This is an ideal core text for modules on Civil Rights History or American History since 1945 - or a supplementary text for broader modules on American History, African-American History or Modern US Politics - which may be offered at the upper levels of an undergraduate History, Politics or American Studies degree. In addition it is a crucial resource for students who may be studying the Civil Rights Movement for the first time as part of a taught postgraduate degree in American History, US Politics or American Studies.

Focusing on the African American struggle for civil rights from 1945 to today, Riches shows how the black community used the institutions created by de jure segregation to overcome apartheid and white resistance. In this updated new edition, Riches incorporates the latest scholarship and provides a detailed analysis of Obama's first term in office.

Now covers in detail Obama's background term in power
All chapters have been revised and updated in the light of recent scholarship
Sets the black civil rights movement in a broader context than other studies, including coverage of wider black politics, homosexual organizations and environmental issues