After World War II, a general increase in prosperity and living standards led disadvantaged Americans to fight for civil rights. As defined by the Oxford Dictionary, civil rights are “the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality.” During the 1960s, escalating political and social tensions pushed disadvantaged groups such as Chicano-Americans or LGBTQ+ Americans to organize on a large scale for the first time. This collective grassroots power was used to enact social and legislative changes that raised awareness and paved the way for further civil liberties and equality today. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Although civil rights activists have always existed in the United States, there have been several increasing incidents that have attracted large-scale attention and "got the ball rolling" for the civil rights movements. One such incident was the Rosa Parks Bus Boycott, which sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. In an era when African Americans faced severe segregation and racialized restrictions in their daily lives (Doc D), this incident proved to be the polarizing turning point that led many African Americans to join the civil rights movement. Another similar incident was the Stonewall riot in 1969, in which a confrontation between the police and the LGBTQ+ community grew into a national movement promoting the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans (Doc B). It was these and similar incidents in the 1960s that ushered in the civil rights era. One change that occurred during the 1960s was the immense civic participation in the civil rights struggle, as many of these movements actually started from the grassroots. “basic” movements. More than ever, citizens began to join organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the American Indian Movement, the National Organization for Women, and the National Society for Human Rights, due that the prevalence of white-collar work allowed ordinary people to have more time to dedicate to causes they cared about. One of the most important examples of grassroots movements has been environmentalism; Senator Gaylord Nelson's first Earth Day march attracted and amazed 20 million ordinary Americans (Doc G), demonstrating the true power of people to effect change. And, indeed, change has been made. In addition to demonstrating, civil rights activists of this era focused much of their attention on legislative and judicial processes to help them secure their rights. Noting the significant wage gap, feminists successfully lobbied for the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the ERA, which guaranteed them equal employment opportunities, raising the glass ceiling and restrictions on women's employment higher than ever before. never (Doc A). Meanwhile, people with disabilities, such as polio sufferer Ed Roberts, fought for equal access to education through the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, the legal precedent for which was established by the landmark court case Brown v. Board of Education. Combined with the American Disabilities Act, this right to education finally gave people with disabilities the chance to succeed in the workforce (Doc C). Regardless of the political action taken to increase civil rights, the greatest legacy of the civil rights era of the 1960s lies in the increased.