The Civil Rights Movement changed the culture of America in the 1960's by banning discrimination of people based on race, sex, national origin and religion. Because of this important social movement, African Americans and other minorities were more involved in everyday life by being allowed to work higher-paying jobs, attend mixed schools and have the same rights as everyone else in America. This meant that African Americans and women would be working in the same place as white people and men, also black children would be in the same classroom and playgrounds as white children. This forced people to get used to Americans and women having equal rights.
The Brown V Board of Education case is what started school integration. The case was decided in 1954, the court ruled that segregation in public schools is prohibited by the Constitution and also ruled out "separate but equal". The case overturned the Plessy V Ferguson decision of 1896 which allowed segregation. One of the most important events that also started desegregation was the Montgomery bus boycott. On December 1, 1955 a women named Rosa Parks refused to give up here seat to a white person, which broke a southern custom that requires blacks to give their seats towards the front to white people. She went to jail and a bus boycott began. This boycott lasted more than a year and inspired African Americans everywhere.
Because of the changes in segregation there were more successful musicians due to the Civil Rights movement. A lot of African American music was a message about segregation or equal rights for example Aretha Franklin's song Respect had a deeper meaning than most people think. Aretha is both a women and African American which explains why she is asking for respect from men and white people. According to author Suzanne Smith, "The lyrics often reflected the exact situation that the activists were confronting at that moment.