Civil rights movement
See also: Protests of 1968
See also: African-American Civil Rights
Movement (1955–1968)
The Civil Rights Movement was a world-
wide political movement for equality before
the law occurring between approximately
1950 and 1980. It was accompanied by much
civil unrest and popular rebellion. The pro-
cess was long and tenuous in many countries,
and most of these movements did not achieve
or fully achieve their objectives. In its later
years, the Civil Rights Movement took a
sharp turn to the radical left in many cases.
Civil Rights Movement in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is a European province of
United Kingdom which has witnessed viol-
ence over many decades mainly because of
sectarian tensions between the Catholic and
Protestant community.
Bloody Sunday (1972) memorial mural
The Civil Rights struggle in Northern Ire-
land can be traced to Catholics in Dungannon
who are fighting for better housing for the
members of the Catholic community. This do-
mestic issue would not have led to a fight for
Civil Rights if the policies of Northern Ireland
did not make being a registered householder
the qualification for the local government
franchise. Thus these Catholics were not only
challenging what they saw as unfair housing
policies, they were also taking the first steps
toward fighting for Civil Rights for their com-
munity. Using various means to defend and
improve the conditions for their communities,
these Catholics were in fact preparing a
large part of the christian population to move
beyond local and domestic issue and to em-
brace the larger purpose of the Civil Rights
battle. This substantial contribution made by
women is often erased from the general his-
tory of Northern Ireland primarily because
this country still has a Protestant majority
and a conservative culture who often over-
look the role of women in the political
sphere. [1].
On a broader and more organized front, in
January 1964,
the Campaign for Social
Justice (CSJ) was launched officially in Bel-
fast. This organization too