This book, a publication of the U.S. Department of State, recounts how African-American slaves and their descendants struggled to win - both in law and in practice - the civil rights enjoyed by other Americans. It is a story of dignified persistence and struggle, a story that produced great heroes and heroines, and one that ultimately succeeded by forcing Americans to confront squarely the shameful gap between their universal principles of equality and justice and the inequality, injustice, and oppression faced by millions of their fellow citizens. Contains full color illustrations, and includes sections on Black Soldiers in the Civil War, Marcus Garvey, Ralph Johnson Bunche, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers and the Bloody Sunday in Selma.