear arms. This means that the government is not allowed to stop you from carrying a gun, although there are discrepancies within state laws that may be harsher on guns than others. Civil rights, however, are laws passed that stop a majority taking advantage of a minority, and are more to do with egalitarianism than anything else.

Many philosophers have had different ideas throughout history about civil rights, and it has, in general, been a rather dangerous topic. One of the earliest bills, and arguably the most important in history, was the magna carta, signed in June 1215 by the English king John. This legislature gave a set of rules for how people should behave regarding personal rights and freedoms, especially to those in other sovereign nations. Other documents, such as the Rights of Man by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, gave politically biased ideas around civil rights. If we can say anything at all about civil rights, it is that there is a slow push forwards, and very rarely do we see a complete reversion.