Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode on interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decision, Boynton vs. Virginia. Boynton v. Virginia had outlawed racial segregation in the restaurants and waiting rooms in terminals serving buses that crossed state lines. The Freedom Riders set out to challenge the law and what was "right" by riding various forms of public transportation in the South to challenge local laws or customs that enforced segregation. The Freedom Rides, and the violent reactions they provoked, called national attention to the violent disregard for the law that was used to enforce segregation in the southern United States. Riders were arrested for trespassing, unlawful assembly, and violating state and local laws.

The March on Washington for Freedom, was a large political rally that took place in Washington DC on August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King jr. delivered his famous  "I have a dream" speech influencing  racial peace at the Lincoln Memorial during the march. The march was organized by a group of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations. On estimate the number of people varied from 200,000 (police) to over 300,000 (leaders of the march). About 80% of the marchers were African American and the rest were white and other ethnic groups. The march is widely credited as helping to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the National Voting Rights Act of 1965.