The Civil Rights Movement was very successful between 1954 and 1964. While there were some successful aspects of the movement, there were also some failures. The mixture of successes and failures led to the extension of the movement and, ultimately, to a more equal American society. Success was an important part of the civil rights movement. Starting in 1954 there were some important victories for African Americans. In 1954, the historic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas trial determined that segregation in public education was unjust. This unanimous Supreme Court decision overturned the earlier Plessy v. Ferguson case in which the “separate but equal” doctrine was created and abused. A year later, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. launched a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama after Mrs. Parks was arrested for failing to give up her seat in the “colored section.” This boycott, which lasted more than a year, led to bus desegregation in 1956. The group's efforts contributed greatly to the success of the movement. This is not only demonstrated by the success of the bus boycott, but is also demonstrated by the success of Martin Luther King's SCLC or Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The conference was notable for peaceful protest, nonviolence and civil disobedience. Thanks to the SCLC, sit-ins and boycotts became popular during this period, increasing the movement's achievements. The effective nature of the sit-in was demonstrated in 1960 when a group of four black college students sat at a Woolworth's lunch counter in hopes of being served. Although they were not served the first time they began the sit-in, they were not forced to leave the establishment; their lack of response to criticism... middle of paper... leaving people to deal with issues themselves. Despite the fact that the executive branch did quite a bit during the Civil Rights Movement to help blacks and other minorities, more could have been done if not for events such as the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis that required the the president's immediate attention. there seemed to be more successes than failures in the civil rights movement due to the many positive changes that have occurred between then and now, it is safe to say that the movement was not completely victorious. Efforts by many individuals and events have made people's lives more equal today than decades ago, however, race is still a factor and de facto segregation and unfair treatment continue to be a part of American society. Regardless, the successes and failures of the civil rights movement helped shape America today.