history coursework american civil rights movement

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Course: US history   >   Unit 8

Introduction to the civil rights movement.

• African American veterans and the Civil Rights Movement
• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
• Emmett Till
• The Montgomery Bus Boycott
• "Massive Resistance" and the Little Rock Nine
• The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
• SNCC and CORE

Black Power

• The Civil Rights Movement
• The Civil Rights Movement is an umbrella term for the many varieties of activism that sought to secure full political, social, and economic rights for African Americans in the period from 1946 to 1968.
• Civil rights activism involved a diversity of approaches, from bringing lawsuits in court, to lobbying the federal government, to mass direct action, to black power.
• The efforts of civil rights activists resulted in many substantial victories, but also met with the fierce opposition of white supremacists .

The emergence of the Civil Rights Movement

Civil rights and the supreme court, nonviolent protest and civil disobedience, the unfinished business of the civil rights movement, what do you think.

• See Richard S. Newman, The Transformation of American Abolitionism: Fighting Slavery in the Early Republic (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002).
• See C. Vann Woodward, The Strange Career of Jim Crow (New York: Oxford University Press, 1955).
• See Edward L. Ayers, The Promise of the New South: Life After Reconstruction (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992).
• See Daniel Kryder, Divided Arsenal: Race and the American State during World War II (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000); and Stephen Tuck,  Fog of War: The Second World War and the Civil Rights Movement (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012).
• See Michael J. Klarman, Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Movement (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007).
• See Peniel E. Joseph, Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America (New York: Henry Holt, 2006).
• See Michael Eric Dyson, The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016).
• See Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (New York: The New Press, 2010).
• See Tavis Smiley, ed., The Covenant with Black America: Ten Years Later (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc., 2016).

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The Civil Rights Movement: 7 Key Moments That Led to Change

By: Sarah Pruitt

Updated: January 30, 2024 | Original: February 1, 2024

In the mid-1950s, the modern civil rights movement arose out of the desire of African Americans to win the equality and freedom from discrimination that continued to elude them nearly a century after slavery was abolished in the United States.

To confront the widespread segregation, disenfranchisement and violence faced by Black people on a daily basis, activists used different types of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to win public sympathy to their cause and bring about meaningful legislative change.

From a bus boycott to Freedom Rides to the fight for fair housing, here are seven pivotal moments in the civil rights movement. 

1. Nine Black Students Arrive at Central High School in Little Rock

Though the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), state and local officials in a number of Southern states continued to block integration of their schools.

In 1957, the NAACP resolved to challenge these policies, enlisted nine Black students who agreed to register at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. When the students showed up for the first day of classes on September 4, they confronted a furious mob of white students and others, as well as 250 Arkansas National Guard officers sent by Governor Orval Faubus to prevent them from entering.

After a standoff that lasted several weeks, President Dwight Eisenhower issued an executive order that put the state National Guard under federal authority and sent U.S. troops to enforce the federal desegregation order . Escorted by members of the 101st Airborne Division, the “ Little Rock Nine '' were finally able to enter Central High, though they faced continued physical and verbal attacks during their time there.

Meanwhile, television and newspaper coverage of the events in Little Rock drew international attention to the issue of school segregation, the battle over federal and state power and the growing civil rights movement.

2. Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Seat

Black activists in Montgomery, Alabama had challenged the city’s bus segregation before, but something different happened after December 1, 1955, when seamstress and local NAACP chapter secretary Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat on the bus to a white passenger. In response to Parks’ arrest, the Montgomery Improvement Association and its young president, Martin Luther King Jr. led some 90 percent of the city’s Black residents in a boycott of the city’s buses.

Despite efforts by city officials and white citizens to thwart them, the boycotters stayed firm, organizing carpools or walking miles to work every day to continue their protest.

In June 1956, a federal district court ruled in Browder v. Gayle that Alabama’s segregation of buses was unconstitutional; the U.S. Supreme Court upheld that decision in November. On December 20, King called for an end to the bus boycott after 382 days. “We came to see that, in the long run, it is more honorable to walk in dignity than ride in humiliation,” he said.

The success of the Montgomery bus boycott demonstrated the effectiveness of nonviolent civil disobedience, and prompted its leaders to form a new civil rights organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, with King as its president. 

3. The Greensboro Four Sit at a Woolworth Lunch Counter

Another key moment in the civil rights movement began on February 1, 1960, when four Black students at the Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina (now North Carolina A&T State University), sat down at a “whites-only” lunch counter inside a Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, N.C. and refused to leave when they were denied service.

They stayed seated until closing time, and the following day returned with around 20 other Black students; hundreds more had joined by the end of that week.  

Fueled by media coverage, word spread quickly about the events precipitated by the “ Greensboro Four ,” sparking a wider sit-in movement in cities across the country organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

As a result of such coordinated resistance, dining establishments throughout the South were forced to integrate, including, by July 1960, the original Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro.

Like the bus boycott in Montgomery, the sit-in movement provided an early and potent example of how nonviolent civil disobedience could effect change in the civil rights movement.

4. The Freedom Riders Travel South

After the U.S. Supreme Court banned segregation in interstate bus travel in 1946, activists from the Congress of Racial Equality and the Fellowship of Reconciliation tested the verdict with an interracial bus ride through the upper South they called the Journey of Reconciliation. In 1960, when the Court extended the ban to include bus terminals, restrooms and other facilities, CORE decided to resurrect the idea of “ Freedom Rides ” to ensure that states were enforcing the rulings.

On May 4, 1961, seven Black and white activists boarded two buses bound from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans. As they traveled deeper into the South, the riders faced increased violence, culminating on May 14, when a mob of some 100 people met the buses upon their arrival in Anniston, Alabama. One bus was firebombed, and the riders beaten by the assembled crowd, which included members of the Ku Klux Klan who had been permitted by local authorities to attack the riders without fear of arrest.

