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These same patterns of whites using racism as a form of social control are seen during the Civil Rights movement begin to move from explicit to implicit and systematic racism. During the Civil Rights era, people pushed back at the Jim Crow style of overt racism and obvious segregation. Russell-Brown argues that before the Civil Rights movement, it was not “separate but equal” but instead “separate and despised”, as African Americans were treated as inferiors through discriminatory laws that encompassed all areas of their lives (Russell-Brown, 2009, p. 48). However, it is important to note that relative to what is taught in a standard high school history class,, the Civil Rights era was not a popular movement at the time and was met with “massive resistance” (Seabrook & Wyatt-Nichol, 2016, p. 25). Additionally, racism did not end with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as this just made it illegal. Just because something is made illegal does not guarantee it disappears.
