What People Did To Gain Civil Rights

Civil Rights weren't given to people. People had to fight in order to gain the rights that we have today. Most people started protesting and to eliminate slavery, segregation and for equality. Many people would think that only black people fought for civil rights, but white people did too. They would stand on streets and protest. Sometimes they would start marches in order to end segregation. People would stop paying taxes, and refuse to pay for certain things. These things don't seem too hard to do, but the protesters were often threatened by others. People threatened their lives, and would sometimes physically hurt them. Sometimes it was as simple as throwing a piece of paper at them, or other times people would hose the protesters down with a big firetruck hose. People had to put in a lot of effort in order to gain their rights. The biggest act during this time was Martin Luther King's speech. It was one of the main reasons why all people got rights.

The link below shows some leaders during the Civil Rights movement, and what they did.
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/civil_rights_leaders.htm