A new band of Freedom Riders soon took up the charge. Even as hundreds of riders were arrested throughout the South, coverage of their treatment by local authorities and citizens galvanized public opinion in support of their cause. In the fall of 1961, the Interstate Commerce Commission bowed to pressure from the Kennedy administration, issuing regulations that enforced the Court’s bans on segregation on interstate buses, terminals and other facilities.

5. The March on Washington Showcases Support for Civil Rights

A. Philip Randolph, founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters , first called for a march on Washington in 1941 to demand jobs for African Americans in the booming wartime economy. Plans were canceled after President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed to issue an executive order banning discrimination by defense industries.

Flash forward two decades, with President John F. Kennedy ’s proposed civil rights legislation stalled in Congress, Randolph joined a group of leaders calling for a march to speed the progress toward racial and economic equality.

On August 28, 1963, some 250,000 people marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in a show of unity and support for the civil rights bill.

In addition to speeches by Randolph and other leaders, the assembled crowd enjoyed performances by music legends Mahalia Jackson, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.

Last to speak was King, who delivered a 16-minute speech that would become one of the most famous orations in history . After the march, King and other march organizers met with Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House to discuss the need for bipartisan support for civil rights legislation.

Though Kennedy was assassinated that November, Johnson would sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964 —the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction—into law less than a year after the March on Washington .

6. Police Beat Protestors in Selma on ‘Bloody Sunday’

Though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protected voting rights for African Americans, efforts to register Black voters in southern states continued to meet with fierce resistance after its passage.

In early 1965, King and other civil rights leaders decided to wage a voting rights campaign centered in Selma, Alabama, where only 2 percent of Black residents had been able to get on the voting rolls. After an Alabama state trooper fatally shot a young demonstrator, Jimmie Lee Jackson, civil rights leaders planned a protest march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery , some 54 miles away.

On Sunday, March 7, Alabama state troopers wielding night sticks, tear gas and other weapons rushed the group of some 600 marchers as they crossed the  Edmund Pettis Bridge, beating them back to Selma.

With images of “ Bloody Sunday ” broadcast across the world, the marchers drew wide public sympathy—and the support of President Johnson, who federalized the Alabama National Guard to protect the marchers along the way.

On March 21, some 3,500 marchers left Selma for Montgomery, arriving on March 25, when King delivered another iconic oration, known as his “How Long, Not Long” speech, on the steps of the state capitol. Less than five months later, Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , which guaranteed the right to vote to all African Americans. 

7. MLK Joins Marches for Fair Housing in Chicago

By the mid-1960s, despite Supreme Court decisions outlawing the exclusion of African Americans from certain areas of cities, racial discrimination in the rental and sale of housing remained widespread across the country.

Recognizing that lack of fair housing was a crucial component of racial injustice in the United States, King took a leading role in the Chicago Freedom Movement, a campaign of marches and demonstrations calling for open housing in that city beginning in 1965.

In August 1966, the movement won two important victories, when the Chicago Housing Authority agreed to build public housing in predominantly white areas and the Mortgage Bankers Association pledged to end discriminatory lending practices. 

On April 4, 1968, with proposed federal fair housing legislation stalled in Congress, King was assassinated in Memphis. Just one week later, in King’s honor, Congress passed the Fair Housing Act , which became the final major legislative achievement of the civil rights movement.

The law protected buyers or renters of housing from discrimination, making it unlawful for sellers, landlords and financial institutions to refuse to sell, rent or provide financing for a dwelling based on factors other than an individual’s financial resources—including race, religion or national origin.

HISTORY Vault: Voices of Civil Rights

A look at one of the defining social movements in U.S. history, told through the personal stories of men, women and children who lived through it.

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Historians usually refer to America?s post- World War II struggles for racial equality as the Civil Rights Movement. Their narratives of the Movement adhere to a familiar pattern, well-worn into the nation?s collective memory, or at least inscribed into the pages of United States history textbooks. Like a stone dropped into a pond, the Movement begins in the mid-1950s in the South with the epochal Brown v. Board of Education decision and Montgomery Bus Boycott. It then ripples to the urban North and West in the mid- 1960s with Martin Luther King, Jr.-led marches in Chicago and the Watts conflagration in Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter, the Movement founders upon the shoals of ?white backlash,? the causes of which are hotly debated.

This course ? an exploration in comparative civil rights history ? presents a very different story of America?s post-World War II struggles for racial equality. Beginning with World War II, America experienced not a singular, unitary Civil Rights Movement, but rather a variety of contemporaneous civil rights movements. These movements, moreover, did not follow a tidy chronological-geographic trajectory (from South to North to West), nor were their participants merely black and white. Instead, from their inception, America?s civil rights movements unfolded both beyond the South and beyond black and white.

In (re)presenting America?s Civil Rights Movement as America?s civil rights movements, this course does not mean to downplay the monumental significance of the Southern civil rights movement. On the contrary, we will pay close attention to it. However, we will do so in conjunction with and comparison/contrast to concurrent civil rights struggles that waged in other regions of the country like the North and, especially, the West, involved state-level legislative and legal battles (in addition to federal-level ones), and included Latino and Asian American participants (in addition to African Americans). Such a comparative racial and regional perspective introduces an additional element of complexity into America?s civil rights history that neither a black/white nor a white/nonwhite framework adequately captures. It reveals how racial discrimination often visited itself differently upon different groups of people of color, and how these disparate axes of discrimination ? race, language, national origin, ?aliens in eligible for citizenship? status, rural versus urban residence, perceptions of ?foreign-ness,? etc. ? often translated into different strategies for legislative and legal redress. Put another way, we will examine how the problem of the color line ? which W.E.B. DuBois deemed in 1903 as the problem of the twentieth century ? might better be viewed as the problem of color lines, or, as President Clinton put it in 1997 when he announced his ?Race Initiative,? as America?s ?dilemmas of race and ethnicity.?

