Black American people, or African Americans, have been here for a very long time, are still here today, and will always be here.

Like other groups of people in the world, Black people have a culture.

    When Black people first came to America from Africa, it was because they were forced to by European settlers.

Black people were treated very poorly back then and were forced to work for the settlers. They had no freedom.

    However, even though they didn't have freedom, they still had a culture brought over from Africa, which included dances, music, food, and celebrations.

Many Black people today still carry these elements of African culture.

    Over time, Black people finally got their freedom and gained some rights.

However, many White people did not like that African Americans could now be free, and tried to restrict their rights.

    Some of the ways that their rights were restricted were from Jim Crow Laws, which told Black people what things they couldn't do in public around White people, which were very discriminatory against Black people.

    Some of the laws stated that Black people couldn't use the same restrooms or water fountains as White people, and they had to sit in different areas in restaurants and buses. Black children and White children had to go to different schools.

This is called segregation.

    But African Americans fought back. They started the Civil Rights Movement across America and demanded equal rights and an end to segregation everywhere.

    They led protests and formed organizations, and they spoke out for change.

There were many leaders and organizations of the Civil Rights Movement along with regular people.

    Some leaders and activists included Martin Luther King Jr., who was a preacher, W.E.B. Du Bois, an author, Rosa Parks, an activist, and Malcolm X, a religious leader and activist.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Rosa Parks

W.E.B Du Bois

Malcolm X

    Thanks to the Civil Rights Movement, segregation and Jim Crow Laws were no longer allowed in America. Black Americans finally had just as many rights as White Americans and had more representation.