However, the earliest known reference is more specific: Inquiry of an Italian employee of the bureau elicited the information that a âgandy dancerâ is a railway worker who tamps down the earth between the ties, or otherwise âdancesâ on the track.
Eventually the federal government intervened to see that integration was enforced. By the time the Freedom Rides were over, segregation had suffered another blow. The Freedom Rides became a defining part of the civil rights movement, and the Freedom Riders became models of the heroism that transformed race relations.
The Context of Civil Rights. Civil liberties refer to the freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, such as the freedom of speech or religion. Civil rights protect all persons from discrimination both by the government and other individuals. Initially, African Americans were the focus of civil rights protections, but the protections have expanded to cover other racial and ethnic groups, women, the elderly, the disabled, and gays and lesbians. African Americans. The most divisive civil rights issue with the greatest long-term impact has been slavery and its legacy. Slave labor was critical to the economy in America, particularly in the South, where slaves worked on plantations but also in many parts of the service economy (as carpenters, bakers, weavers, and so on).