This course will approach the history of America?s post-World War II civil rights movements from three different angles: the ?what? (i.e., factual foundation), the ?what historians have written? (i.e., historiographic interpretations), and the ?so what? (i.e., the historical significance and the current upshot, or connection between past and present). Through an engagement with primary, secondary, and, where relevant, current events sources, students will develop their capacities to think historically. This includes: learning how to gather and evaluate primary sources; appreciating the interpretive nature of history ? the vibrancy of the past ? through exposure to historiographical debates; exploring reasons for competing interpretations ? the contingency of historiography; developing criteria for judging between interpretations; wrestling with questions of perspective and objectivity; and identifying the insights into contemporary issues that history so often provides. On this last point ? the ?so what? upshot ? this course will equip students with historical knowledge for contextualizing claims about the increasingly multi-racial nature of American racial politics that have surfaced in light of contemporary debates over, for example, affirmative action, immigration, bilingual education, and, most broadly, the changing (demographic) face of race in America, as revealed most recently in the 2000 census.

Civil Rights in American History

Learn the true history of civil rights in America.

America was founded in 1776 on the principle that “all men are created equal.” For most of our nation’s remarkable history this founding principle has served to unite Americans as fellow citizens in pursuit of a common cause.

This unifying principle is now under attack by a growing movement that repudiates America’s history and seeks to remake our nation according to new principles.

Taught by Hillsdale professors of politics and history, the goal of this course is to learn the true meaning and history of civil rights in America in order to recover our common ground for free government and once again pursue the American promise to secure equality under the law for every citizen.

By enrolling in this free online course, you’ll receive access to nine lectures by Hillsdale’s distinguished faculty, readings, a course discussion board, and quizzes to aid you in the exploration of America’s quest for justice.

We invite you to join us and discover the Founders’ understanding of equality and natural rights, the history of civil rights in America from the Civil War through today, and the danger posed to freedom and civil rights by identity politics.

Enroll in this free online course on civil rights today!

To enroll in “ Civil Rights in American History ,” please enter your email address.

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A level History, NEA: American Civil Rights Movement Coursework (full marks)

Subject: History

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

31 August 2017

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US has long history of college protests: Here's what happened in the past

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have taken over parts of college campuses across the U.S., the latest in a decades-long string of protests ignited by political activism — some of which have spiraled into violence amid police crackdowns .

In the past, free speech sit-ins quickly escalated into massive rallies, Vietnam War college demonstrations turned deadly and U.S. civil rights protests ended in mass arrests.

The circumstances of each protest were different, but the story is familiar: Young people demanded changes on their campuses or in the world — and their impassioned demonstrations often escalated amid clashes with authorities.

Columbia , the university at the center of the current wave of protests, has even seen similar protests before, including during the Vietnam War in 1968. Demonstrations led the university to end classified war research and stop military recruitment, among other changes, wrote Rosalind Rosenberg, a professor of history at Barnard College, for Barnard Magazine .

Today's demonstrators also have specific changes in mind, often involving divestment from Israel , citing the deaths of more than 34,000 Palestinian people who died in Gaza amid Israel's bombardment and ground assault. That military campaign was triggered by Hamas' incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7, when about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and more than 240 people were taken hostage.

But as campus authorities react swiftly, citing safety concerns and calling in police to break up encampents, it's unclear if or how the current protests will influence the Israel-Hamas war.

USA TODAY revisited four monumental campus protests to explain how college protests have become a staple of American life and often influence the outcomes of political strife. Here's a look at how previous campus protests unfolded — and whether they were successful in their causes.

University of California, Berkeley: Free Speech in 1960s

At the University of California Berkeley starting in 1964, students protested the university's limits on political activities and free speech during the civil rights movement and Vietnam-war era.

"In the wake of  McCarthyism’s  anti-Communist sentiments during the 1950s, public universities in California had enacted numerous regulations limiting  students’ political activities ," wrote Karen Aichinger for the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee University. "At the University of California, Berkeley, student groups taking part in any on- or off-campus political activities were banned from campus."

What transpired were "small sit-ins and demonstrations" that "escalated into a series of large-scale rallies and protests demanding full constitutional rights on campus," reads the UC Berkeley website.

Nearly 800 students were arrested by local police as a result.

The students' protest ultimately worked in their favor. The university eventually overturned policies that would restrict the content of speech or advocacy, according to the college.

"Today, the Movement stands as a symbol of the importance of protecting and preserving free speech and academic freedom," reads the UC Berkeley website.

Kent State University in Ohio: Vietnam War in 1970

The most prolific university protest of the Vietnam War happened at Kent State University in Ohio in May 1970. Students started protesting the Vietnam War and the U.S. invasion of Cambodia on their campus on May 2. Two days later, the National Guard opened fire into a sea of antiwar protesters and passerbys. The soldiers killed four young people – Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer, and William Knox Schroeder – and injured several others with their violence.

"The impact of the shootings was dramatic," wrote Jerry Lewis and Thomas Hensley in an article for Kent State University. "The event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close."

The shootings also influenced national politics, Lewis and Hensley wrote.

"In The Ends of Power, (H.R.) Haldeman, (a top aide to President Richard Nixon), states that the shootings at Kent State began the slide into Watergate, eventually destroying the Nixon administration," the article reads.

Today, the protest and shootings "certainly come to symbolize the deep political and social divisions that so sharply divided the country during the Vietnam War era," Lewis and Hensley wrote.

