The Civil Rights Movement began when black Americans were not treated with the same fairness and equality as white Americans. This is called discrimination. Even after the Civil War ended and slaves were freed by President Lincoln, it would take black Americans (African Americans) many years and a long, difficult fight to get what Abraham Lincoln had intended them to have: equality.
As early as 1904, Florida's African Americans were working to improve their lives. Segregation forced blacks and whites to attend different schools and the quality of education was not as good for black children. As a result, African Americans often needed to supplement their education by creating their own schools. In Florida, Mary McLeod Bethune opened the Daytona Literacy and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls.