The United States was created upon the claim that all men are created equal but when one takes a closer look into American history, it becomes evident that those who were not of the white race suffered discrimination, exploitation and deprivation of basic human and civil rights. Despite the hardships and hatred directed at them, the African Americans chose to gain equality and overcome the prejudices and discrimination by fighting violence using chiefly non-violent methods. The aim of the paper is to examine the peaceful protests that occurred as a part of the battle against racial discrimination in America in the 1950s and 1960s to get an insight into the origin of racial discrimination and the struggles of African Americans to overcome it. The social position of African Americans formed through slavery and it remained unfavourable after the abolition of slavery in the form of Jim Crow Laws. The battle against racial discrimination reached its peak in the 1950s and 1960s at which time a series of peaceful protests appeared. The paper highlights the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Sit-ins, Freedom Rides and the March on Washington as well as the two of the most prominent figures of the period, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., who contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement. In addition, the final section presents the poetry from the period that reflects the reality of the period and serves as an expression of protest through art.