Jackson State College in Mississippi: Racial Injustice in 1970

Days after the shootings at Kent State, police opened gunfire at a college dormitory Jackson State College in Mississippi, a school with a predominantly Black student population.

Black students there were protesting racial injustice, including how they were treated by white drivers speeding on campus, according to the university .

Police received a call that Black young people were throwing rocks at white drivers near the campus. Police arrived at the scene and shot hundreds of bullets into Alexander Hall, according to an FBI report, NPR reported . Police killed two students – Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green – and injured 12 others. The college also canceled its graduation due to the killings and unrest.

At a 2021 commencement ceremony, the university honored 74 of the students who were unable to walk the stage in 1970, NBC reported . At the commencement ceremony, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said police “unjustly gunned down two innocent young Black men, terrorized and traumatized a community of Black students and committed one of the gravest sins in our city’s history," NBC reported .

The killings at Jackson State College and Kent State University national sparked outrage. College students across the nation protested on their campuses, according to the Zinn Education Project , a collaboration of historical content from the groups  Rethinking Schools  and  Teaching for Change .

"The spring of 1970 saw the first general student strike in the history of the United States, students from over four hundred colleges and universities calling off classes to protest the invasion of Cambodia, the Kent State affair, the killing of two black students at Jackson State College in Mississippi, and the continuation of the war," wrote Howard Zinn in the book "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train ."

Angus Johnston, an adjunct assistant professor at Hostos Community College of the City University of New York and a historian of student activism, said after both events: "There was a period of about 30 years or so where it tended to be fairly unlikely that campuses would respond with mass arrests even in the case of admin building occupations."

Nationwide: South Africa anti-Apartheid protests in 1985

Another form of popular college campus protest occurred in the 1980's. Students across the country wanted their colleges to cut ties with groups that supported from the South African apartheid.

"Under apartheid, race restricted every aspect of life for South Africans who were Black, Indian and colored — a multiracial classification created by the government," The New York Times reported . "There were strict limits on where they could live, attend school, work and travel.

Columbia University was at the center of the movement. Students led by the Coalition for a Free South Africa at Columbia University "blockaded Hamilton Hall, the university’s administrative building, leading to the first successful divestiture campaign at the university," reads a summary of the events from the Zinn Education Project .

There was less pushback for protesters during this time, due to a “certain embarrassment among elites in the United States that there was complicity with South Africa’s white government,” said Daniel Farber, a history professor at the University of Kansas who has studied American activism, reports Vox Media .

Columbia University was one of the first colleges to divest from doing business with South Africa and 155 universities followed suit. U.S. Congress also passed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act in 1986, which aimed to prevent new trade and investment between the nation and South Africa.

What is the future of college protests in America?

Free speech experts told USA TODAY that students should continue to peacefully protest in open campus spaces to avoid conflict.

Alex Morey, the director of campus rights advocacy for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, encourages universities to remain neutral in times of unrest and not to call in authorities unless a demonstration turns violent. The national nonprofit defends Americans rights to free speech and thought.

"Peaceful protest is a hallmark of a healthy speech climate on American college campuses and it has been for decades – whether it's the Berkeley free speech movement, or students protesting the Vietnam War era or civil rights," Morey said. "Generations of students have felt passionately about certain issues and the open air places on campuses are great places to support their views."

Contact Kayla Jimenez at [email protected] .  Follow her on X at @kaylajjimenez.

What's the history of 'outside agitators'? Here's what to know about the label and campus protests

H istorically, when students at American universities and colleges protest — from the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter — there's a common refrain that “outside agitators” are to blame. College administrators and elected officials have often pointed to community members joining protests to dismiss the demands of student protesters.

Experts say it's a convenient way for officials to delegitimize the motivations of some political movements and justify calling in law enforcement to stop direct actions that are largely nonviolent and engaging in constitutionally protected speech.

“This tactic shifts focus away from genuine grievances and portray radical movements as orchestrated by opportunistic outsiders," said Shanelle Matthews, a professor of anthropology and interdisciplinary studies at the City University of New York and a former communications director for the Movement for Black Lives.

Over the last few weeks, students on campuses across the country have built encampments, occupied buildings and led protests to call on colleges and universities to divest their endowments from companies profiting from the Israel-Hamas war . Several college and city leaders have pointed to the threat of outsiders when describing the protests — and some have responded by cancelling or shifting plans for commencement ceremonies.

Here's what to know about the phrase “outside agitators” used during historic student movements.

Protest movements are typically comprised of local community members and organizers from other parts of the state or country that work together toward a common goal. In the 1960s, state and local officials often focused on this hallmark of community organizing and suggested that civil rights protests were organized by people outside of a given community.

In 1960, a group of Black college students took out a full page ad in Atlanta newspapers called “An Appeal for Human Rights” that expressed solidarity with students everywhere protesting for civil rights. Segregationist politician and then-Georgia Gov. Ernest Vandiver suggested it was created by foreigners and called it a calculated attempt “to breed dissatisfaction, discontent, discord and evil."

“It did not sound like it was prepared in any Georgia school or college; nor in fact did it read like it was written even in this country,” he told the press .

The idea that outside agitators were involved in civil rights protests became so common that Martin Luther King Jr. spoke out against the label in his letter from the Birmingham Jail in 1963.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” King wrote. “Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial ‘outside agitator’ idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”

Former President Richard Nixon hoped to tie the 1970 shooting deaths of Kent State students by the National Guard to outside agitators, but the FBI was unable to provide such a link. The students had been protesting the Vietnam War.

During the Civil Rights Movement, the label was used as a weapon against community members who spoke up or provided support to protesters and organizers, said Dylan C. Penningroth, an author and historian who teaches law and history at the University of California, Berkeley.

