The Gideon v. Wainwright case was presented to the Supreme Court during the extremely liberal era of Chief Justice Warren. It established that any citizen accused of a crime has the right to legal assistance, even in the event that the citizen is unable to afford the costs. Engel v. Vitale prohibited prayer in public schools. Miranda v. Arizona mandated that law enforcement officials had to inform suspects of their rights prior to questioning. Loving v. Virginia declared laws preventing interracial marriage as unconstitutional. Racial discrimination in property sale and rental was ended by the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

The Civil Rights Movement, which began in the mid-1950s with the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, pursued a variety of methods, including political lobbying, legal arguments, and direct protests. Most notably, the Civil Rights Movement was a non-violent protest movement, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on principles established by Mohandas Ghandi in India. The Civil Rights activists, usually multiracial and well trained, eschewed violence in all of their protests.

The Stonewall Inn was a popular gay bar in Manhattan's Greenwich Village that was raided by police on June 28, 1969. While such raids, which were aiming to arrest bar patrons on decency charges, were common in the period, this raid made many people turn on the police and begin to riot. The event is largely seen as one of the key sparks in the gay rights movement, as it was the first time that gay people had stood up against authorities who persecuted them for simply for being homosexuals.

The Harlem Renaissance was a period of time where African-American culture was redefined. Many great African-American artists, musicians, and thinkers came out of this movement to accept the different, unique, culture of African Americans.

Hughes focused most of his work on the everyday lives of the lower-class working people of New York. He wanted to highlight the struggle most people in the city went through to make ends meet. 

These famous men were painters. They rose to prominence by painting events and buildings of the time. Douglas painted many famous landmarks of New York, and Motley painted many famous events and streets of the time.

Var Der Zee was, arguably, the most famous photographer of the Renaissance. The other people listed here were either authors or musicians. Var Der Zee photographed things and people to show themes of pride, dignity, and idealism.

Taylor was a visual artist rather than a musical artist. One thing that the Harlem Renaissance had in spades was talented musicians. Many of these artists are still well known and beloved to this day. Not just in African-American culture, but in national and international circles as well.

While African-Americans wanted to differentiate their own culture from the majority white culture, they did not attempt to separate themselves. They embraced the predominantly white culture of these northern cities, but attempted to add a bit of their own culture to the culture of these cities.

October 29th, 1929 over  was lost in panicked trades that saw the stock market crash, sending the nation into an economic tailspin.