The Declaration of Independence proclaimed back in 1776 that “all men are created equal” and are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” This means a person’s basic rights cannot be taken away by anyone.

But it took a long time to change people’s minds. After the Civil War, many whites continued to dislike blacks. They thought whites were better. For 100 years, some laws continued to reflect this prejudice. In some states, black people had to stay separate from white people. They could not share a white person’s drinking fountain, restroom or school. They were forced to give up a good seat on a bus if a white person wanted to sit there.

This was called “segregation.” Living with segregation made it very difficult for many blacks to succeed in life. The system worked against them.

Finally, in the 1950s and 1960s the Supreme Court decided that such laws were unfair. The justices said that the laws violated the rights of blacks, so they ruled that segregation must end.

Today, the law forbids segregation. Most people today do not think people are better or worse than any others just because of their skin color.