“It delegitimizes internal dissent against the status quo. So anyone who speaks up against the status quo, whatever that is, is by definition an outsider,” he said.

It also ignores the fact that local civil rights organizers often take cues from other protest movements, Penningroth said, and building solidarity with others around the country is often an important part of enacting change.

Nearly a half-century later, the 2014 killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked widespread protests against police brutality.

Again, outside agitators were frequently invoked and blamed for destruction, looting and the burning of buildings.

The same language was used to describe protests in the wake of the 2020 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, which resulted in over 10,000 arrests nationwide .

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz suggested that 80% of those who participated in the unrest that followed in Minneapolis were from out of state. But an Associated Press analysis found that 41 of the 52 people cited with protest-related arrests had Minnesota driver’s licenses.

The number of people arrested in connection with protests on college and university campuses against Israel’s war in Gaza has now topped 2,800. The Associated Press has tallied at least 70 incidents on at 54 schools since the protests began at Columbia on April 18.

Official have used outside agitator rhetoric in a handful of examples nationwide. After dozens of students were arrested in May 4 demonstrations at the University of Virginia, a top law enforcement official suggested outsiders had “bull horns to direct the protesters on how to flank our officers.”

“We’re receiving intelligence that outside agitators are starting to get involved in these campus protests,” Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares told Fox News on May 6.

In anti-war protests on campuses at Atlanta’s Emory University, Boston’s Northeastern University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, school officials and law enforcement have made inaccurate claims about the presence of non-students.

On April 30, New York City police officers in riot gear entered Columbia University’s campus and cleared an encampment, arresting more than 100 people. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly cited the presence of “outside agitators” to justify the use of police force.

“There is a movement to radicalize young people and I’m not going to wait until it’s done and all of a sudden acknowledge the existence of it,” Adams said at a May 1 news conference.

Pressed for specifics, though, the mayor and police officials have had little to say. Adams has repeatedly said that he decided police intervention was necessary in Columbia’s demonstrations after learning that the husband of one “agitator” was “arrested for federal terrorism.”

But the woman referenced by the mayor wasn’t on Columbia’s campus that week, isn’t among the protesters who were arrested and has not been accused of any crime.

Nahla Al-Arian told The Associated Press she was visiting the city last month and briefly stopped by the campus to see the protest encampment. She also said Adams was mischaracterizing the facts about her husband, a former computer engineering professor who was charged two decades ago with giving illegal support to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in the 1980s and 1990s.

Students involved in the Columbia protests have told The AP it is true that some people not affiliated with the university have been on campus and played an active role in the demonstrations, but they have vehemently denied that those allies were leading or “radicalizing” the students.

“While it's true that people with nefarious intentions crash protests, it's the exception rather than the rule,” Matthews said. “Given that, people should be wary of this narrative.”

AP writers R.J. Rico in Atlanta, Steve LeBlanc in Boston, David B. Caruso in New York and Jim Vertuno in Austin contributed.

NY college protests helped shape anti-Vietnam War movement: Here's how it happened

Before igniting the current wave of Israel-Hamas war protests, New York played an outsized role in shaping national movements that spanned from abolishing slavery and fights for women's suffrage to myriad antiwar efforts across the past century.

From an 1848 Finger Lakes tea party that inspired women to push for the 19th Amendment and their right to vote to Vietnam War protests of the 1960s and '70s to today's pro-Palestinian demonstrations at colleges, scenes of protest and activism have touched communities across New York.

Columbia , the university at the center of the current wave of protests,  has even seen similar protests  before, including during the Vietnam War in 1968. Demonstrations led the university to end classified war research and stop military recruitment, among other changes, wrote Rosalind Rosenberg, a professor of history at Barnard College, for  Barnard Magazine .

And as a growing list of recent protests involve arrests of students , USA TODAY Network revisited four milestone protests on campuses in New York during the Vietnam era to explore how universities repeatedly emerged as epicenters for American activism.

University at Buffalo: Vietnam draft protests in 1968, the 'Buffalo nine'

As opposition to the Vietnam War mounted, groups of University at Buffalo students came to the support of activist Bruce Beyer, whose draft opposition attracted national attention in 1968.

After publicly burning their draft cards, Beyer and a second man entered the Unitarian Universalist church on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo to claim symbolic sanctuary against arrest for draft evasion, according to the university's archives .

FBI, U.S. marshals and Buffalo police entered the church and arrest Beyer, as well as eight of his supporters after a brief fistfight with the police and federal agents.  This group, later known as the Buffalo Nine, would be charged with assault, and Breyer's trial, which ended with his conviction and three-year prison sentence, sparked months of chaotic and, at times, violent protests at the public university in Buffalo.

The handling of protests on the campus in Buffalo marked a milestone moment in New York and the nation's debate about academic free speech protections at public universities , which continue today.

Israel-Hamas War protests: Did SUNY Purchase, New Paltz protest arrests violate free speech protections?

University of Rochester: Vietnam protests against napalm maker, Kent State shootings in 1960s, 1970

Students at the University of Rochester became one of the early college groups to stage protests of Dow Chemical Corporation — the makers of napalm for the Vietnam War — in the late 1960s, according to the university's archives .

That movement followed prior anti-napalm research and demonstrations that began in 1966 at Midwest colleges, including the University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan, the then-home state for Dow Chemical, according to those colleges' archives.

Then, in 1970, the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester played host to a pair of concerts mounted in the Eastman Theatre with a special purpose: to raise funds for the national circulation of an antiwar petition written by two faculty members, according to the school's archives .  

The two concerts represented the climax of anti-war activity at the college — that is, in protest of American involvement in Vietnam — mounted by Eastman School students in the weeks following the tragedy that would become known simply as Kent State, in which authorities open fired into protesting students, killing four young people.

Protest laws:   SUNY Purchase, New Paltz college protests: What's legal and what's not? What experts say

Cornell University: A 1968 campus building takeover by armed students

At 3 a.m. on a spring night in 1968, a burning cross was discovered outside Wari House, a cooperative for black women students at Cornell University.

The following morning, members of the Afro-American Society occupied Willard Straight Hall to protest Cornell's perceived racism, its judicial system and its slow progress in establishing a black studies program, George Lowery wrote in the Cornell Chronicle .

Law enforcement from Rochester, Syracuse and other upstate locales promptly responded to the Ivy-league campus in Ithaca.

Following negotiations with Cornell officials over the next 36 hours, the students emerged from the building carrying rifles and wearing bandoleers. Their image, captured by Associated Press photographer Steve Starr, in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo, appeared in newspapers across the country and on the cover of Newsweek magazine under the headline, "Universities Under the Gun," Lowery added, noting the episode came to symbolize an era of social change.

College protests: Why are students protesting in NY and around the nation? Here's what shaped today's movements

Syracuse University: Student strikes in 1970

Beginning on May 4, 1970, Syracuse University students participating in the National Student Strike held teach-ins and sit-ins, according to the university's library website .

The SU students marched, erected barricades and caused damage to campus, negotiated with the university administration, and made their voices heard. Although the strike ended at the close of the 1970 spring semester, the impact of this student-led protest was felt for years to come.

Some of those ripples of change affected the way decisions are made on the campus today, the library exhibit noted, and the educational opportunities available, in many ways, have been fundamentally informed by the activism and engagement of the student strike and other student movements of that period.

Kayla Jimenez of USA TODAY contributed to this report

Cinco de Mayo 2024: The civil rights movement that made Cinco de Mayo popular in the US

Cinco de Mayo isn’t a really popular holiday in Mexico, believe it or not.

But since the 1960s, it’s become widely celebrated in the United States due to a civil rights movement called the Chicano Movement. 

Cinco de Mayo, or May 5, celebrates Mexico’s victory in the Battle of Puebla (no, not their independence day, that’s on September 16), but it became popular in the United States because Mexican-Americans wanted better treatment in the United States. 

Grab your notebook and your thinking brain, and enjoy this history lesson. 

More: Cinco de Mayo 2024: What is Cinco de Mayo and why does the US celebrate? Here's what we know

What does the Chicano Movement have to do with Cinco de Mayo?

The celebration of Cinco de Mayo began as a form of resistance to the effects of the Mexican-American War in the late 19th century and the Chicano Movement.

Cinco de Mayo gained popularity and became a symbol of empowerment during the Chicano Movement. It was widely celebrated in America by Mexican and Hispanic Americans during this movement and was linked to the Battle of Puebla.

What is the Chicano Movement?

El Movimiento, or the Chicano Movement, sought civil rights of all Mexicans living in the United States, according to the National Archives . This movement lasted from the 1940s to the 1970s.

The movement was on the rise during the 1960s, as it was a time of widespread social, economic, cultural, and political change in America. The Chicano Movement entwined with the Black Power movement, which focused on racial pride and creating institutions for black people in America. 

The Chicano Movement not only advocated for the rights of Mexicans but all Hispanic groups. 

How did the Chicano Movement begin and what happened?

After World War II, this Hispanic community, particularly on the West Coast, faced severe discrimination. Farmworkers and children were the primary focus, as Hispanic laborers faced daily unfairness and Hispanic children faced many of the similar prejudices as Black children with segregated schools. The movement was led by Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and several unionized farmworkers. 

In 1947, Mendez v. Westminster ended segregation between White and Mexican schools in California and was notably cited in Brown v. Board of Education, according to the United States Courts . Then, in 1954, in a case titled Hernandez v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Mexican Americans and all other nationality groups were guaranteed equal protection according to the 14th Amendment.

Later, in the 1960s, civic leaders collectivized farm laborers and helped them register to vote. In 1965, Chavez and Huerta organized the Delano grape strike, which demanded higher wages. It was the longest strike in U.S. history, lasting from September 1965 to July 1970.

The phrase "Sí se puede" (which roughly translates to "yes, it can be done") was a famous chant heard at these strikes, and became a motto of the United Farm Workers of America, according to their website .

What happened during the protests and strikes of the Chicano Movement?

Political involvement empowered the Hispanic community. College students organized, forming groups to combat institutional racism and discrimination at campuses. Student organizations focused on voter registration, educational equality, and labor rights. In 1968, thousands of students organized a walkout against education inequality in East Los Angeles, protesting discrepancies in the district, according to the California State University website .

As the war in Vietnam intensified, broad anti-war sentiment grew in Hispanic communities as Latino draftees were sent overseas. Many protested drafts, like activist Rosalio Muñoz, who publicly avoided the draft. 

Similar to many civil rights movements in the 1960s, strikers also experienced heavy state surveillance and police brutality. Munoz led a demonstration with over 30,000 protestors against the Vietnam War. Police tried to break up the protest and various weapons were used, leaving four people dead and dozens more injured. During these protests, LA Times journalist and civil rights activist Ruben Salazar was killed when a tear gas canister hit him.

The Chicano Movement and its leaders allowed the Hispanic community to have room in conversations in modern-day America and have empowered them to exercise their rights. Cinco de Mayo was borne of resistance in the 19th century. The Chicano Movement tapped into that spirit as it resisted the status quo and fought for equality of Mexicans and Hispanics in the United States.

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10 Fascinating True Crime Shows About Lesser-Known Cases

10 best true crime documentaries that aren’t about murder, 10 true crime film adaptations, ranked by accuracy.

This article contains discussions of murder, sexual assault, racism, bombings, and child death.

