During the Civil Rights Movement, black women struggled with both racism and sexism, while black men were mainly struggling with racism. " Even within the Civil Rights Movement, they were often denied positions of leadership, overshadowed by men, and sexually harassed. Women leaders had to fight for resources as the men usually had first pick"..."Because of this, women felt like they had to choose one battle to fight. At the time, many black women thought the race was more important." (Paragraph 9). Women had to pick a movement, not being able to fight for both racial and gender equality. Most black women focused their efforts on racial inequality and thus sexism became widespread even within the Civil Rights Movement. Despite the fact though women continued to show relentless support for the cause even when they were denied basic protesting rights because they knew what they were doing would have a gigantic, lasting effect on the whole country.