Voices of the civil rights movement

To mark Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, "Sunday Morning" talks with some of those who were engaged from the very beginning of the civil rights movement, from sit-ins and marches to the Supreme Court.

• Jan 18

Voices of the civil rights movement

As we mark Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, Martha Teichner talks with some of those who were engaged from the very beginning of the civil rights movement: Arthenia Joyner, who was a Black high school student who took part in a sit-in at a Whites-only lunch counter in Tampa, Fla.; Jawana Jackson, who as a child participated with her mother in the Selma-to-Montgomery march in the wake of "Bloody Sunday"; and attorney Fred Gray, who won four civil rights cases before the Supreme Court by the age of 35.

• Jan 18
• 8:31

Brown v. Board of Education: Ending the "separate but equal" doctrine

In December 1953, attorney Thurgood Marshall argued before the Supreme Court against racial segregation, leading to a landmark court ruling.

• Sep 21, 2025

Celebrating July 2, America's other Independence Day

On July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act, ending our nation's apartheid. Mark Updegrove, president & CEO of the LBJ Foundation, looks back on a watershed moment in American democracy when segregation was finally made illegal.

• Jul 2, 2023

Mark Whitaker on the history of the Black power movement

The author of "Saying It Loud: 1966-The Year Black Power Challenged the Civil Rights Movement" examines the birth of Black Power, and the lessons (and warnings) for today's activists.

• Feb 5, 2023

Black travel guide

For much of the 20th century, African Americans were routinely refused service at many businesses. Victor Green, a New York City postal worker, created a travel guide called the "The Negro Motorist Green Book" that listed establishments that would not turn them away, reports Mark Strassmann.

• Feb 28, 2017
• 2:13

Bryan Stevenson on teaching history and the pursuit of justice

The attorney who helped save 145 wrongly-convicted prisoners from execution talks about his latest project: The Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Ala., educating Americans about the history of slavery and racial violence as a first step in healing.

• Jan 30, 2022

Remembering MLK Jr.'s fight for voting rights

It was 57 years ago that Martin Luther King Jr. led a massive crowd from Selma to Montgomery as they marched for voting rights. At the end of the march, he delivered a powerful speech on the steps of the state Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.

• Jan 17, 2022
• 1:38

Civil rights pioneer's record cleared

In 1955, Claudette Colvin was arrested in Alabama for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a White woman. That incident happened nine months before Rosa Parks. "History had me glued to the seat," Colvin says. David Begnaud joins CBSN AM with more about a new development in her story.

• Dec 16, 2021
• 11:06

Studies show that even though 60 years have passed since the Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v Board of Education decision, segregation remains widespread in the U.S.

Studies show that even though 60 years have passed since the Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v Board of Education decision, segregation remains widespread in the U.S. One school in New York is trying to buck that trend. Elaine Quijano reports.

• May 17, 2014
• 2:34

Ta-Nehisi Coates on Obama & Trump

Barack Obama officially became America's first black president in January 2009 at his inauguration. Afterward, the Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates rose to prominence, earning a reputation as one of America's best writers on race. He won awards for his essays, "Fear of a Black President" and "The Case for Reparations." His book, "Between the World and Me," won the National Book Award for nonfiction. Coates joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss his new book, "We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy."

• Oct 4, 2017
• 6:34

Little Rock Nine anniversary

It was 60 years ago Monday that nine African American children entered an all-white high school in Little Rock - after the Supreme Court declared separate schools for blacks and whites unconstitutional. The eight survivors recalled that milestone in civil rights history, and said the battle is not over. Jericka Duncan reports.

• Sep 25, 2017
• 2:25

Emmett Till case

In 1955 Mississippi, a white woman claimed Emmett Till, 14 and black, whistled at her. That led to Till's lynching and death, which sparked the Civil Rights Movement. As Jim Axelrod reports, a new book says the woman changed her story.

• Jan 27, 2017
• 2:16

1940 lynching apology

The LaGrange, Georgia, police chief researched the 1940 launching of a local black teenager and decided he needed to apologize for his department's actions back then. In the Jim Crow South, police looked the other way. David Begnaud reports.

• Jan 26, 2017
• 2:15

Olympic anthem protesters

American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists in protest at the 1968 Olympics while standing on the medal podium for the national anthem. Afterward, they were banished from the Olympic community. But on Thursday, President Obama welcomed the Olympians back, reports Margaret Brennan.

• Sep 29, 2016
• 1:57

Emmett Till's legacy

The Smithsonian's Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., is now open to the public. One of the museum's most-anticipated exhibits is a casket that carried the body of Emmett Till 61 years ago. It's so sacred visitors are not allowed to take videos or pictures. Michelle Miller reports on the story behind the casket.

• Sep 28, 2016
• 4:53

African American museum opens

The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture opened Saturday to the public. The opening ceremony for the museum, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was punctuated by plenty of powerful moments. Gayle King reports.

• Sep 26, 2016
• 3:09

Pioneering black business mogul

A woman from Washington, D.C., gave the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture treasured family heirlooms linked to one of the first African-American business moguls. Marlie Hall reports.

• Sep 24, 2016
• 1:49

New African-American museum opens

It was a historic day in Washington - the grand opening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. Congressman John Lewis, a veteran of the civil rights struggles, said, "This place is more than a building - it's a dream come true." The $540 million museum took more than four years to build. It sits near the Washington Monument. Marlie Hall reports.

• Sep 24, 2016
• 2:20

New Smithsonian museum opens

The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture officially opens Saturday. President Obama will dedicate the museum in a ceremony in the morning, joined by tens of thousands of people. Marlie Hall gives an early look inside the museum, which was first conceived by black Civil War veterans more than a hundred years ago.

• Sep 24, 2016
• 3:03

A Monumental Project

In May 2015, 60 Minutes got a first look at the museum dedicated to African-American history and culture. This weekend, it finally opens in Washington

• Sep 22, 2016
• 12:48

Alfred Street Baptist Church

Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, is a founding donor for the Smithsonian's new National Museum of African American History and Culture, committing $1 million in donations to the museum. The senior pastor, Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley, tells CBS News about the church's donor base and why the members wanted to get involved in the historic project.

• Sep 23, 2016
• 2:24

Oprah on African American museum

One of earliest supporters for the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture was Oprah Winfrey, who donated more than $20 million and is a member of its council. Winfrey joins "CBS This Morning" to share her emotional visit to the museum, and what she hopes visitors will take away.

• Sep 23, 2016
• 7:26

John Lewis on progress and Civil Rights

Rep. John Lewis describes the pace of progress and his experiences fighting racial inequality

• Sep 19, 2016
• 1:52

Extended interview: John Lewis, September 18

Saturday marks the official opening of the new Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. CBS' "Face the Nation" visited the museum with a man who spent 15 years working on its establishment, Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia.

• Sep 18, 2016
• 13:12

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