• American Crime Story season 4 had plans to focus on Studio 54 creators but changed the subject.
• Potential subjects for season 4 include the West Memphis Three, the Central Park Five, and the Unabomber cases.
• The series has covered the infamous O.J. Simpson trial, Gianni Versace's assassination, and the Clinton-Lewinsky affair.

American Crime Story season 4 has many notorious true crime cases to choose from after losing its previous subject. The FX show is one of the best true crime TV series of all time, taking an anthological approach to storytelling. Each season tells a different story that became well-known across the United States. So far, American Crime Story has covered the trial of O.J. Simpson, the assassination of Gianni Versace, and the Clinton-Lewinsky affair .

American Crime Story was renewed for season 4 with plans to focus on Steve Rubell and Ian Schrage, the creators of Studio 54, who were eventually convicted of tax fraud. In January 2023, FX’s chairperson confirmed to Variety that the season is still in the works but won’t focus on Studio 54 anymore . With American Crime Story season 4 losing its subject, there are many other infamous crimes that the producers could pick for the upcoming addition to the anthology.

Best True Crime Shows On Netflix Right Now

From seasoned favorites to new hits and hidden gems, here’s a rundown of the best Netflix true crime shows fans of the genre can stream.

15 The Oklahoma City Bombing

Timothy mcveigh and terry nichols committed the worst act of domestic terrorism in us history.

A pivotal and horrific event that shook the entire United States was the Oklahoma City Bombing. On April 19, 1995, two extremists named Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols used a truck bomb to blow up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. According to the FBI , the explosion killed 168 people, including 19 children. The Oklahoma City Bombing is still considered the worst incident of domestic terrorism in US History, giving it enough publicity to appear in American Crime Story .

Additionally, the investigation followed 43,000 leads and included over 7000 pounds of evidence The event resulted in trials for Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, as well as co-conspirator Michael Fortier. This gives the show plenty of material to pull from when creating the narrative.

14 The Murder Of Jonelle Matthews

Steven pankey put himself at the center of his victim's investigation.

The disappearance and murder of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews occurred in Greeley, Colorado on December 20, 1984 (via People ). Her body wasn't found until July 2019 . Despite this, a neighbor named Steven Pankey – now known as Jonelle's kidnapper and murderer – inserted himself into the criminal investigation and continually asserted he had knowledge of what happened.

As Pankey gained attention, running for Idaho governor, so too did the Janelle Matthews case. Due to the unusual circumstances surrounding the case, Jonelle Matthews' kidnapping and murder would be a great choice for American Crime Story season 4. Additionally, it would give the series a chance to cover a case with slightly less national attention.

13 The Watts Family Murders

Chris watts became a family annihilator.

One of the worst incidents of family annihilation in recent years is the murder of 34-year-old Shanann Watts and her daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste, at the hands of their husband/father, Christopher Watts (via People ). This murder was especially heinous due to the murder of the two young girls and the unexpected nature of the crime.

Shanann had a social media presence that made them seem like the perfect family. She was even pregnant with their next child, which Chris seemed excited about. Add in him having a mistress and there are plenty of angles with which the writers of American Crime Story can work. Additionally, since the crime occurred on August 13, 2018, it's fresh in the minds of viewers, pulling in more possible viewers.

12 The Murder Of JonBenet Ramsey

Jonbenet ramsey's murder is unsolved.

One of the best-known examples of child murder in the US is the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. A season of American Crime Story centered on the tragic crime would certainly pull in viewers. There are various angles to the crime that they could take. Multiple suspects exist, all falling into one of two categories – the crime was allegedly either committed by a family member or an intruder (via CNN ).

However, there are two slight downfalls to American Crime Story season 4 covering this crime. Firstly, there wouldn't be a satisfying conclusion since nobody was ever found guilty. Secondly, the Ramseys have a history of being litigious. Still, the producers would be remiss to not at least consider the option.

There are tons of popular documentary series about famous killers and crooks, but these true-crime shows on lesser-known cases are also worth viewing.

11 The Tuskegee Experiment

The us government experimented on black american men.

If American Crime Story season 4 wanted to cover a behemoth of a case, they could take on the Tuskegee Experiment, better known as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. In this study, conducted between 1932 and 1979, the US Public Health Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recruited 600 Black men with the promise of free health care, but the 399 men with syphilis only received placebos . Researchers coerced physicians not to treat the men (via History ).

Ultimately, 128 participants died of Syphilis or Syphilis-related causes. Because there are so many victims, the Tuskegee Experiment would be difficult to cover. This scandalous experiment was made public when a PHS investigator named Peter Buxton leaked the story to reporter Jean Heller, resulting in a massive congressional hearing. The fallout could be the touchpoint for the season's narrative.

10 The Jodi Arias Case

Jodi arias murdered her ex-boyfriend travis alexander.

On June 4, 2008, Jodi Arias killed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander . Alexander's friends immediately pointed the police to Arias, feeling certain she was responsible (via Crime Museum ). This spurred one of the most bizarre and salacious murder investigations and trials, broadcast all across the country. The story was complete with fictional ninja intruders and a major make-under.

Because this story is just as well known as the O.J. Simpson trial, it would be a prime option for American Crime Story season 4. Plus, both the prosecutor – Juan Martinez – and Jodi Arias’ defense lawyer – Kirk Nurmi – wrote tell-all books that could serve as insight into the trial.

9 The Murder Of Emmett Till

Emmett till's lynching propelled forward the civil rights movement.

A darker part of US history that American Crime Story season 4 could follow is the horrendous lynching of the 14-year-old Black kid named Emmett Till after he supposedly flirted with a white woman on August 28, 1955 (via History ). While not as recent as the other cases in the seasons of American Crime Story, the brutal murder is just as prolific and resonant as the other cases featured. The murder and trial helped propel the Civil Rights Movement forward. This case would allow the show to address race in a better way than The People V. O.J. Simpson .

