The Civil Rights Movement of the mid-twentieth century was driven by four major organizations: the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced “Snick”). These groups, often called “The Big Four,” had different strategies. But they shared the same goal of ending racial discrimination and segregation in the United States.

The NAACP, founded in 1909, was the oldest and most legally focused of the four. It fought racial injustice in the courts, winning key cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, by which the Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that school segregation was unconstitutional. The NAACP also worked at the local level to ensure compliance with civil rights rulings. In 1957, members of the Little Rock, Arkansas, branch compelled President Dwight D. Eisenhower to send federal troops to enforce the desegregation of Central High School.

Founded in 1942, CORE was a small but determined interracial group that believed in nonviolent direct action. While it originally operated in northern cities, it later expanded to the South. CORE members played a leading role in organizing sit-ins to protest segregation in restaurants and public spaces. In 1961, they launched the Freedom Rides, by which interracial groups traveled through the South, mainly by bus, to challenge segregation in public transportation. These riders faced brutal attacks. But their courage led the federal government to enforce desegregation in bus and train stations.

The SCLC, founded in 1957 and led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., focused on nonviolent protests. The SCLC worked closely with Black churches to organize mass demonstrations. The organization played a major role in events such as the Birmingham Children’s Crusade in 1963, when students marched against segregation, and the Selma Voting Rights Campaign in 1965, which contributed to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Through nonviolent protests, the SCLC brought national and international attention to racial injustice, forcing business and political leaders to take action against unjust laws.

SNCC was a student-led organization that emphasized grassroots activism. It emerged after the 1960 sit-ins, during which students refused to leave segregated lunch counters. Unlike other civil rights groups, SNCC worked in some of the most dangerous areas of the rural South, helping Black communities register to vote and gain political power. In the organization’s early years, leaders like Diane Nash approached racism as a moral issue that required peaceful solutions. By the mid-1960s, figures such as Stokely Carmichael, who viewed racism as a political problem, began demanding political solutions. SNCC became one of the most dynamic and influential groups of the Civil Rights Movement, playing a key role in the empowerment of Black communities throughout the South.

Although these organizations had different approaches, they often worked together to dismantle segregation and advocate for equal rights. CORE and SNCC partnered during the Freedom Rides. SCLC and SNCC joined forces in Selma to support Black voting rights. And the NAACP provided legal support for civil rights activists regardless of their affiliation. These combined efforts united African Americans and their allies in the struggle for justice, leaving a lasting impact on American society.