African Americans fought a long struggle to achieve the freedoms deserved by all citizens of the United States. The monumental cases of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) had an undeniable impact on the civil rights of African Americans. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 also played an important role in the civil rights we enjoy in our country today. As televisions became a household item during this era, the effects of media were also notable and widespread. The "equal protection clause" of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution required states to provide all persons within their jurisdiction equal protection under the law. and served as the basis for the Plessy v. Ferguson. The “separate but equal” clause arose from the Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 and allowed segregation on intrastate railroads provided equal accommodations were provided to African Americans and Caucasians. It was determined by the majority that, although politically equal, African Americans were socially unequal and therefore no amendment was violated in enforcing the Louisiana Separate Car Act of 1890, the law that Plessy v. Ferguson tried to call it arbitrary. This ruling served as the legal justification for segregation for more than fifty years. The only dissenting vote came from Justice John Marshall Harlan, who feared the decision would be as infamous as Dred Scott v. Sandford, which held that slaves were not protected by the Constitution. In his dissent, Justice Harlan argued that the decision was degrading to African Americans and acted as a “badge of servitude.” The decision in Plessy v. Ferguson...... middle of paper ......ents that took The civil rights movement was a long and arduous struggle, but it also saw great progress. It may have taken nearly sixty years, but Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas finally overturned the decision that served as the basis for segregation in Plessy v. Ferguson. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave African Americans equal opportunity in private enterprise, which was ultimately punishable if violated, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 forced individual states to abandon the tactics that denied African Americans the right to vote. Could all this progress have happened without the help of the media? Perhaps, but I believe that the progress made between 1955 and 1968 in civil rights for African Americans was largely due to media coverage informing the public of the injustices that still existed in America...