8 The Casey Anthony Case

Casey anthony is widely considered a miscarriage of justice.

Casey Anthony being found not guilty for the alleged murder of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee Anthony is widely considered a massive miscarriage of justice , much like the O. J. Simpson case. As such, it could be a great option for American Crime Story season 4. Even if she was absolved of guilt, according to Biography ’s timeline, she still went 30 days without reporting her daughter missing and repeatedly lied about her daughter's whereabouts.

The young woman made up a nanny and pretended to have a job at Universal Studios. She also got a tattoo that says “Bella Vita” which means “beautiful life” after Caylee's death, which she has since covered up (via People ). The trial was also filled with twists and turns. As such, there is plenty for the show to explore.

7 The Manson Family

The manson family famously committed the tate-labianca murders.

Charles Manson is one of the best-known cult leaders of all time due to the book Helter Skelter. At the direction of Manson, his" Family" committed at least seven different murders , with estimates reaching as high as 35 people (via Biography ). The most famous are the Tate-LaBianca killings. This story has been told repeatedly, so there are many chilling TV shows and movies about Charles Manson and his Family . With the track record of American Crime Story , this show could be one of the best versions yet by incorporating the character-driven narrative approach and strong writing seen in previous seasons.

Watching true-crime documentaries has become hugely popular thanks to streaming services and here are the best that don't include murder.

6 The Clutter Family Murder

In cold blood could be told in american crime story season 4.

The Clutter family murders were a quadruple homicide committed by Perry Smith and possibly Richard Hickock . It's strongly believed that the murders were all done by Smith alone, even though Hickock helped with the plan and was present. The incident is recorded in one of the best true crime books of all time , In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. While this book was adapted into a 1967 movie and a 1996 miniseries, In Cold Blood could be used with the court records in order to create a season of American Crime Story that views the crime from a modern lens.

5 The Iran Contra Scandal

The iran-contra scandal revealed a government secret.

If American Crime Story season 4 wanted to follow in the footsteps of Impeachment, the writers could focus on the Iran-Contra scandal. This was another instance where the government did something wrong but another person was scapegoated. The political scandal under the Reagan administration involved the CIA training and financing the Contras in Nicaragua and making a secret arms-for-hostages deal with Iran , providing them with weaponry (via PBS ).

The scandal, fallout, and the conviction of Robert McFarlane would be a great focus. The stories of the two seasons would diverge slightly because Robert McFarlane received jail time for committing crimes under the instruction of government officials, whereas an immunity agreement meant Monica Lewinsky didn’t serve the jail time she faced.

4 The West Memphis Three

The west memphis three were wrongfully convicted of murder.

While the first season of American Crime Story focused on one type of miscarriage of justice, O.J. Simpson being found not guilty, season 4 could focus on a different kind of miscarriage of justice, the West Memphis Three's wrongful conviction . Damian Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Miss Kelley were arrested and found guilty of murdering three 8-year-old boys named Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers (via The Innocence Project ).

However, there was no evidence and a coerced confession. In 2007, DNA testing excluded the three convicted killers. Then, all three were released in 2011 on Alford pleas. American Crime Story season 4 could follow their fight for justice up to the point of their release. In addition to telling an influential US crime story, it would also help push forward their battle for exoneration.

3 The Central Park Five

The central park five were wrongfully convicted of sexual assault.

A really well-known US crime case that American Crime Story season 4 could focus on is the Central Park Five case. In this story, five Black and Latinx teen boys were found guilty of sexually assaulting a jogger (via History ). The teenagers spent years in jail only for DNA evidence and a confession from the real culprit, Matias Reyes, to exonerate them.

This compelling story has a strong angle because it looks at both wrongful convictions and racism. Additionally, it would be considered timely due to Donald Trump’s role in the case. The only downfall to selecting the Central Park Five for American Crime Story season 4 is the fact that the story was already told phenomenally in Netflix’s miniseries When They See Us .

For the past decade, true crime adaptations have been popping up in every digital avenue. How many liberties were taken and what is the truth?

2 Tonya Harding And Nancy Kerrigan

Nancy kerrigan's assault went down in sports crime history.

A less heavy but still compelling crime that American Crime Story season 4 could cover is the assault of Nancy Kerrigan, also called the “whack heard around the world.” These two figure skaters were direct competitors trying to get on the US Olympic team. After practice, on January 6, 1994, a hitman named Shane Stant broke Nancy Kerrigan’s leg with a collapsable baton (via Biography ).

He was hired by Tonya Harding’s ex-husband and bodyguard, Jeff Gillooly and Shawn Eckhardt, respectively. Because this event led up to the Olympics, it became known worldwide, making it something that would fit right in with the other seasons of American Crime Story. Moreover, because of the success of I, Tonya , many people too young to remember the incident now know about the crime, giving it wider appeal.

1 The Unabomber

Ted kaczynski bombed universities and airlines.

If American Crime Story writers want to go into season 4 with a bang, they could cover the story of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. The Harvard-educated mathematical genius went on a 17-year bombing rampage while living in a cabin in the woods and writing a manifesto against technology (via Britannica ). The show could jump back and forth between the victims, investigators, and Kaczynski – offering an interesting narrative perspective that is different from previous seasons of American Crime Story . Additionally, the fact that the bomber's own brother turned him in would provide an interesting twist for viewers unfamiliar with the true story.

Sources: Variety , FBI , People , People , CNN , History , Crime Museum , History , Biography , People , Biography , In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, PBS , The Innocence Project , History , Biography , and Britannica

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