African Americans' long struggle for basic civil rights sparked the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and '60s.
It is a movement that serves as a reminder that freedom is never free and continues to touch the lives of every American.
Four generations alive today have direct connections to the Civil Rights Movement. Each generation has important stories to tell.
At HistoryBeat, you are invited to write about your experiences, to share photographs, documents, videos and other materials that will help to tell the civil rights story.
